Bug Out Bag- water storage.

[Justin]

Ok, so in light of recent events, I've finally decided to start putting together a Bug Out Bag.  I've got a list of stuff that I've been acquiring and putting into a surplus miltree backpack.

Now, this is the BOB that I plan to store in my car, which means I'll have to rotate the perishables every 3-6 months.  The one thing that really kind of has me stymied is water storage.  I've looked at the stuff that comes in the boxes and pouches, but having talked to a couple of people, get the impression that they don't offer any advantage above and beyond bottled water that one can buy in the grocery store.

Since I live in Colorado, I expect temperature fluctuations to cause the water to freeze and thaw several times during the course of the winter.  Now, I've done a bit of experimenting by taking a bottle, freezing it and allowing it to thaw several times, and the seal didn't break.  However, Murphy tends to pop in for a visit at the worst times, and I'd like to have something that I could enclose these water bottles in that would keep them from leaking all over the other stuff in the bag in the event that one of the bottles ruptured.

Originally I was thinking some sort of ziploc bag, but the standard ones seem to leak.  I haven't tested any of the more heavy-duty ones like the freezer bags, though.

Any suggestions?

[Lee]

I would just get a purifier.  You can find water.

[Justin]

Lee-

Actually, my plan is to eventually pick up a purifier, but that'll be for the kit that I keep at home.  Since this one's for the car, I'm trying to keep the cost reasonable with the assumption that it should be able to sustain me for at least 48 hours, which should offer enough time to get home and seriously geared up.

[Stand_watie]

Buy a quart bottle of clorox for a buck.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

[Antibubba]

Somewhere online you can find the dehydrated stuff.  It's a lot lighter and takes up less space.  just add water and it's ready to go.  

[Preacherman]

Justin, I'd go for the smaller drinking-size bottles of water for in-car use.  These are made of heavier plastic than the gallon jugs, and have screw-on caps that are rather more secure than the snap-on caps of bigger bottles.  They can also be dropped into pockets, if you have to walk away from your car and carry some water with you.

As to securing them in something waterproof, you could use 1-gallon Ziploc bags, or simply buy a small Rubbermaid container at Wal-Mart and put the bottles in that.  It would certainly contain any spills.

[stevelyn]

Somewhere online you can find the dehydrated stuff.  It's a lot lighter and takes up less space.  just add water and it's ready to go.  

:/

[Guest]

Years ago an outfit sold Cans of "Dehydrated Water", label was so marked. This was something I would give better customers, one of those fun things one does. Set it on a shelf where can be viewed and folks start scratching heads, laughing...converstation piece.

Justin-

The 2 litre bottles sodas come in seen to hold up really well for storing water. I suppose being made to hold pressure sodas have has something to do with it. I keep these filled around the home/office. Not exposed to sunlight (UV) and in controlled temp.  One could- if time allowed -toss these into vehicle.

Purifier is the way to go of course.

Chlorine, works, as does iodine. I forget the name of the tablets that work well too.

With all the Water Jugs being bought up, I know folks storing water in 2 Litre bottles. Home, office, locations they  plan on going to...etc.  Seems some never thought of getting caught at office and having to either stay , or stay a bit until conditions allowed them to travel.

Some are even using 'rain barrels', can boil that if need, or if need use to flush toliet.

[280plus]

I forget the name of the tablets that work well too.

"Halazone" IIRC. One thing about all this iodine, clorox, halazone  etc. I understand you shouldn't really drink water treated like this for more than a few days because eventually it will kill off the natural bacteria present in your digestive system and for some reason this is bad. Just what we were told when using halazone tabs years ago. I have no ready proof that this is true.

[rwc]

Platypus, Nalgene, and MSR all make light wt. and very tough water bags.
Store the bag and some tablets and you should be able to fill up on the go.

[Telperion]

I have a lot of water stored in Aqua blox, which are basically juice boxes with purified water.  They claim a 5 year shelf life.  Since they rectangular boxes, they also store and stack a lot easier than bottles.  The boxes seem like they could handle minor expansion from freezing; I'm going to toss on in the freezer for an experiment.

[grampster]

Personaly I want to die in the first wave.  Solves all the storage problems, quandary as to what to hoard, location of hoard, freezing, thawing, heated arguments regarding 9MM Vs .45 etc etc. to say nothing about the abject misery of being a 21st century man hurled back into the stone age.

One lawn chair on the front lawn, watch the flash, hang on for particle acceleration.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Standard bottled water can withstand a little bit of freezing and thawing without leaking.  Smaller bottles (1 liter or so) are sturdier than the big bottles (1 gal and up).  Make sure you rotate it a few times a year.

If you need more durability, lexan Nalgene bottles are literally indestructable.  Boil proof, freeze proof, probably even bullet proof.  Just make sure the water is sterilized before you put it away, otherwise stuff may start to grow in the bottles before you need it.  (Fill the bottle with boiling water, then immediately drop the closed and sealed bottle into a pot of boiling water for a minute or two - it'll taste "flat" but it's perfetly healthy)

The only advantage to the pouches and boxes of "survival" water is that they're perfectly sterilized, and therefore won't go funky after ten years of storage.  You can accomplish the same thing with the Nalgenes, with the advantage of a sturdier container.



Make sure you also have a means to purify new water, too.  Katadyn MicroPUR tablets are best for short term use.  A small pot and a book of matches for boiling are best for long term use.

[Bookskin]

I've heard good things about the ceramic "drinking straw" style filters, but I've not used one. My personal inclination is to drop a case of liter bottles in the trunk and forget about it. It's cheap, it's there. What more could you ask? I've not seen any fail in extreme heat or freezing weather, it that helps. If you drink a lot of soda, by all means save the bottles for water storage.

[Justin]

Yeah, that's my preference too.  Just pick up a case of bottled water at WalMart or wherever, and rotate six 20 oz bottles through every few months.   Since this is the kit I'll be keeping in my car, I'm trying to keep the cost of the perishable stuff (food, water, batteries) to a minimum.

Also, it has to be able to roll around in the trunk without sustaining any damage.  That's why I'd prefer to be able to "double bag" as it were.

Extra insurance against murphy and all that.

[Ben]

Thanks for the thread. It reminded me to check my own water supply in my bag, which was actually a bit old, as were a couple of cans of food  

I just use the bottles of water I buy by the case from Costco, and (when I remember!) rotate them. I write the date they went in on them with a magic marker. Personally, if I had found myself in a situation in which I grabbed the bag and found I had water I thought was of questionable age, I wouldn't worry too much. I have a pot and stove in my bag, so worst case I just boil it. Rotating is definitely better though....