It seems to me to be a practical gap in the gear, for the mini-kits at least.<br><br>I've seen the questions asked, here and elsewhere, about how you fill a condom or a balloon from a trickling spring, stream or seep, but I’ve never heard a good answer. I can’t see it working at all, myself (have you ever tried to UNTIE a rubber balloon? I don't imagine condoms are easier), but I don’t have a better solution. When cornered on the issue, a lot of people seem to start talking about the other containers they carry- I think that tells us something. The mylar party balloons seem to be of uneven quality and generally too large for an Altoids kit anyway. Even the HD gallon ziplocks are too large for that size kit.<br><br>I like the Platypus bag/bottles a lot, I have a couple in various pouches, they store flat and comparatively small, but still far to big for this size container.<br><br>I just recently ordered some “3-pint pilot’s survival water bags”, apparently Desert Storm vintage (unissued) they look to be the most compact containers I’ve seen other than balloons and condoms, the material looks like something like IV bag stuff, with a neck having a zip lock closure. I think these will be flatter/smaller than the Platypus bags, but I’m not optimistic that even they’ll store small enough for the smallest kits. <br><br>What we really need is a resealable 1 liter mylar bag with a neck, sort of like a large Mainstay water bottle with a zip lock. <br><br>Maybe we’re looking at this wrong- in urban and even rural areas containers abound, plastic pop and water bottles are trash everywhere, and could be washed out and used in a real pinch. In true wilderness, if you’re not on the move, you could dig or build a basin shape and line it with sheet plastic and use the iodine tables there (I’d advise against garbage bags- I hear persistent rumors that there’s insecticide in the plastic of at least some to keep roaches from getting into the garbage). The weak point is thus reduced to being on the move in true wilderness- and that’s where I’d have very little faith in the condom or balloon anyway. I think the chance of abrasion, puncture or rupture would be very high over, say, 20 miles on foot.<br><br>P.S.- for decades, when backpacking, I’ve carried a 6-8 foot length of aquarium tubing, the smallest diameter I can get, and it has often made all the difference on trips. Trying to fill bottles from a spring or stream that just barely trickles is endlessly frustrating without it, but if I can find or make a spot deep enough for one end of the tubing (about a quarter inch), I can set up a siphon, and the canteens fill without work or attention while I'm free to do other things. Makes a HUGE difference in the summer. The longer the length, the easier and faster the siphon where there’s not much slope.<br><br><br>