My 11 yo daughter asked me a bout a picture in a prep article. It was a condom filled with water. Quickly I answered : It is a "baloon" full of water. She was excited and said it was a lot of fun.

I started wondering why preppers talk about condoms as emergency water containers when baloons are available at cheaper prices , and you don't worry about them being lubricated or not.

How about zip-lock baggies?

Condoms, ahem, have many uses.

Preach it brotha! I have a couple of balloons in my PSK (Ritter AMK PSK is the base). I figured they would be good for water and they're also flo orange so would make signalling devices as well.

Then again, I guess maybe a glow in the dark condom could do that too and if it was flavoured....

Sterile, quality controlled, and packaged compactly and for protection and for long(ish) storage life. The storage life of a typical balloon is not all that long, there is no significant quality control and they are often made of inferior materials. A balloon is not a good substitute for a condom.

Having said all that, there are some better alternatives to condoms available these days.

On another forum someone posted that a fun practical joke is to fill a condom full or water and leave it sitting on the seat of a car or office chair, that after its sat for a bit its impossible to pick up without it bursting.
Seems like it would be just as easy to carry a small ziplock baggie.

My best guess would be that the condum first found its way into military survival kits. Mainly the very compact kits on ejection seats and in parachute harnesses. They are sterile, packed to last and the material has good strength and stretch.

However, for my kits, there are no condums. I prefer light purpose made water bags to compliment my water bottles and/or Camelbak bladder.

At some point you have to ask yourself, "do I really see a need for this item". I put button compasses in that category too. They were originally an item for E&E kits for aircrew shot down in enemy territory. If capture was close, you could swallow the compass for later retrieval for use during an escape. Yep, you would want to wash it first...

Quote of the day, I'd say...

I'm putting the "condom water container idea" on the shelf for historic reference.

I have a bunch of these 1 quart bags in my kit. Just slightly larger than a condom but I think far more suitable for water storage. Definitely more durable and easier to use, and better for reuse.

Same ones I carry Phaedrus, they are better than condums, although not multi-use

I agree with Phaedrus on that bag. I use these in my kits, and I have some of the aqua pouch plus kits. They are small, fit in a pocket easily and can get you through for a while.

Those 1qt bags are nice. Breast milk bags work better than condoms IMO and they're fairly durable.

One of the useful things about condoms is that they can be used for waterproofing small items. And they have a larger opening than a balloon for loading things.

Put in some lifeboat matches and a striker and tie off the end, or a Bic lighter, or a collection of PJ/cotton balls (probably best to use silicone condoms for that).

Yes, we are talking about non-lubricated condoms.