Curious if anyone has experience with re-using wine-in-a-box container as a cheapo alternative to Platypus-type containers for BOB kits or car emergency bags. I'm testing it myself with a 3-liter bag. The tap pops off easy with a screwdriver and re-inserts with little effort and so far looks water-tight. The bag's plastic isn't super thick but a bit thicker than typical 1-gallon freezer bags. Sure they're not designed for re-use but figure the tap and seal have to be fairly reliable to take shipping and storage.

Am thinking about using it my car emergency kit, storing it full? Anyone know if will stand up to freeze/thaw cycles? If stored empty -- like in a BOB -- any tips for storing? Wondering if the plastic will stick together on the inside if it's rolled up then subjected to heat that builds in a vehicle in summer.

Maybe this will inspire you to recycle wine-in-box bags that otherwise will get pitched after holiday parties, family gatherings.

I get a lot of great, practical ideas from the forum, so here's my tiny contribution (don't recall seeing this come up during my few months lurking).

Thanks in advance for feedback.

Greg

I don't know about this <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> The purist in me wants wine in a green glass bottle with a real cork and some fancy label with cherubs or halcyon rural scenes on it. After extracting the cork with a SAK and drinking the contents , one has a water container, reserve resource for knapping improvised tools, fishing float, tinder and writing implement. All this stuff is environmentally acceptable too, being recyclable and keeping several traditional crafts alive. As to your bladder container, it will need sterilisation and some form of stabliliser to keep the water from becoming compromised. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've used them in the past, they're good for about a half dozen freezings before they develop pin hole leaks. They make great bulk ice/cold drinking water in larger coolers. I have no idea how they hold up to excessive heat.

Troy

By "stabliliser" I assume you mean something like an appropriate amount of chlorine bleach to ensure ongoing sanitization?

Chris, agree that wine bottle labels are much cooler than a cardboard box. I check 'em out as I push my shopping cart past the bottle stuff to the corner where they hide the wine-in-a-box <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Agree with you on the advantages of a bottle in a survival situation. But if I get caught in a bad spot with my wine box I can (first) empty the contents, (two) inflate my erstwhile wine bag and use it as pillow as I sleep off the contents. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

You mentioned "some form of stabliliser to keep the water from becoming compromised." What do you mean by stabilser? Like a drop of bleach?

Greg

"They make great bulk ice/cold drinking water in larger coolers."

So you mean use them as block ice which you later use for drinking water? That sounds like a great use, just want to make sure I understand.

That is correct... as for cleaning, pull the cap/spiggot, put in a few ounces of hot tap water, add a tablespoon of baking soda, replace the cap, give it a shake, let it sit overnight, empty and rinse. Your water bladder is ready to use.
If you're planning on long term storage, I'd add a few drops of bleach per gallon of water, and inspect now and then for leaks.

Troy

Chris - we usually keep a box in the big fridge for guests that drink the stuff (some of it is OK for a routine meal, though - it's quite drinkable and is a good choice for that evening medicinal glass-of-wine). The concept is actually quite clever and works very well. I generally agree with you re: personal consumption. OTOH, I can get a box of wine for little more than the cost of a glass of our preferred common wine <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Troy is right on the money about everything regarding use, and they work pretty well. I had not thought about using them for ice to water - great idea. (We use milk jugs, which are a one-time shot after freezing and thawing). The bags are mylar, so unless the car is on fire, I wouldn't worry about it getting stuck together.

People started doing this as soon as the box wines came out. I hadn't even heard of the box wine and my boss at the time showed up on a winter caribou hunt with one converted to water bladder use. The two biggest drawbacks are the difficulty with re-filling (prying the cap off and putting it back on) and the eventual leak in the bag. I sewed up a scrap of coated ripstop nylon into a pouch sealed at the top with hook-and-pile fastener and put small grommets in the corners so I could put a paracord sling on it. Still have that pouch in one of the footlockers... but have not used it for so long that none of the kids know what it is used for.

I would not be surprise to find out that these things inspired the market for the water bladders many of us carry nowadays... OTOH, there were military bladders and soft canteens decades before the bag wine came out...

As for wine storage... seems to me that bladders were the earliest portable container for wine... something about new VS old skins...

Regards,

Tom

When I've traveled in hot weather with plastic gallon jugs of water, the plastic leached into the water and was really NASTY. And those were the jugs that the water was sold in (the milky jugs, not the rigid clear plastic).

While I'm all for recycling, there are better containers for water, esp if you're going to bet your life on them.

Toss the bag, recycle the cardboard.

Sue