Prepping Project: Sawyer Squeeze Pouch Hanger

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

As& is used with permission.

Last week, I said:

I can't think of a good way to end this, so I'll just say that hopefully the next time I post, it will be more helpful than this. Maybe I'll have pictures of some of my prepping projects. 

It took me longer than I wanted, but I finally finished one of those aforementioned projects. In the grand scheme of things it's pretty minor, but I like how it turned out. If nothing else, it proves to me that I can make my ideas work, which is an ego boost I need quite badly these days. 

https://amzn.to/3C35hOt

This particular project was born from the squeeze pouches which come with Sawyer water filters. I like the idea of virtually weightless water storage units that are basically flat until filled, but drinking from them is awkward, especially the larger sizes. I have small hands, and trying to grip a 16 or 32 ounce bag of water is not at all convenient. 

After a lot of thinking, I came up with an idea that used some spare parts I had lying around and a one-hole punch, bought at Target for $1.99 plus tax. 

If you look closely at the bottom of these pouches there are indentations which look an awful lot like places you can punch out. At it turns out, you can't, but they got me thinking about putting a hole there. 

I took the hole punch and -- you'll never see this coming -- punched a hole in the bottom of the pouch! I picked the spot closest to the corner to spread the load more evenly. Then I ran some carabiners through those holes and tied a length of paracord to them. Then I filled the pouch and replaced the cap with a leftover adapter, length of hose, and bite valve. 

The end result is a hands-free, wearable drink pouch that uses gravity, not squeezing, to send water to my mouth. By tying the rope to carabiners instead of directly to the pouch I can switch between pouches as necessary. The extra rope disperses the weight across my neck for a more comfortable fit. It's sort of a poor man's CamelBak. 

My only concern is "Will the pouch hold under its weight, or will it break?" and right now I'm testing that by having a filled pouch hanging in the bathroom. If this 32 oz pouch holds, I'll try it with the 64 oz next, although that might be too heavy to hang from my neck. 

So, what do you think?

UPDATE: After hanging for 8 hours, the pouch looks great and the holes show no sign of deformation. (That said, a little duct tape reinforcement around the holes certainly wouldn't hurt.) I'm calling this test a success and will be moving on the the 64 oz pouch next. 

UPDATE 2: the 64 oz pouch held for 8 hours with only minor deformation of the punched holes. I'm calling this entire project a complete success.