I have used the Aqua-Pouch for a few years now, and my opinion of it mirrors Montanero's. It is light, compact, reliable, and cheap. It is great when you have no other option, and it is a valuable adjunct when you do have a primary rigid container. I tie a piece of 550 cord through the grommets to make a hand loop for easy carry or attachment.

Uses:
- primary water container when you simply don't have space for anything else
- store extra water beyond your primary container's capacity
- treat suspect water with chemicals as you drink good water from your primary container; this is a real time saver
- inflate with air and use it in a backpack or clothing for buoyancy during a water crossing
- cut in half at an angle, then use the bottom half as a collapsible water scoop for dipping out of shallow creeks, ponds, and drips. Works far better than a ziploc bag for this, with minimal disruption of silt at the bottom of the water source

Since it can be opened very wide, it is much easier to dry an Aqua-Pouch for storage than a Platypus bottle.

One time I had a well-used Aqua-Pouch develop a leak; I think it bumped up against a sharp object. I emptied it, dried the area around the leak, and patched it with duct tape. Worked fine for the rest of the trip.

Mors Kochanski teaches that your survival gear should do 2 things for you: help you sleep, and meet your water needs. Clothing, fire, and clean water will do this for you. A knife, ferro rod, Aqua-Pouch, and CLO2 tablets make a very powerful little minimalist kit.

Of course anything extra is gravy and I'll take it when I can get it.

My 2c..... I took some time awhile ago to do a 'test' with filtering water. I have a B.S. in Marine Bio so i didn't expect a coffee filter to actually do much of anything. I was completely right. I used some known 'dirty' water and checked it with the microscope. Down to 100x. Many organisms in it. Filtered it through coffee filters.... didn't filter out a single thing. Do NOT rely on the coffee filters to do much more that strain out the big stuff.

The coffee filter are only intended to get out the large chunks so the chemicals can work more effectively. Large objects provide a place for bacteria and other bad stuff to hide from the chemicals.

If I am packing a coffee filter, there is a fair probability that it will not only strain out the chunks, but actually make coffee (unless I am packing my French press).

Of course,harking back to my cowboy coffee days, who needs a filter....

Going back to my days in Latin America, just throw the grounds in the pot and boil, then dip out the coffee.

As for straining of water, T-shirts, bandanas, sand (run some water through to clear out the dust) all work. The coffee filter is convenient and packs small.

Takes me back to my first outdoor job, fire crew in Arizona. I worked for a real cowboy who put the coffee on to boil. One cup was all you needed to accomplish an early morning, four mile patrol. As I recall, the typical cup of coffee had about a 1/4" (6mm) of sediment remaining in the bottom......

Boiling coffee increases the acidity a lot. If you don't have a filter, just put the grounds into the pot of water just off a boil -- no longer in the fire. Best water temps are between 195-205ºF. The grounds themselves should mostly settle out as the grounds in my cold brew coffee does (then I pass the concentrate through a filter to get the small stuff, but maybe not really necessary).