Kitchen Gear: CamelBak Water bottle

Pretty epic right? That was taken somewhere in Southeastern Utah on my Outward Bound trip 10 years ago. on a disposable camera. I spent 30 days in the wilderness that is La Sal Mountain Range, Cayonlands National Park and a rafting trip down the Colorado river. 3 of those days were spent alone on a solo adventure. The other with 10 other teenagers. One of those teens was on a Morehead Scholarship from UNC Chapel Hill and another one was court ordered because he was a troubled teen. We were quite the eclectic group but had to come together to build our own shelters (most nights under the sky was fine), cook our own food and navigate as a group. I am still friends with one of the girls I met there. L and I were of similar size so we were each other's partner. Sharing the loads of our heavy packs and talking about our teenager problems. This is where I was first introduced to CamelBaks. We were not issued them but we wished we were. Instead we drank out of nasty white Nalgenes that surely hundreds of kids before us had used. We treated the water with Iodine so the insides of the bottles were stained brown. I was told you shouldn't treat your water in a CamellBak as it forever ruins the taste. None the less the signature mouthpiece of the CamelBak was very intriguing but soon forgotten as I went back to my suburban ways. 

My sister a few years ago introduced me to CamelBak's water bottle. She had hers with her University logo on it and I thought it was really cool. Soon after I because the proud owner of a 750 ml and a smaller 400 ml Children's water bottle. Living in the dry climite of the West it is very important to stay hydrated all year long but especially in the summer. Green Bean loved her water bottle and we could carry it everywhere instead of a sippy cup. A study done at Pepperdine University (Go Waves!) showed that people drink 24% more water when drinking out of a CamelBak. Easy to carry and makes me drink more water without me realizing it? It doesn't get better than that.

I have 5 water bottles now floating around my house. Turtles is addicted to them and loves to suck on them while riding in her stroller. I have had to replace the bite valves because of children teething on them, but that is expected of normal wear and tear. They can be placed in the dishwasher or hand washed easily. There is a plethora of choices such as insulated, filtered and stainless steal. You can buy them online, outdoor store or even Target. So it will be easy to stay hydrated this summer, just pick up a CamelBak and take it along!

A tradition of dressing up on the last night along the banks of the Colorado River. We met up with another group and all celebrated together.