Bushwalk Australia

The last time I bought a goon bag for the purpose of re-using the bladder for a water container I ended up buying about 3 before I came across a brand that still had removable taps. As much as I like wine I'm more of a beer and whiskey man and would like to avoid having 6 litres of cheap plonking sloshing around again.
Problem is I cant remember which brand still had the removable tap ??? Any closet alcoholics out there that might know which brands I should be investing in ??

Closet?
I just checked the casks I use for cooking wine and I had no problem with getting the cap off any of them. PM me your address and I'll send over a couple of empties for you. Save you the pain of buying cheap plonk. Not taps tho, the plastic spigot type where you push up the tabbed lip, taps are a bugger to remove and refill

Not sure that I should put myself at risk of being labelled a closet alcoholic...

But just about every 4 - 5 litre box brand I can think of still has a removable tap. My tastes tend to fit in with the specials, so I've tried most brands over the years. There are depths to which I will not stoop (Berri & Sunnyvale are two to avoid). In my opinion, cheap red tends to be much more forgiving than cheap whites. I don't touch the latter.

You just need good fingernails or teeth. It's the up-market 2 litre boxes that have bungs I haven't been able to get off. (Edit: they're probably the taps Moondog mentioned.) Some people use water casks, but they're not as strong.

You need to find friends who drink cardboard. I've collected from lots of people over the years - anytime I spy a box in someone's kitchen, and they're not a bushwalker, I pop my order in. It gets harder as I get older, though. My friends' tastes seem to have 'matured' with their years (and incomes).

Thanks for the replies.
I didn't mean to question anyone's drinking habits. Those with any issues already know who we are
I think the answer maybe in the volume by the sounds of it. It was the 2 litre black and gold vinegar varieties I was trying last time. Maybe it's time I upgraded my palate and investigated some 4 or 5 litre types. I'm sure my mother will be happy to decant any sweet sickly syrup I give her !

That's a very kind offer Moondog. Thank you, but I will be heading to Hobart this weekend and off into the bush at the first opportunity. So there will probably be a bit of Lambruscco to guzzle on my return !!

The 10l ones are even better - they make a wonderful pillow too.

Not a 3lt Yalumba, it has the red button tap. Maybe can be removed, haven't tried.

The STS ones are probably heavier duty, still a bugger to get the cap off!

On a side topic, for those actually wanting to take wine on the trail, there is a specialist Platypus for the purpose:
https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/platyp ... M131-07071

I haven't tried one and am more of a hip flask on trail girl.

For water storage, I've currently got Hydrapak Seeker 2L bottles, which pack down really small, and attach conveniently to a Ketadyn Be Free filter. (The filter screws on and fits perfectly)

Hydrapak 2L Seeker bottles:
https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/hydrap ... /HYD-A812M

Ketadyn Be Free filter:
https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/katady ... e/KAT00021

Ketadyn Be Free filter with 0.6 L bottle:
https://www.wildearth.com.au/buy/katady ... r/KAT00020

Emma an even better [ i:e Cheaper] solution is to clean and refill one of those little squeezy baby food containers. I do this sometimes with my "emergency OP Bundy"

The 4 litre casks usually have the removable valves - I usually buy the De Bortoli's reds for camping trips - bottles at home. I only use the wine cask bladders when I expect to have to carry extra water - I find them a bit unwieldy for regular use.
I normally have a 2 litre collapsible (36g) like the Platypus plus a 1 litre collapsible or a 1.5 litre mineral water bottle. I find 3 litres is just right for an overnight camp usually with half to one litre remaining to start the next day's walk after breakfast. Purification courtesy of Steripen Freedom (80g) using my cooking pot as the container. I only treat my drinking water, not that used for cooking. To minimise risk of contamination the smaller bottle always holds my treated drinking water while the 2l bottle contains untreated water. If I need to refill then I treat water from the 2 litre and transfer to the smaller one.

Moondog55 wrote:Emma an even better [ i:e Cheaper] solution is to clean and refill one of those little squeezy baby food containers. I do this sometimes with my "emergency OP Bundy"

I put whisky in one of those and it imparted a nasty plastic taste. After that experience I wouldn't trust one with any alcoholic beverage.

Orion wrote:

Moondog55 wrote:Emma an even better [ i:e Cheaper] solution is to clean and refill one of those little squeezy baby food containers. I do this sometimes with my "emergency OP Bundy"

I put whisky in one of those and it imparted a nasty plastic taste. After that experience I wouldn't trust one with any alcoholic beverage.

MacWilliams Vacsac is a white or a red wine packaged in a 250ml version of those squeeze tubes and I can't detect a taint. I suspect it depends on the lining used. I have also packaged metho in the baby yogurt ones and while I didn't drink it , it still burnt without strange smells or soot.

Mark F wrote:

Orion wrote:

Moondog55 wrote:Emma an even better [ i:e Cheaper] solution is to clean and refill one of those little squeezy baby food containers. I do this sometimes with my "emergency OP Bundy"

I put whisky in one of those and it imparted a nasty plastic taste. After that experience I wouldn't trust one with any alcoholic beverage.

MacWilliams Vacsac is a white or a red wine packaged in a 250ml version of those squeeze tubes and I can't detect a taint. I suspect it depends on the lining used. I have also packaged metho in the baby yogurt ones and while I didn't drink it , it still burnt without strange smells or soot.

So you can buy wine specifically packaged for babies in Australia??

The problem with wine bladders is that they deteriorate fairly quickly. Easily punctured, I have found they start leaking after just a few uses. I went looking for an alternative when one 'popped' on day 1 of a 4 day trip.

A better solution, imo, is a purpose-made 5L bag for < $3 delivered.

Search for "colapsible water container ebay" and you'll find several suppliers. It's a blue bag with a white plastic screw top and carry handle - weighs 70g

Orion wrote:So you can buy wine specifically packaged for babies in Australia??

We like to start them young.

Mark F wrote:

Orion wrote:So you can buy wine specifically packaged for babies in Australia??

We like to start them young.

Un-Australian.
It should be beer.

north-north-west wrote:It should be beer.

Maybe so. But while the beer in Australia is often disappointing the wine can be quite good. And the whisky is world class.


Here in the U.S. we also start them out at an early age:

Orion wrote:Maybe so. But while the beer in Australia is often disappointing

That is a dangerous comment... *exercising much self-restraint*

Although I must agree that there are plenty 'bogan' beer varieties that are pretty poor... But there's heaps of excellent Aussie ones too...

Huntsman247 wrote:

Orion wrote:Maybe so. But while the beer in Australia is often disappointing

That is a dangerous comment... *exercising much self-restraint*

Although I must agree that there are plenty 'bogan' beer varieties that are pretty poor... But there's heaps of excellent Aussie ones too...

They all remind me of vomit. Strong olfactory memories of going shopping each week with Mum, before I went to school. Had to walk past the stale beer and vomit outside the pub every week. I like wine.

Huntsman247 wrote:

Orion wrote:Maybe so. But while the beer in Australia is often disappointing

That is a dangerous comment... *exercising much self-restraint*

Not dangerous if you've tasted them all, and it's an informed opinion.
Some people must really get around this wee country.

Tortoise wrote:They all remind me of vomit.

To me, beer smells like rotting sawdust. Various overtones, but that's the base.
Pretty well all alcohol smells like some form of decomposing vegetable matter, in fact. Which goes a long way to explain why I don't drink.

"rotting sawdust. Various overtones, but that's the base.
some form of decomposing vegetable matter"
mmmm beer.

north-north-west wrote:Pretty well all alcohol smells like some form of decomposing vegetable matter, in fact. Which goes a long way to explain why I don't drink.

Umm Vodka?

--------
As a teething infant I, apparently, was feed 1/2 teaspoon of beer.

I like the bogan beers, if for some reason I have to go to some hipster den I'll go for the black beer because it is least likely to taste like a glass of bubbly fruit water.

Still somewhat OT, I have two Hydrapak collapsible drink bottles and they are horrible, I can not get rid of the plastic taste. Have tried bi carb multiple times and it sorta works for one use but then it's back to plastic water. I was looking at the Platypus water tank but it has some pretty bad reviews, however I did notice their collapsible bottles can fit a filter so I might try one of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w1WR-HaW1g

I don't mean to disparage the moral character of the Australian people. It's only been in the last several decades that the selection of good beer has improved markedly in the U.S. Early on in that movement there were a number of craft beers that were really quite bad. Now there are so many good ones that it's overwhelming. There are thousands of beers here. My impression, based on fairly limited sampling, is that Australia is on the same trajectory but not quite at the same stage yet.

We have bogan beers here in the U.S. too. One type popular around here among ethnic working class is the "chelada". I believe they are a mixture of mass produced, tasteless light beer and spiced tomato juice. They come in liter sized cans. I've never tried one. Just the thought makes me a bit nauseated.


As for the water containers, what's wrong with commercially made ones like the Platypus? Is it cost? Weight?

You can buy them from sea to summit,

https://www.snowys.com.au/pack-tap-2-litre

I have one (4 ltr) and find it very practical for carry larger water loads. Obviously not the same value as a freebie wine bladder saved from the rubbish bin.

Warin wrote:

north-north-west wrote:Pretty well all alcohol smells like some form of decomposing vegetable matter, in fact. Which goes a long way to explain why I don't drink.

Umm Vodka?

Yes, even vodka. Even the good stuff, like Zubrowka. Some of us are highly sensitised to certain smells, sometimes including those that the majority of people insist don't exist.

What's wrong with the equivalent water bladders you get from Wollies? No after taste or smell, I've got a 5l one and it works fine.

scroggin wrote:What's wrong with the equivalent water bladders you get from Wollies? No after taste or smell, I've got a 5l one and it works fine.

Nothing at all except that wine containers come with free wine for the cost of the bladder

Moondog55 wrote:

scroggin wrote:What's wrong with the equivalent water bladders you get from Wollies? No after taste or smell, I've got a 5l one and it works fine.

Nothing at all except that wine containers come with free wine for the cost of the bladder

True, even though I'm not a drinker. I hate buying the water bladders as I don't like the idea of buying water and it's more expensive than milk.

For the record:

• I can confirm that Renmano 2L Tawny has a removable tap
• I've been advised that
• Banrock Station 2L varieties have removable taps
• Hardys 3L varieties have removable taps
• Stanley 4L varieties have removable taps (and I believe most of the other 4L varieties are the same)
• most of the other 2L varieties (eg Yalumba, De Bortoli, Winesmiths) have the push-button taps that are difficult/impossible to remove

Happy (water ) drinking...