Which is best for long-term storage of soda: cans or plastic bottles?

I looked into alternatives such as a single-serve soda fountain. Even a single-serve residential unit seems too expensive and bulky. I tried Soda Stream, but their syrups are not as good as the name brand sodas. I'm still open to alternatives.

Do I go with can, plastic bottles, or do you know of a good alternative?

Jeanette Isabelle

My guess would be glass bottles.

Edit: Thinking of soda sold in glass bottles, like Coca Cola.

Other than a few expensive brands, does any soda come in a class bottle these days?

Jeanette Isabelle

Is coca-cola cheap in the USA?
In my country the prize is about 2 US dollar for a half litre bottle. 3.5 US dollar for 2x1.5 litre bottles. I hardly ever drink soda, I would guesstimate a small bottle once a month or so. My favourite is Dr Pepper.

Why store soda? It is not very beneficial or nutritious. The space required can be easily put to better use.

A person can get a 2 Litter bottle for as little as $1 if it is on sale. That same bottle is still less than $2 when it's not on sale.

When purchasing them in 12-ounce cans, which it looks like I have to do for long-term storage, soda gets slightly more expensive.

Jeanette Isabelle

Should I store water instead? Oh, wait, soda already has water in it.

In a survival situation, do you want to drink water with a meal when you are accustomed to drinking iced tea or a soda with a meal?

Jeanette Isabelle

Water is actually healthier than soda or iced tea. If you must have flavor, go with the iced tea.

True. Ever since I was a child, I had beverages such as milk, juice, or iced tea with a meal. Even when we were poor, we still had iced tea or something.

In a survival situation, one needs to, as much as possible, maintain what they are accustomed to. Otherwise, a survival situation would be that much more depressing.

Jeanette Isabelle

But you do realize how an enourmos amount of sugar soda contains?

Lemon water (just lemon juice diluted in water) is another good flavour.

Though normally drink Robinson's Lemon squash with evening meal, a 2L double concentrate for £3/<$4. 1:9 ratio.. so dilutes to 20L.

That's what Mom often drinks.

Jeanette Isabelle

Me, too, drink lemon juice in water.

I would not recommend storing soda — water is easier to store, is unlikely to go bad, better for you and far more versatile. I tend to lay in supplies of coffee, tea, electrolyte tablets, soups, dehydrated foods and so on to go with the water.

Bingo. Water can be used for many things, including drinking. Soda, not so much. For hydration, water is better than soda. For a treat? Sure, stash away a six pack of soda. But I would not consider it a survival item. Just like drinking alcohol or urine when you're about to die from dehydration, drinking soda is counterproductive. Because it takes water for your body to digest things, and soda has a ton of sugar in it that needs digesting. Simple sugars are relatively easy to digest however, compared to many other things. And they will give you a quick rising (and quick falling) "sugar high". All in all, I'd rather have plain water though.

What about diet sodas?

Jeanette Isabelle

As a reminder of something I said in another thread, I already have 480 bottles of water in my bedroom, not including the open package I'm currently going through. That is in addition to other bottles of water in the house, and we have water filters.

Moreover, in this thread, I specifically mentioned having a soda with a meal. Even then, I mentioned having other beverages with a meal such as iced tea. I'm not drinking sodas all day long, nor do I have one every day.

I get the impression that others got the wrong impression.

Jeanette Isabelle

All those chemicals that substitue sugar are not any healthier than sugar. Perhaps even worse.
The few times I drink soda I prefer one with sugar in it.

Jeanette_Isabelle, while I don’t recommend storing soda, if I were going to do so I’d be looking at either 20oz or 2L plastic bottles. It is my impression that if kept in a cool, dry, more-dark-than-not space that they’ll last for some years. While I’ve seen (and even consumed) can of soda that were 20 years or more past their “sell-by” date, the contents had suffered more than what I would expect from an intact plastic bottle.

Glass bottles, as mentioned above, are in some respects the best option. As you know they’re expensive, bulky, and awful to clean up in the event of breakage.

Mom has said the same thing.

Though more expensive, $20 a case instead of the usual $12, Zevia does not contain any of the bad stuff mentioned above.

https://www.zevia.com/products/soda/ginger-root-beer

As you can see, it is made with stevia, which is a natural sweetener.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

Jeanette Isabelle

caffeine pills are so much more portable.

This is cheaper, more healthy, quite tasty, and-more compact as well:

https://www.rei.com/product/156097/nuun-sport-hydration-tablets-10-servings


Various formulations and other similar brands are available elsewhere. The vast majority of soda drinks are liquid garbage.

I avoid caffeine sodas because I have to go easy on the caffeine.

Jeanette Isabelle

I'll look into it as an alternative.


What about the Zevia I mentioned on Page 2?

Jeanette Isabelle

Definitely sounds like a "First World" survival problem.

Indeed. Those of us living high on the hog will fall the hardest when the delivery trucks stop coming, and money becomes worthless. That's why I'm making a parachute.

Jeanette Isabelle

Zevia? Not familiar with the prodect,although it sounds like it mike contain stevia. Are there any electrolytes listed on the product label. That would be critical.

Forced to imbibe water with your meal rather than tea? Horrors! The naked brutality of it all. Be thankful you have H2O. The real problems start when you run out of water (experience speaking).

I provided a link on Page 2. Here it is again:

https://www.zevia.com/products/soda/ginger-root-beer

Jeanette Isabelle

electrolyte tablets would be significantly better than sweetened water, aka Zevia. and considerably less bulky and expensive

We have Emergen-C at home. I drink it whenever I feel I'm about to come down with something.

https://www.emergenc.com/products

Jeanette Isabelle

I use those for rehydration due to leg cramping issues in the middle of the night. When I sense tightness in my calves, I will have a drink before bed.

We (UK) have ORS https://www.ors.uk.com/

If you add a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of salt to a liter of water, you get an oral rehydration drink that will quickly move from your stomach to your bloodstream.