Easy water bottle pack mod

I've long coveted Thomas's ULA Equipment Circuit pack, not least for the easy way he can access his water bottles. He can just reach over in front of his chest and pick a bottle from the hoops of elastic there, and take a swig of water before easily returning the bottle in place. I often get dehydrated when I'm walking because I can't just reach around my GoLite Jam (30, 50 or 70 ;) ) to get to or replace a bottle into the side pocket, and I'm not a great fan of using hydration tubes from a water bladder in my pack, so I wanted to replicate the system on his pack.

Thomas's ULA Circuit with water bottle loops

The items I used for this project (to hold one water bottle) were:

• Two pieces of shock cord, one of 23 cm and the other of 27 cm, to account for the circumference of the bottle I usually use (a very old Tango bottle I used on the West Highland Way in 2010). The shock cord on Thomas's pack was quite thick. The cord I used wasn't quite as thick but I needed to make sure it was thick enough that it wasn't too elastic to release the bottle while on the move.
• Two cord locks of sufficient size to be able to pass both ends of the shock cord through the hole at the same time.
• A needle and thread.
• A thicker needle.

We have a multitude of shock cord and cord locks of different sizes, so obtaining the things I needed to make the hoops was easy. If you don't have pieces like this around then Extrem Textil in Germany is a really useful website to visit – look at the Accessories page.

Items needed: shock cord, cord locks, thread, needles

I also needed to decide exactly where on my pack's shoulder straps that I'd mount the cords. From the size of the bottle I usual use (600ml) and the limitations of readily available places to mount the attachments, I chose to use the underside of the plastic that connects the chest strap to the shoulder strap.

Using the chest strap attachment point to thread the top shock cord through. After trying it out with the bottle I slid the cord around to underneath the strap.

On the lower mount I used the webbing loop that attaches to the plastic ladderlock which connects the shoulder strap to the adjustment strap:

Using the shoulder strap adjustment point to thread the shock cord through. The cord passed through the webbing loop.

To make each loop was quite simple.

1. Cut the shock cord to size (23cm for the top of the bottle; 27cm for the bottom, or whichever measurements suit your bottle), and use a flame to seal the ends of the cord.
2. Thread one end of the shock cord through the attachment point and bring each end along side. At this point, because I used comparatively thick cord compared to the cord locks, I had to whip the ends of the shock cords together (with the smaller needle and thread) in order to be able to thread both ends of the shock cord through the hole of the cord lock at the same time. I used the larger needle to "encourage" the ends through.
3. Tie a knot at the end of the shock cord to provide a stop for the cord lock, in case the cord lock is pulled too far.

Just repeat these steps for the second set of shock cord and cord lock.

With the attachments mounted and finished off I could mount the bottle to my shoulder strap using these two hoops of cord.

The trusty Tango bottle mounted on my shoulder strap using the two cord attachments, ULA style.

And here's me with the pack on and the water bottle attached:

Demo!

I've yet to see if it works as well as Thomas's system. I doubt they're as secure as shoulder strap mounted pockets, and won't hold the bottle in place if I were on a trampoline, but I'm hoping this will help me maintain a good level of hydration for my next walk.

If you have any recommendations or improvements you've found to work in practice then please let me know in the comments!