We went on another hike over the weekend and I finally remembered to bring along a G.I. Canteen Straw Kit that we picked up awhile ago. I’ve always liked the idea of using a Camelbak-type arrangement but have been reluctant to switch away from using a canteen for a few reasons. Mainly because a bladder becomes almost  worthless if something would happen to damage the drinking tube. These straws will fit the 1, 2 and five quart GI canteens and are distributed by Rothco through several dealers. There’s a link to the Amazon page at the end of this post.

It’s a pretty simple and rugged product…… 

consisting of a flexible drinking tube wrapped in heavy duty OD nylon, a canteen cap that fits any size canteen with standard G.I. threads, a replaceable bite valve and an adjustable clip.

The tube is long enough to route through your backpack or reach from your hip to your chest while wearing your LBE gear or a vest.

I have to give this item a big “thumb’s up”.  It gives you an alternative way to carry and access your canteen without losing it’s reliability.  It was kind of nice not having to pull the canteen out of a pouch or twist the cap off every time a drink of water was needed. Reducing those unnecessary extra movements can be pretty critical while deer and varmint hunting. It was also reassuring to know that if the straw ever failed, we could just revert back to using the canteen and twist cap.

We hiked for well over 8 hrs and I used the straw all day without any negative issues at all. I did accidently pop the bite valve off while taking the tube out of the backpack for these pictures but it was found and reinstalled. I would highly recommend purchasing a few extra bite valves. By the way, the canteen fit nicely into the bladder sleeve of the new High Sierra pack we were evaluating.

The cost for this kit runs between 20-30 dollars including shipping. They’re available through any Rothco dealer or thru Amazon.

Justus