I have my 72 hour/ BOB in the trunk of my car most of the time and was wondering if anyone had any tips for that situation. I live in East Tennessee where the temperature can be around 10F during the winter and 90F in the summer. One thing I was curious about was regarding water storage, mainly for freezing temperatures. Thank you.

In the UK we have small 'bricks' (around 150ml-5oz) of fruit juices and I suspect you do too.

I like the original Ribena and these have enough sugar in them to depress the freezing point significantly. In the case of Ribena to about -5ºC 20ºF. In the car, in a pack, they stay liquid after an overnight -20ºC -4ºF but will freeze if exposed longer. When they freeze they just expand a little and repeated freeze/thaw cycles do not burst them nor affect the taste.

They also, of course, have an energy content over water which would be useful in cold conditions.

The fruit juice sounds like a good idea. Otherwise I would just take the precaution of leaving some headspace in the container. I have never experienced problems with blocked canteens.

Of course, beer has a low freezing point-tell that to the kindly officer.....

I carry bottled water in my trunk, and sometimes it freezes. I haven't really done anything about it other than sometimes having frozen water bottles.

haha! I was going to say the same thing. I've tried an insulated bottle holder for my Nalgene and it works fairly well, but we're down to -31C today, and there's not much you can do about that. I do leave head room in my canteens, and if I remember, I store them on their sides so the bottle opening doesn't completely freeze over.

I have found that those squishy juice packs (i.e. koolaid jammers and those apple saucey things for toddlers) don't freeze as quickly and, because they're hand-sized, thaw quicker and easier.

Brrrr .. That's really cooold
And I was thinking 8 °C this morning was very cold.

Back to subject.


I don't think that water would go any kind of chemical reaction because of cold or heat. However, I am worried about the container. Stainless steel is OK, but plasticware and other containers may leach stuff in the water. Anyone has any studies about the containers ?

Emergency water also comes in packs like juice. I don't know how well it freezes, but I have some and if there is interest, I will freeze one as a test.

Of course, they are much more expensive than a bottle of water but they do have a 5 year shelf life.

Emergency water: http://www.amazon.com/Datrex-Emergency-W...EMERgency+water

I travel 100 to 300 miles per day several days a week for a living in a very cold climate. Water freezes in a few hours if left in a parked car, and it takes a long time in the passenger compartment or a lot of fuel to thaw out a bottle of clear-frozen ice. I carry a neoprene covered 18 oz stainless steel bottle in and out with me each day. The cover doesn't delay the freezing by much.

When on the road I also bring a gallon of spring water with me and keep it in the passenger compartment so it doesn't freeze. When I get where I'm going at night (home or hotel) I bring it inside. This works out well because I don't drink motel tap water. The next morning I put whatever is left in my 18 oz bottle and get a new gallon at the C-store before hitting the highway.

I have some freeze proof food in my car like tea, trail mix, dry breakfast biscuits, etc.

I carry a pot and an Esbit stove to melt snow if I get stranded.

Ever thought about a thermos? I have a big, green Stanley Thermos, that I bring out to the truck every day. Hot tea and oatmeal for lunch...and bacon.

standard disclaimers: I am only a Stanley customer...and baconaholic.

I put together a little kit for the car glove compartment one sping. At the end of the summer I examined it. Everything felt funny and there was an odd little bit of white string. Why the hell would the normal ETS man (a lunatic) have 4 inches of weak white cotton string in a kit with 50 foot of paracord?
Then I realised the candle was gone :-).
qjs