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Having carried large packs most of my adult life, I am less worried about weight. I have 6 liters of water and a sawyer filter on the hydration bladder and a bag / filter in my pack.
BOB & water supply question ...
Okay, for those with the "72-hour BOB," my question concerns what you're doing for water while trying to keep the cumulative weight of the bag down.
Are you (1) packing those small emergency water packets, or (2) no water packets, but instead going with some type of emergency filtration device, like Nitro-Pak's Life Straw or Sawyer's Mini-Water Filter, or (3) some combo of the packets & a filter?
Thanks.
Are you (1) packing those small emergency water packets, or (2) no water packets, but instead going with some type of emergency filtration device, like Nitro-Pak's Life Straw or Sawyer's Mini-Water Filter, or (3) some combo of the packets & a filter?
Thanks.
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Normally hydration bladders, Katadyn filter, Katadyn tablets & a prefilter of some type.
QD attachments for backfilling the bladders.
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1,771 Posts
regular bladder in the backpack of 2 liters, but also carry 2 life-straws
Your answer will vary because you have different water resources available to you as you bug out.
You figure out how much water you will consume in that 72 hours and how you will store and/or access the supply of water. You add a bit to the amount if you anticipate wastage or damage to the container.
You have to decide on what approach(es) you will follow in dealing with contaminated water.
Example. If you want to rely upon throwing pills into a canteen, you had better make sure that you actually have the available time to let the pills work. If you adopt a bladder approach (although you are careful and never make mistakes), you should also have an inline filter (for the time when your idiot kid fills up the bladder with contaminated water).
Most people in the world rely upon boiling water with a weak tea mixture to demonstrate that it is decontaminated. I remember frequenting tea houses in Afghanistan in an earlier life.
Personally, I made available to myself the water, matches, free standing small filters, in line filters, and light purification device. a life straw, hydration pack, chemical treatments with my 72 hour bag. I also keep a couple of 5 gallon empty water/milk bladders in the car.
People keep thinking minimalistic (I survived with two match heads) or Rambo movies and such. Give yourself a 5 gallon water bladder and you can go to ground while other people are freaking out and trying to become Rambo. They weigh next to nothing. If you can move a couple hundred yards off the stream in your bug out scenario, you are one heck of a lot better off than the guy who has to deal with other people who have to stick with the water course.
You figure out how much water you will consume in that 72 hours and how you will store and/or access the supply of water. You add a bit to the amount if you anticipate wastage or damage to the container.
You have to decide on what approach(es) you will follow in dealing with contaminated water.
Example. If you want to rely upon throwing pills into a canteen, you had better make sure that you actually have the available time to let the pills work. If you adopt a bladder approach (although you are careful and never make mistakes), you should also have an inline filter (for the time when your idiot kid fills up the bladder with contaminated water).
Most people in the world rely upon boiling water with a weak tea mixture to demonstrate that it is decontaminated. I remember frequenting tea houses in Afghanistan in an earlier life.
Personally, I made available to myself the water, matches, free standing small filters, in line filters, and light purification device. a life straw, hydration pack, chemical treatments with my 72 hour bag. I also keep a couple of 5 gallon empty water/milk bladders in the car.
People keep thinking minimalistic (I survived with two match heads) or Rambo movies and such. Give yourself a 5 gallon water bladder and you can go to ground while other people are freaking out and trying to become Rambo. They weigh next to nothing. If you can move a couple hundred yards off the stream in your bug out scenario, you are one heck of a lot better off than the guy who has to deal with other people who have to stick with the water course.
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I have a full 2 gallon aqua-tainer in my trunk but if I have to hoof it I can only carry about 2 quarts. I do have a steel cup and a lifestraw if I have to drink wild water. I always say that a big part of being prepared is being well hydrated to begin with.
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I use to use old bladders from the 5 liter boxes of wine... ( had many 
)
rinse them out, add new water with a few drops of bleach throw them in the car truck. They are surprisingly strong, would freeze up and still be fine... rotate them after 6 months.
But later got a bunch of life straws.. easier to carry, travel in the bpack
)rinse them out, add new water with a few drops of bleach throw them in the car truck. They are surprisingly strong, would freeze up and still be fine... rotate them after 6 months.
But later got a bunch of life straws.. easier to carry, travel in the bpack
Tom Mac. The bladder idea is great. An army officer in Hawaii had to deal with carrying a lot of water and the container. He looked at the big milk dispenser and thought. If you could hold milk in a plastic bladder, why not carry water in a bladder and fold it away when not in use. I liked the idea and got some bladders and carry them in the car, empty. Sure, there are containers of water in the car as well. It is just the flexibility and options opened when you have empty bladders along that convinced me to carry some.
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