I've been on a quest for a long time to figure out storage of water in our GHBs (one for both of our vehicles). As it turns out its not as simple as just tossing a bottle of water in the bags.

The Problem:
All contents will freeze in the winter and be exposed to 120+ degrees of car heat in the summer. The water will be subjected to many freeze/thaw cycles in the winter due to car heater running and subjected to many cool/extreme heat cycles in the summer.  All of these factors reduce the life of the water and its container. Most containers will burst or become damaged when frozen solid. Additionally frozen water can be difficult to consume. If its consumed frozen it will reduce core body temperature which is a big 'don't' in cold weather survival. Using disposable bottles can cause leaks and require relatively frequent rotation.

My solution:
I recently replaced my GHB water with Datrex water packets. Each one is a little over 4oz and a box of 64 packets was about $23 from the ready store (on sale, a little more not on sale). They are designed to live in a lifeboat and will remain good for at least 5 years in the harshest of environmental conditions. They are portioned so that each one equals the minimum per meal water consumption so planning and rationing is easy. The can be consumed straight from the packet if needed or if a container is unavailable. In the winter I can cut the packet off of the ice and thaw with an esbit stove. A stove will be included as seasonal in my bags. I can also slip a few packets in my pockets as I walk and let my excess body heat keep them from freezing; same with sleeping bag.

One box of 64 packets split between the two bags is roughly a gallon of water per GHB and about all of the weight I will want devoted to water. In addition to the Datrex packets we will of course have a Nalgine bottle, a lifestraw and a sawyer mini to suplement.

What do you guys think?

Open one up and give it a shot.... Tell me what you think. Unless you are in the habit if drinking pool water I bet your response will be the same as mine was.

I just keep bottled water in an Igloo cooler in the trunk ,if it leaks , it is contained.

I think you're better off with a few bottles in a chest freezer ad suggested above and some jugs or bottles refilled to 3/4 capacity. The bottles I've frozen that way hold on ok.
FerFAL

I keep a mixture of the packet water in a GHB and a cooler also with bottled water in it in the trunk of the car.
The water packets like the OP pictured are excellent for long term storage of water without as much fear of leakage or contamination of your water, however I a few extra bottled waters in a small cooler in the trunk that get rotated out every few months is not a bad idea also so I do both.

I carry water in stainless steel bottles and refresh them every 6 months.  They never develop a funky taste.  Don't fill them up all the way in winter.
Stainless steel bottles can be put near a fire to thaw, or to boil ground water if necessary.

All your objections to bottled water can be solved by one thing.

Rotate it.


Serious. Just do it, haul four out, drink them. Know what helps a lot when dealing with a GHB situation? Being hydrated in the first place.


I live in a place that has similar freeze / thaw cycles and I have bottles stored in my car all winter. I rotate them a couple times of year by pulling them all out and drinking them over a week.


I have NEVER had a bottle break that wasn't outright abused.  Yeah, they stretch a little and won't stand up anymore, but they don't break.

you can actually over think issues like this.  

I have pre-planned locations to re-supply water using a pump filter.
My first point is about 150 feet from my desk. Then they are less than 2 miles apart for the next 30 miles home.
It took some work and pre-planning but now I don't really worry about rotation or trying to keep 30 miles worth of water on hand.
I have a few bottles to get started with but then I'll fill they as I go.

Never!

Seriously though good replies and insight.  I suck at rotation...  I have no problem with integrating rotating water bottles into the packs but if I rely on it I will inevitably get burned,  I always do.  

I had water bottles in the garage all winter. I am drinking them up right now and they are fine. None of them ever leaked. The bottles are not bottle shaped any more but they work.

The only down side is that the water freezes at a little below 0 degrees. Above that the water is so pure it thaws quickly and is usually liquid far below freezing.

I am just careful to keep the bottles out of the sun.

We live in South Texas where it never freezes but the inside of our vehicles get hot hot hot for 6+ months a year.  We just buy a case of water filled 16oz bottles for each vehicle and rotate with a 3rd case in the house that we drink daily.  Simple and inexpensive and we always have mucho agua with us on the road = 8+ quarts per vehicle.  Same thing with cliff bars.  We buy a box or two of bars for each vehicle and rotate with boxes in the house as we eat them empty.  Newest water and Cliff bars are always in the vehicles.

I keep gallon jugs of Arrowhead water in my vehicle. I drink them while hunting and trapping. If they are froze I just leave them on the dashboard and the sun thaws them out. And while frozen the plastic expands but has never leaked.

I think you might be over-complicating things.

That seems to be the consensus.

I just leave a little more space in all of my bottles when we're rolling into Autumn, then fill them fuller when it warms up.
That's worked for the past 25 years or so.

I use an old 2 qt canteen.  Soft sides allow it to expand and contract as needed.  I keep the water reasonably rotated by using it for hikes durnig the week, or to refill my bottles when on long bike rides.

I use two plastic GI canteens and rotate them every few months. My bag stays behind the seat of my truck in southern Tennessee and north Alabama so it gets heat and cold. A life straw makes it  better if you get funky water. I keep a Katadyn Vario in my pack and purification tablets too. If there is a puddle, stream, pond or lake around (and there is) I'll be ok.

Another thing to consider is a universal sill-cock valve. A "+" shaped tool with four commonly used hose valve sizes on it.

In a multi-story building, often you can draw off a pipe's worth of water even if the water pressure is zero. (Just let it run a bit so the water sitting near the valve can wash out some of the corrosion.)


While it's heavy and one of the first things I might ditch if I am on foot through wilderness, in a city or suburban environment it would let you sneak up and refill from most commercial buildings.

I just buy a case of 20oz bottled water and every few months, replace it with fresh bottles and drink the old ones.  They can freeze solid and not burst (might want to check whatever brand you pick) so I freeze them and throw them in a cooler when camping.  Been doing this for years and never had an issue.

I have the same thing in the bobs.  I don't care if they taste like shit.  It's an emergency already.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I thoroughly wash out four 64oz OJ containers, fill them minus a few ounces for expansion and rotate them out every couple years. Haven't had to use the water yet but I haven't had any leaking.

I'm the opposite.  I hate drinking stuff that taste like shit. My filters give me great tasting water and the right brand water in 16 Oz bottles taste great too. Why drink shit?

I always keep a case of bottled water in trunk. Even on a  week long business trip, get rental car, stop at gas station on way to job site and throw a case of water in trunk.  I've had the cheap nestle bottle water in back of my FJ for the hottest TX summers and what settles for winter (occasional bouts of single digits) and ive yet to have a bottle break.

My ghb water containers sit clean and empty in the vehicle,  right next to a case and half-ish of nestle water. If I gotta go then the water gets dumped in the camelbaks/nalgenes...if there isnt time for that then I got bigger problems than water.

One thing you can do is freeze some water in a small container. Those cheap plastic food containers from the dollar store work great for this.
Once the water is frozen remove the ice block from the container and vacuum seal it in a foodsaver bag.
We do this to make reusable cold packs for the ice chest but I don't see why you couldn't do it for an emergency water supply. I double seal the bags. They have endured a year of freeze thaw cycles and are still sealed.

Whether it's in home storage, emergency water for the car, or water in my GHB/BOB or even in my backpack when hiking, I use these cleaned 2-liter bottles filled with water and an extra few drops of bleach.
They've been stored for years with no issues and seem to last forever.

Wise words right there. I've been using the same 2qt canteen for (quite literally) over 20 years now, and I've never had a problem with it (yes, it goes through freezing cycles). Those things are seemingly indestructible.

Also, as for those foil packets --- they can be pretty temperamental in trying to tear them open. Real boogers.

Mine was made in 1993.