Bladder or bottles for riding off-road?

I prefer having my camelbak on my back when I mountain bike. Reason for it is it holds more water, the package can carry more gear and I like having the extra mass near my center as it is easier to control and shift the weight with my body. On the bike it gets tossed around a little more making control a little harder.

In general I'd say bladders are superior.

Bladder.. and on occasion it acks as a nice cushion for when you fall on your back!

I've always used bottles… a plastic and a metal one… personal preference, I prefer the lower centre of gravity and counter balance they provide, and easy to top up in streams too.

I also prefer their versatility over bladders on multi-day treks into the hills. You can use them to measure ingredients, the metal one is rated to allow you to boil water, saves carrying excess stuff in the rucksack (more weight, loss of efficiency, increased fatigue) and you don't have to worry about shouldering either.

Like I said though, personal preference.

I use bottles. Since I have an hardtail I can have two, and I prefer to have less on my back (which means cooler temperature), at the price of having to swallow a bit of dirt from time to time. Anyways, it's full of minerals

I just got a Camelback, but it has an odd taste to it. I'm hoping this goes away.