Backpacking and Hiking Water Calculator

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Our favorite portable water bottle on Amazon

When hiking or backpacking, it's essential to stay hydrated. Failure to drink enough water can lead to many problems and, in extreme cases, death.

But it can be challenging to know how much water you need to have on hand when trekking. Thus we created this calculator based on a formula from Our Infinite Earth.

Depending upon the water sources on your trail, you might not have to bring all of the water with you on your pack. Remember to filter any water you source on the trail.

However, remember, not all trails have plentiful water available. Thus you have to carry all of the water with you. And for each liter of water you carry, that's 2 pounds of pack weight.

If you are eating dehydrated food (including instant Ramen noodles), you will need water for cooking too. Even instant noodles can take half-a-liter of water. Wet wipes and hand sanitizer can be used for cleaning up after yourself to reduce the amount of water you need for cleaning.

So we added an extra liter for cooking as well.

Our preferred way to carry water is the Platypus collapsible water bottle.

The Sawyer mini is a popular water filter that will fit on the Platypus or any other water bottle.