Complete guide to water on DofE: how much do you need to bring and what’s the best way to bring it?
Staying hydrated on DofE is important to keep on top of. On my Gold expedition, a teammate became dehydrated and we didn’t spot it quickly, which was our mistake. Fortunately it didn’t turn into heat stroke, but our assessors were, unsurprisingly, not pleased.
In this blog post I’ll go through the ins and outs of everything you need to know about water for DofE. How much water do you need to bring? Should you bring a bladder or bring bottles? How can you tell when someone is dehydrated?
How much water do you need to drink each day?
As a rule of thumb, you should be drinking 2L of water per day. If you’re hiking somewhere hotter (or if you anticipate unseasonably hot weather in the UK), you may need more.
Take the ‘you may need more’ very seriously. On one day during my Gold expedition (in Snowdonia, Wales) most of my team, including me, set off with only 2L of water during a heat wave. It was not enough. Frustratingly, we had to find a source of running water and purify it mid-way through the day. Not only does this take you off route and increase the amount of walking you have to do, but it increases your risk of dehydration.
Keeping hydrated on a winter expedition poses a different but equally relevant challenge. When it’s cold you sweat much less, which means you feel much less thirsty. The danger of this is that you don’t stop to drink frequently enough, and could become dehydrated much more easily, without even realising. To stay on top of this, simply make sure you drink 2L progressively over the course of the day.
Ultimately, in the summer it’s about having enough water to drink, and in the winter it’s about ensuring you drink enough water.
How much water should you bring to the start of the expedition?
Generally, your instructors will let you know how much water you're expected to bring, as there is a fair amount of variation. It will depend on whether you’re purifying more water on the expedition (usually only Gold), or need to bring enough for the whole trip.
In my case, I had to bring 4L of water for my Bronze expeditions and 6L for my Silver expedition - a simple 2L per day. But for my Gold expedition, I brought only 2L, because we purified our water for the next day each evening.
Here’s a cool infographic I made to summarise how much water you need to bring for to the start of your expedition:
Bladder vs bottles — which is better?
Firstly, what is a bladder? A bladder (sometimes known as a hydration pack) is a reservoir of water stored in a rucksack, with a ‘hose’ coming off of it, allowing you to drink completely hands-free.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, but I think that using a bladder allows you to keep hydrated much more effectively as it naturally encourages you to drink slowly and progressively throughout the day, compared to bottles, which lends itself to drinking water in larger quantities less frequently.
As well as this, bladders allow you to drink whilst walking, which makes it much easier to stay hydrated, particularly in colder weather where it can be hard to remember to drink often.
Advantages to using a bladder / disadvantages to using water bottles:
Bladders allow you to drink whilst walking much more easily than with water bottles
Bladders encourage you to drink progressively throughout the day
Bladders tend to occupy less space in rucksacks compared to water bottles
Heavy water bottles may be less comfortable in your rucksack, as there is a chance they’ll dig into your hip or back
Disadvantages to using a bladder / advantages to using water bottles:
Bladders are more expensive than water bottles if you don't already own one
It can be easier to drink through all your water without realising with a bladder than with a water bottle
Some rucksacks (although this is quite rare with hiking packs) may not have the necessary opening to feed the ‘hose’ through, which is necessary for using a bladder
What did I use?
For my Bronze expedition I brought my water in 1L bottles, and then switched to using a bladder for Silver and Gold.
When I did Bronze I didn’t fully understand the benefit of using a bladder, and as I had to bring 4L anyway (which is more than the capacity of a bladder) it felt like a waste of money. All things considered, I think that was the right judgement. On Bronze you walk less than Silver or Gold, and a bladder - although definitely preferable - doesn’t feel necessary.
For my Silver expedition I decided it was time to upgrade. As I had to bring 6L in total, I took 2L in the bladder, and two 2L bottles. Each evening I filled the bladder up with one of the bottles. (Note that we did not carry the water bottles for the following days - this was transported for us by the expedition providers.)
Personally, I think I picked a good time to upgrade, as having a bladder on Silver felt like it made a big difference. For Gold I would describe a bladder as necessary - you won’t have much contact with your assessors, so keeping yourself hydrated becomes even more important.
If you want a bladder, which should you get?
If you decide to go for a bladder, I would recommend using Camelbak. They're a reputable brand in the hiking world and you can rely on their gear to last.
I bought a 2L bladder, but retrospectively I should have got this equivalent 3L version. If the weather is very hot, you may want to bring more than 2L. If you don't, it's no inconvenience to have a two-thirds full bladder.
Although most hiking rucksacks do, it's also worth checking that your pack can accommodate a bladder. I used this Vango rucksack on all my expeditions and loved it (check out my post on how to pack a rucksack for more details).
How can you tell when someone is dehydrated?
Being able to spot when a teammate is dehydrated is a brilliant skill to have, and can have a big impact on not just your teammates’ expedition but of the whole group’s. If one member of the group becomes dehydrated and stops talking or starts to feel faint, it can take a toll on group morale - speaking from experience. It’s also vital that dehydration is spotted before it turns into heat stroke.
Common signs of dehydration that you can spot in someone else are:
Becomes quiet / stops talking
Irritability
Tiredness
Dizziness
Notable lack of sweat
Additional signs of dehydration that you can spot in yourself:
Dark-coloured urine
Swollen tongue
Dry mouth, lips and eyes