Good points MiniMe.

I too have water on hand. There's six 5 gallon water carriers at home, each sterilzed and sealed for long term storage. There are also a dozen or so gallon jugs of spring water. And the generator is routed through a Generac auxiliary panel, which fires my well pump. I have plenty of water on hand.

There are times when gathering wood to fuel a fire is fun. I often stop to have a leisurely woods lunch over an open fire. However, I have also gone 'primitive" camping a few times, and have found myself in situations where suitable wood was very, VERY scarce. I can distinctly remember hunting around for an extended time, finding a handful of dry wood, and nursing it through a steady rain trying to boil a little water for a bowl of oatmeal. It was a challenge.

As a hiker/hunter a woods lunch is fine and dandy. However, in a survival situation I want every card in the deck stacked in my favor. Likely "situations" for me include broken legs, twisted ankles, and other "mobility" issues. Crawling to water would not be fun. I certainly do no wish to compound the situation by crawling ever increasing distances for more and more wood.

I really am of the opinion that carrying water is always smart. I continue to carry some form of water filter/purification as well. The Katadyn filter makes it into the back pack, and the PSK has tabs.

Of course, my situation is dependent upon my geography. I seriously doubt I'm ever more than 100 yards from water. There is always a stream, puddle or pool. However, I recently hiked in Arches National Park in Utah, as well near various areas around Salt Lake City. It was 106 degrees, and dry as a bone. Any filter/tabs/purifiers would be nearly useless. I had hard decisions to make. Water become a much more important issue, so other equipment was excluded to make way for more H20. The usual rain coat made way for another quart. And early mornings at higher elevations had a surprising amount of moisture on foliage, so a sponge was definitely a good idea...

Deciding to rely on boiled water is possible, and it may be "doable". However, it sort of strikes me as short sighted. It's kind of like relying on finding flint and knapping a knife when the need arises. There are easier, more reliable alternatives.

Frozenny