Greetings,

I've been designing a compact personal survival kit and am looking for a better water collection / storage / transportation vessel. Right now I use condoms, but they have their short comings :-).

Recently I discovered oven (roasting) bags. They are not plastic; they are heat resistant nylon. And they are (in my experience) more durable and more compactable than plastic. But the problem with oven bags (as water vessels) is that the height to width ratio is too low. They are often 18x24, and that's not only too big, but not very convenient when you want to tie off the top.

If you measure the circumference of a 1 liter Nalgene bottle, its 11.5 inches. So a tubular bag this same circumference would be 5.75 inches (when flat). Rounding up make the (ideal?) width of 6 inches. Now you want enough bag to tie off the top after filling it with 1.5 liters of water. So I'm guessing that's about 18 inches. Again, just a guess.

It seems like 6 x 18 inches would be a good size. But these dimensions are somewhat reverse engineered to be similar to a 1 liter Nalgene bottle. Is that a good idea?

[can you tell I'm an engineer? :-]

What size would you prefer for these water vessels?

Cheers,
Robert

In all honesty, using the condoms, which aren't rated for food contact, isn't appealing and those oven bags seams will eventually develop a leak.

Personally, I'd roll up a couple of Platypus 1.0 L water bladders for my kit. They measure 6x12 inches, weigh a mire 3.5 oz dry and roll up like a cigar.

Check here too.

I carry a 1L flat pack bottle by Source in my shoulder bag. It takes up next to no space (empty), it's made from anti-bacterial plastic and comes in many sizes...handy!

Oven bags instead of condoms. I guess if your into hot sex ...

Condoms for water storage is IMHO an anachronism. Latex condoms are notoriously subject to UV degradation and puncture. Once filled they pretty much have to be carried by hand and they neither stand up nor stay open on their own. And, even in the Holmsian sizes, they don't carry much water.

IMO Platypus bags or Camelback bladders are much more useful. I always likes the USGI two-quart collapsible canteen. Very handy those. But I haven't seen one for sale in quite some time.

As far as oven bags go I have seen someone boil water in one. Trick is to form a hoop holding the rim and to keep the fire compact and the bag full. Seemed mighty subject to catastrophic failure but I think with practice it might not be too bad.

I'm just klutzy enough, IMO everyone is when your cold, tired hungry and worried, that I think I will stick to a can or pot.

Oven bags have been advocated as an aid to escaping a fire. A large one over the head and sealed at the bottom gives you several minutes of breathable air and decent visibility in a heat resistant package. Beats breathing toxic fumes and collapsing half-way to the door. I have seen it recommended for people on commercial airliners.

I filled some large oven bags with water and they broke fairly easily. They might be okay if you don't put too much in them. I also tried breast milk bags. They are very tough and self sealing, but hold very little and I had trouble getting them in my altoids tin PSK. My current PSK has the bags that come with shake and bake. They pack well, hold a decent quantity, and seem to be pretty tough.

Mike

I use sandwich bags - hold a litre, pack small, and with the top tied survived a 6 foot drop onto concrete, which is enough for me

Someone wrote about using aquarium bags (the sort you buy fish in) a while back. I don't have a source, but they seemed pretty robust

One possible alternative is if you have a vacuum sealer, is to take an empty quart or gallon bag (these are very sturdy) and seal across the top. When you want to use the bag snip one corner, when filling, fill perhaps ¾ of the way, squeeze out the air and then fold multiple the corner and secure with a paperclip. I have not tried to seal one of the roasting bags, but this might work with those as well, allowing you a more confined bag top. If you have a little extra room in your kit, use a bag sealer clip (you can find these now in most kitchen areas of retail stores. These clips can be used for a variety of applications.

Ikea has a good price 30 clips for $2.99, but other retailers should also have a selection.

Sealing Clips


Pete

It may have been somewhere else in the Forum, but someone mentioned the use of the bags used by mothers who express their milk. Gerber makes them. They don't hold a ton of water but I think it was said they seal very reliably....

If you don't mind a bit of extra effort you can make a water bag using heat seal nylon, a 1-2 qt size will roll up into a very small package. I made a 1.5 qt size for one of my kits and it is very easy to do.

Hi RobertNielsen,

I prefer the Aloksak Resealable Polybags,

The small bags in the photo will carry about 400ml of water reasonably securely and have other uses as well if they are used to keep other things dry such as in the photo below. 2 small or 1 medium Aloksak bags will easily fit inside an BCB minimess tin PSK with the rest of the survival kit. They fold up very small and they are pretty tough. When carrying water it is important to ensure that the seal at the top of the bag is sealed perfectly though before carrying water inside.