The question of bringing the bottle full of water is an important one, but it mostly depends on what you plan on using the bottle for. If it is a pot that can be used as a water carrier then you carry your water in other devices. I am one of those who thinks that under most circumstances that a cooking pot is very important. I have 3l of water in my bladder and another 1l bottle, the additional water is not necessary in most environments. My extra bottle is a SS Guyot Designs with a 700ml Snow Peak pot around it so I carry my gear in a soft bag, but if you use a plastic bottle, carrying the survival gear in a metal one is a great idea. As a pot to carry the gear, it has the advantage of being waterproof from the outside as well. The bottle in the original photograph appears to be a Guyot Designs bottle (or their bottle branded by others including Nalgene). I think it is about the best bottle available (Ti would be better but they are out of my budget). Drilling two small holes in the flange (not part of the sealing system) allows for split rings or a wire bail. All of mine have this mod so that they make good pots. It is possible to add a bail without the holes, but it is much more simple and uses lots less wire if you drill them.

If it is your only water carrier, or you do not have enough water, I agree it should be filled with water, not gear.

Respectfully,

Jerry

You could have a problem with the tea candles, at least in many areas, perhaps not so much in Canada. When they get hot, the wax will liquify and run, playing all kinds of games with the rest of the gear. Living in Arizona and California this was a very significant problem. Even in cooler climes, when you factor in the heat generated in a car interior, you could get runny wax.

Also from the perspective of hot deserts, one water bottle is typically insufficient, at least during the hotter months. You would typically carry three times or so the amount in your metal bottle. This is just an example of how rigs like this must be fine tuned to individual circumstances.

Yep, but since BruceZed is concerned with a Boreal Forest climate, I'd assume he has a source of water and just needs to have a container in which he can boil water.

My emergency water container is a 3 gallon jug, which is the reason my bug out bag is a truck.

I really like these 8 Hour Liquid Paraffin Fuel Cells. They're the same diameter as any standard tea light and will fit most lanterns made for tea lights. They're a bit taller, so that can be a minor issue, but they fit my UCO Mini lantern like they were made for it. These are made mostly for restaurants to go in the little lamps that sit on your table to provide ambiance. They seal pretty tightly, and I've never had one leak in 25 years of using them. The three big advantages they have over regular tea lights are 1) they burn around 8 hours vs a couple of hours for candles, 2) they can be snuffed and re-lit an almost limitless amount of times and burn just as well as they did the first time and 3) they don't melt. They're basically mini kerosene lanterns, so they work very well as a fire starter, too.

A truck is a good bug out device, just a little bit bigger than a 1L Water bottle.

Yes I assume I just had to either boil water or melt snow or ice.

You are very right, not just in a desert climate

I place each one in a small plastic zip lock bag, I actually always do this for all types of candles etc, it is just a good policy to keep thing separate that could melt, leak and/or make a mess of other important gear

Bruce,
I think that is a good kit for anyone. Quad biker or not. I have one of those Mora knives. Good knife. I would suggest (speaking from personal experience) that a Tops saw and a very small sharpener (something like an Opinel sharpening steel) would enhance that kit considerably. Only other suggestion would be a small piece of canvas and a couple of elastic bands (as a particulate filter).

Same thing with PJ tinder balls. I keep them individually wrapped & sealed so they don't make a mess.

So Bruce, what is the source for that water bottle?

I've though of something similar for inclusion on the back of a snow machine.
(snowmobile) Something like a large bedroll with:

- ground cloth, pad, sleeping bag
- Kit similar to above
- stove, food, extra clothing.
-Tools specific to the activity

Perhaps you could use a couple of paper coffee filters as particulate filters...I have them in my kit and a lifetime supply is just a few bucks.