Well, these are somewhat larger than I’d hoped- for sure not going in the Altoids tin kits. They might fold to go in a tobacco tin, but they’re not going to leave much room for anything else- but they could be useful.<br><br>Very military. They’re wrapped in brown paper sleeves, each with two labels on it, one repeating what’s stamped on the bag, the other with cryptic numbers and bar codes. They are more transparent than I thought from the pictures- still looks like IV bag stuff. They are flat in one dimension, in the other they are shaped exactly like the glass portion of a light bulb. They are 8 inches wide, and 12.25 inches long. Printed on the “bulb” portion is:<br><br>BAG, STORAGE<br>DRINKING WATER<br>SIZE:B<br>SPEC. MIL-B-8571D<br>SPO100-95-C-5051<br><br>MFD. 8/1995<br>INSPECTION 8/2000<br><br>Which at least tells me that they were indeed intended for drinking water, how old they are, and that there’s probably another size of these floating around somewhere. They are coated with some colorless, odorless, greasy feeling lubricant or preservative. Yik.<br><br>They're more complex than I thought- I’m resisting saying anything about military over-engineering. There is a reinforcing ridge molded into the plastic, on both sides, at the mouth, making that a bit thicker. There is a clear plastic strap running up the neck on one side, a clear plastic strap holding a white plastic slider buckle on the other side- apparently the intent is to close the bag by rolling the top down and cinching the strap over the roll. The attachment points for the straps have complex-looking reinforcements molded in. In addition, on the back there is a loop of 1" wide, thin, white nylon webbing with two large black metal snaps holding it closed- apparently intended as a belt loop that allows removal for use.<br><br>In comparing it to one of my 1 liter Platypus bags- the flat dimensions are roughly the same, the military bag being only a bit larger for more capacity. The military bag rolls tighter and packs flatter, since it does not have the Platypus bag’s screw cap and nozzle. The military bag is of much softer plastic (again, very reminiscent of IV bags), and it’s heavier. I don’t have an oz/gram scale (really need to do that), but, though they’re both light, the military bag is noticeably heavier in the hand, empty. Of course, it holds more, too.<br><br>First impression is that these things are probably plenty sturdy, and would be ideal for a vehicle kit or similar. The only real advantage I see over the Platypus bag, though, is flatness and the belt loop- which could be very important if you don’t have a pack, and is convenient anyway- taking off a pack to drink is a pain. Because of the closure and soft flexible plastic, it doesn't seem that this would be at all sensitive to being wadded up, folded, crushed or sat upon. If an ounce more or less is less important than packed space (as I imagine may be the case for plane, boat or car kits) this may be just the thing.<br><br>In summary, these might be an alternative to the Platypus bags. They are not really contenders for the place of condoms, balloons (rubber or mylar), zip lock bags, oven bags, tropical fish bags or whatever else we come up with in the mini-kits, though. <br><br><br>