28mm VectoPlus Collapsible Water Container

Minimal Gear offered me VectoPlus for an honest review. I used it in three different ways in the last few weeks, and I just got back home. Here’s my honest review.

1) Car travel.
I live in the US, and I HATE paying for water. Most tap water is drinkable. The VectoPlus allows me to fill up & have water on-hand while I travel locally or out of town. I usually have bottles rolling around in my truck and am always unsure how much water I have in each. With VectoPlus I can fill this up & leave it on the backseat. It’s clear so I can see how much water is left. It’s also lightweight (4L is 5.4oz), leakproof & easy to use/refill. I don’t question its durability because I dropped it while full (accidentally) on the asphalt, and it had no damage or leaks. Oh, and the carrying handle is much appreciated. The money I saved NOT buying water while I drove 2000 miles in the last few weeks made it worth it.

3) Backpacking.
I backpacked in the desert for a few days. Carrying water in dry regions is essential when hiking. I prefilled the VectoPlus with potable water & carried it in my backpack. With my VectoPlus full (4L) it weighed over 8lbs. That is quite a bit of weight. The fact that VectoPlus is lightweight, leak-proof and pliable makes it the perfect way to carry water in a pack. I compared my VectoPlus to another popular water bag and the VectoPlus is lighter, cheaper and much easier to pack. The other one is too stiff, and you really have to move things in your pack to make it work. One person in my group used a different brand and it leaked in his backpack.

3) Car camping.
I have a couple of Vectos (smaller bags) and just like those the VectoPlus has a huge water catch opening on one end. I cannot explain to those who haven’t filtered water before what a huge help this is to keep the process streamlined and cleaner. I scooped up dirty water via the wide opening. I connected my Sawyer to the 28mm opening and was able to filter water just as easily as my regular Vecto. I have a couple of Gear Ties from CNOC that I used on the ends of the VectoPlus to hang the water bag upside down to filter into a bottle.

I’d like to suggest to Minimal Gear some add-on attachments ideas: 1) a custom hanging cord/hook for those looking to use something sturdier to hang their bag. I only have 4L bag (8lbs). The bigger bags will need more heft to hold them up. Also, consider a way to hang the bag in a car (like off the passenger handles) for car camping and/or travel; 2) a water dispenser attachment (like the one on coolers with the button). This would make it easier to pour water into a bottle when traveling. 3) An attachment with different flow options (drip, stream, flow, etc.) for dry & low water backpacking areas to conserve water. 4) Lastly, some guy on YouTube created a Quick Connect for his water bag & his filter. That would be awesome to have that made professionally.

I really believe this bag is such a great idea and will really help hikers on trails like the PCT where it’s dry. It’s my go-to vehicle water carrier and I’ll be getting another (bigger?) bag.

Thanks for letting me test this out. I’m impressed again by another great CNOC product.

Join the Cnoc Outdoors newsletter! All the recipients were given the opportunity to be part of the VectoPlus test group. I am happy for the opportunity and even more impressed by the integrity of Cnoc Outdoors to ask all testers to be fully transparent about receiving the gear in exchange for an honest review.

I own 8 Vecto products plus several other accessories from Cnoc. I love that their gear is ultralight, durable, and versatile. The VectoPlus is no exception. I am a weekend warrior backpacker in the Pacific Northwest. I would choose to bring a VectoPlus on some solo trips where I am going to be camping away from water sources. When backpacking in a group of 3 or more people, I am going to bring this 8 Liter on almost every trip! On my last trip where I was filtering water for 5 people, including myself, I brought 2 - 3L VectoXs and 4 - 2L VectoXs. In the future, I can leave most of those bladders at home and just bring the VectoPlus! I'd love to see a version with the 42mm threads because my filter of choice is the Katadyn BeFree. As pictured, I like setting the system up as a gravity feed. In my case I would buy 1 more 8L bladder with 42mm threads and set up a gravity feed system between the two 8L VectoPluses.

I tested the VectoPlus as a "clean" reservoir on one trip and as a "dirty" reservoir on the other. For clean water, it's easier to use than the standard Vectos because of the convenient handle! For unfiltered water, the wide opening makes it easy to collect from a fast moving stream. The wider body and larger capacity do force you to scoop several times before filling, especially with minimally flowing water sources. I paired it with the platypus quickdraw, and the filtering process was fast and seamless. I purchased a Sea to Summit Watercell 10L in the past to up my storage capacity on some trips and found that I never bring it into the backcountry because it's not compatible with any of my filters. Had the VectoPlus existed at the time, I would have chosen it over the water cell! It's lighter, easier to use, and appears to me to be more durable.

My final note on Cnoc products in general. In the backcountry, I have never had significant gear failures with their products. However, if you use their Vecto or VectoX products enough, you may experience pinhole leaks that are easy to fix with a TEAR-AID Repair Patch, which Minimal Gear sells on their website for $0.50 (your sleeping pad repair kit might even come with one - mine did!). I also believe that gear that you are able to repair in the field is definitely worth a spot in your kit.

Having the larger capacity also makes it a good choice to bring on car camping trips! The VectoPlus is going to come with me on many adventures!

This bag is a tank! My wife and I have 8 children and gone are the days of making multiple runs to a water source as kids wait to fill up their cups! We have the 8L and are very pleased with how it handles despite its size. Empty, the Vecto Plus weighs 7oz and packs nicely away. We have used collapsible buckets and multiple bags through the years and the Vecto Plus surpasses them all. The handle is a great addition and supports the weight of the 8L well. The extra thick TPU feels robust, and we do not feel like there will be any leaking problems. The first time we went to hang it up we were holding it from the slider, and the weight of the bag made the slider slide off. Not a big issue, we know now that due to its size we cannot hold from the slider but utilize the grommets instead. I am not sure that over time the hanging loop on the slide will withstand the weight. We added 3/4" nylon straps to hang the Vecto Plus. With a slide release buckle, we are now also able to hang from larger branches to create more hanging options. We filtered into cups and water bottles. An added plus was that the weight of the water created some nice pressure for a gravity feed through our sawyer filter!
We also do bikepacking. This will be a game changer in being able to carry more water for longer distances. The durability of this bag and the grommets will make it easy to lash to panniers. There are also slots on the carry handle to run some 1" straps through to potentially make a shoulder strap if you had to carry it long distances.
The only concern that we have is how long the grommets will hold up. At face value they seem to be the exceptional quality that we have come to expect from CNOC.
We received this in exchange for a review. We are very impressed by this bag and will be buying another for our big group. This bag is the answer to so many issues for larger parties! Thank you CNOC for another great product!

I received the Vecto Plus in exchange for a review.
TL,DR - I like the 4 Liter Vecto Plus and will happily continue to use it.

I received the 4 Liter Vecto PLus to review. I have been using CNOC water storage/filtration bags since the 2 Liter came out. I currently use the 3 Liter bag and my clean water carrying capacity is 4 Liters - 2, 1.5 Liter and a 1 Liter bottle. I don't carry 4 liters routinely, but that capacity does meet my needs for extended 20 mile carries and dry camping. I like that with the bag I can filter enough water to fill all my bottles in one trip. I find that the handle makes it much easier to collect water when the source is off trail and/or downhill. I leave my pack and bottles at the trail and just take the Vecto Plus bag. The lash points are a nice addition and now I have the ability to tie cord at the upper points for a more secure gravity filtration system. The weight and size of the bag are similar to the 3 Liter and I haven't found it to be a problem. In sum, the Vecto Plus meets my needs. I will be using it for a long time. I tried to find a negative and the only one is the (temporary) increased weight with a full bag.

Disclosure - This product was donated for the purpose of an honest review.
I have been using the 2 liter Vecto for several years as a long distance hiker and swear by it. I was intrigued by when I heard about the VectoPlus specifically for when I am camping/backpacking as a Scout Leader. We tested it recently at camping trip on the shores of Lake Michigan where the potable water had been shut off for the season. We used the VecoPlus to collect water from a nearby stream and then set it up as a gravity filter with a Sawyer.
This feels very similar to the Vecto - the materials feel the same and it employs the same slide and tethered cap. The VectoPlus though has three significant improvements: tie outs to support the additional weight when hung as a gravity filter or strapped to a pack, a carry handle, and internal stays to help it keep its shape when full. The tie out points feel sturdy and have a large enough hole to pass decent sized rope through. The handle, honestly, is a game changer based on it's placement. Anytime you are using a bag to collect from a natural water source one of the tricky parts is keeping the bag from collapsing. This handle is not just useful for carrying the full bag, but also helps you to support the bag and keep it open while filling. With this handle we were able to collect nearly a full bag of water even though the creek was only a few inches deep. The handle is ok for carrying short-ish distances, but as you would imagine with 8L of water it gets pretty heavy to go longer distances. You would probably want to put it in or strap it to a backpack to carry it in those situations.
For this trip, we filtered into a pot. I plan to purchase a second VectoPlus for collection. Though the VectoPlus currently only comes with one color slide and cap, they offer replacement parts in multiple colors so that you can have one color for clean/potable water and one for unfiltered water. That would also allow us to use the clean water bag when we have a potable water source that is a good distance from the campsite - as is frequently the case in group campsites. It would be great if they added that as an option, or even as a matched pair printed with "Clean" and "Dirty" since I have to imagine lots of folks are going to use it in a gravity set up.
Overall I was really impressed with the VectoPlus. My original Vecto has over a thousand trail miles on it and is still going strong. I feel confident the VectoPlus will last just as long, even in the hands of a bunch of rowdy Scouts!