Australian Hiker

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Platypus Platy 2.0L Soft Water Bottle Review

I’ve been using the Platypus Platy 2.0L Soft Water Bottle for around 6 years now and it lives in my pack on all my long distance hikes. This 40 gram soft water bottle made of a durable nylon polyethylene film is one of those products you don’t need until you do. From a hiking perspective, there are really two types of hikes, those where you have guaranteed water and those you don’t. Or at the very least, you aren’t sure there will be water. While I have been using a hydration bladder for many years which has allowed the to carry 2-3 lites of water on my longer hikes, sometimes that’s just not enough and I need to top up as I go or to refill at the next campsite.

Then there are times when there are stretches of trail where there just isn’t any opportunity to find water. I’ll use an example here of hiking on the Larapinta Trail in Australia’s Northern Territory. We decided to camp at the top of Brinkley Bluff, which is a ‘must do’ if you are hiking this trail but there is absolutely no water at the top of the hill. This means is you need to top-up on water at the campsite before and have enough to do you for the trip there and then into the next day which is water for around a full one day period for drinking, cooking and if you are so inclined bathing. The temperatures on the Larapinta Trail can vary quite dramatically from sub zero at night time to 30+ degree Celcius during the day so water consumption can be reasonably high. What this means is you will need the ability to carry extra water with you. On other hikes in colder parts of Australia I have experienced the same challenge.

The Platypus Platy 2.0L Soft Water Bottle is a great option for carrying spare water. It rolls down to a very small size when not in use and is flexible enough to stuff just about anywhere in your pack. The unit shown below in the rolled up image has been in active use for over 6 years and is still in really good condition. Typically it starts out in a rolled up state and I drag it out and use it when required. Depending on my filter of choice I will whether use it to store clean drinking water or I will use it to store unfiltered water for cleaning later on. The main thing is to not mix filtered and unfiltered water during your hike.

A big bonus with soft water bottles is that they can fit into a pack much easier than something rigid. I have on occasion put this bottle into the stretch pocket on the side of the pack but in all honesty you are better to make sure its in a central position also it doesn’t throw off your balance.

The one negative of the water container is that the spout. While you can drink from it directly, its reasonably small so filling it up requires you to almost drag the bottle underwater to get traction. The reason the water spout is this size is be cause it’s designed to work with the Platypus Gravity Works 2.0L Water Filter.

As mentioned, I have been using this soft water bottle for many years and when it eventually dies I am more than confident I will replace it with the same version as it accompanies me on every multi-day hike that I do.

We Like

• Lightweight at 40 grams and almost unbreakable water carrying system for the trail
• Rolls down to almost nothing when not in use
• 2 Litre capacity
• Cane be used in conjunction with the Platypus Gravity Works 2.0L Water Filter

We Don't Like

• The spout is narrow which is great for drinking but can be a bit fiddly when trying to fill up

Best Uses

• A lightweight flexible water bladder for when you need to carry extra water

Buy One

You can purchase the Platypus Platy 2.0L from or from Wild Earth or from Wildfire Sports

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Investment

AUD $34.99 RRP

Platypus Platy 2.0L Bottle

A 6 year old Platypus Platy 2.0L Bottle rolled up when not in use compared to an iPhone 12 mini

 

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased by Australian Hiker from a retail store

Other versions

Platypus also make a 1 Litre version of this bottle

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