Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

Great bottle, good capacity, easy to carry around. I use it generally to take a sports drink with me when going on hikes. When empty it can be easily folded and stashed anywhere in your sack. My only problem with it is that it can be difficult to fill without spilling whatever drink you're pouring into it.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

With 3 active children, my family drinks A LOT of water. We used to use hydration packs with a bladder, hose, and bite valve but the kids would always bite holes into the bite valves and then we'd have water leaking everywhere. Desperate for a solution, I decided to buy two of these Platypus water bottles. What a lifesaver! Now we just fill them with water, freeze, and stick them in the hydration pockets of our packs. As the ice melts we have cold water to drink. The large size does make it a little difficult for the kids to use, but buying the pull top lids has made these the best water bottles ever. This afternoon we're going to REI to buy each of the kids the 17oz. size to take to school. The kids love them and that makes for a very happy mama :)

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

I just got this bottle and am really happy with it. I got one with the 'hyperflow' cap from a local store (no REI's here) but also got some of the replacement closure caps just in case I wanted that instead.

I'm a college student and therefore have to carry my lunchbox everywhere with me. As there seem to only be two sizes of lunch box (a little small or behemoth), I've got a pretty small lunch box. I got the .5L softbottle so I could fit that in my lunch box - it works great as an icepack and the slim shape means it can slide alongside my lunch, fully filled, unlike my .5L nalgene. Another plus is that I can fit the bottle into my purse - although with the hyperflow cap it's a little too long.

The bottle is a bit bigger than I was expecting - probably about 9-10 inches tall. It just barely fits into my lunchbox, but I'm still really happy with it.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

The bottle itself is great. It rolls up smaller than the Nalgene Cantene. However, I have 3 main problems with it:

1) Not Steripen friendly. The Steripen simply can't get deep enough into the bottle. Attempting to use it with this bottle resulted in the collar turning yellow due to UV over-exposure. This can lead to brittleness over time, and not enough exposure of the water in the container to the UV light.

2) Cap is loose. It's very small and easy to potentially drop/lose.

3) Opening is too small to use for a night-time pee-duty bottle. (Which happens to be one of my favorite uses for the Cantene!)

Ideally, I'd really like to see a cross between this and the Cantene. Perhaps if the Cantene adopted the smaller lid like what's on their 500mL bottles. At the least, this thing's lid needs a leash of some kind.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

I have 3 of the 17 oz. Platypus bottles and 3 of this 34 oz. size. For me, anyway, this is just a bit too big to drink out of easily, but I still use them frequently - just in a different way.

My primary use for this 34 oz. size is to make ice packs with my filtered water for camping. Makes one heck of a great ice pack that I can use as drinking water when it eventually melts (to REI's credit, this takes a while in their Picnic and Weekender coolers if properly packed). To use as an ice pack fill it no higher than the 25 oz. marker on the back. Then make sure to fold the excess portion over where the top of the water is to get out the excess air space and lay them flat in the freezer. Laying a bag of frozen veges on them helps give them nice and flat for maximizing space in your cooler. Usually takes about 36 hrs. to make it into a very solid ice pack. Also works great in my insulated shopping bags for when I grocery shop in the summer but may not be heading right back to my house.

Out of the dozens of times I've used them this way I've only had one cap break. If you think you might use it this way, pick yourself up a set of spare caps that's also available from REI - well worth it as a back up, esp. if you've noticed the cap has broken while you're out camping. It's a very inexpensive add on to your order or if you need a very small item to get yourself the free shipping.

If Platypus would make a 24 oz. size I think that would be ideal - plenty of fluid and still easy enough to drink out of.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

So far so good. I have had this bottle for a few months now and I use it for everyday going around, hiking and camping. You cannot beat the compressibility or the weight. I hooked it up to my platypus drinking tube and it worked with little to no trouble. I was a little worried about durability but after it survived my friends two year old boxer running around with it in his mouth I am feeling better. The one issue I have with it is that the bottom sides come to a sharp point and that makes it difficult to just toss in a mesh pocket. The price is easy to justify and I may just pick up another one because of that. If you are looking for a good alternative to bulky heavy water bottles I'd say you have found it. I would give it five stars but I would like to own it a bit longer and try putting hot water in it.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

As a Scouter I have been trying to trade out my camping stuff for light gear to camp and hike with. I thought this was ingenious way of holding water and then not having to find space for an empty water container. Roll up small and tuck away anywhere. Wasn't sure it was going to stand on its own when full but it sure does! I have used it at work too and use it with ease.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

This collapsible Platypus is awesome! It's super convenient and easy to use. I purchased it specifically for a trip to Disney World this Spring. It was easy to fill from a water fountain, and when it was empty, I could roll it up and put it in my pocket or backpack until we found another fountain. I haven't tried it backpacking yet, as I use a bladder, and I'm not sure if this fits our water filter. I would double check that the mouth would fit as it is pretty small and you might have to have someone hold it while you pump if it doesn't properly fit the pump. Additionally, it might be hard to get into tight side pockets of stuffed backpacks and would probably prefer my Nalgene to this on the trail. I was, however, so impressed with the convenience of this bottle, that I purchased the collapsible wine bottle as well and retired our old backcountry wine bladder. I have also used it on airplane trips, as it rolls nicely to get through security, then you can easily grab it and fill from a fountain on the other side. I can also see its convenience in car trips. I highly recommend this product for ease of use in filling and convenience of storage and portability

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

I have used these for over a decade, from the Rocky Mountains to deserts to the jungles of Guatemala. I use them backpacking when I need to carry extra water capacity, and light weight and zero bulk are essential. Failure (aka leakage, holes, seam splitting) is not an option where I travel and when I use these. They have never failed. I am amazed at how the seams don't split and how they can take a significant amount of abuse (never deliberate) without getting a hole in them. I have all sorts of water bottles, camelbacks, nalgene equivalents, and these platypus products remain my go-to way of carrying water. I have used all sizes, including the ones with sipper hoses. All are excellent products. My favorite size is 1 liter or 1.5 liter. In some trips, I have needed to take 8 or 9 of these to have sufficient water capacity, and I have never regretted the extra weight.

I am surprised at how the caps don't leak, but they really don't.

Regarding the small opening, and filling them with water filters...Yes, it does take a bit of management and care. To manage the water filter issue, what I eventually did was take the cap from an old platypus hoser (go look at the picture of the hoser, magnify the picture, and look at the cap) and just attached that to the output hose of my filter. Total time for fix was 2 minutes. You screw that on to the platypus bottle, keep it a little loose so air can escape when filling the bottle, and voila, a perfect system to fill the platypus. Just pump away without worry.

One downside is that they don't stand upright as easily as other alternatives, and that can be inconvenient at times (they fall over). You learn quickly to keep the lid on when you are not using them lest you lose the precious water by a bottle fall-over.

Regarding cleaning... yep, the small opening makes it a bit irritating, and you need to puff a bit of air in them to open them up so the air ciculates and they can dry faster.

If you use iodine tablets, it can stain the plastic darkly, but it doesn't impact the functionality.

Take a couple extra caps with you in case you lose one in the lake, or you step on one. In a pinch, I have found that some soda bottle caps will serve adequately, but experiment at home to see if your threads are the same.

I also had a platypus patch kit to patch holes in the units, but I never used it... they never got holes.

I only put water or gatorade in mine. No problem with aftertaste, but I haven't tried other beverages.

Comments about Platypus SoftBottle with Closure Cap - 34 fl. oz.:

i bought this for water storage while backpacking on weeklong treks. it works great and it was a challenge to dry but i learned that just standing it up and letting the leftover water evaporate out. once it was empty you can just roll it up and put it in your pack

im worried that it may be so worn down (the plastic that is) from a 2 week treks usage. thats my only con