A question I've had for a while: How do you folks keep your water for your 72 hr bag? I've got a large ALICE pack/frame, with 3 gallons in it, plus 10 Cl dioxide tabs and a 1L Nalgene (I have a pump in my camping supplies, if needed). As you probably already surmised, that's 25 lbs. for water, in a roughly 40 lbs. bag.

Do you folks keep the water seperate or in your 72 hr bag? If seperate, how do you plan on taking it with you? I'm wondering if it's best to keep 1 gal. in the bag, and keep the other 2 gallons in something else, though I'm not sure what. Ideally something that can be attatched to the frame. This would lighten the bag and free room, as well as give me some more leeway on additional water in the second bag.

Thanks!

If I'm bugging out, BOB and the ditch kit are going to have four full sized and two mini-nalgenes respectively. More goes in the car, but if I have to ditch the car for some reason, I'm not carrying that extra water.

In our 72 hour bags, I have some water in USCG approved water ration bags, like this:



I believe we have 12 packages in each kit, not a lot, but, it's the "break glass" reserve if the rest of the water runs out. It has a 5 year shelf life.

I also carry 3 1L Lexan Nalgene water bottles, and a Katadyn Guide model filter. I have a package of 30 Katadyn MicroPur MP1 tables in the kits also. Those are all actually in the backpack. In the back of both vehicles, which is where the backpacks sit, is a case of spring waters, 24 16-20oz bottles, depending on what's on sale. We go thru a lot of this stuff, so the case in the back of the cars is rotated frequently, so it's always "fresh".

If we were bugging out from home, we'd augment what's in the car with a couple of 5 gallon water jugs that we use camping.

I'm carrying almost a gallon in my ALICE and a little more than a gallon in my messenger bag.

I'll only carry a little over a gallon most of the way, Bugging-out, but I'll need the first gallon to get through the populated area that I have to get through immediately after Bugging Out. I'll get rid of the bottles as I consume the first gallon, and hang onto the bottles of the second gallon so that I can refill them after I clear the partially civilized areas and then have the time and secured location to process drinking water.

I'm looking at 59 lbs of weight starting out, and less than 51 lbs at the end of the first 24 hrs. I will be at less than 43 lbs at the end of the second 24 hrs.

I have two cases of bottled water in each of my vehicles. Fortunately I live where my trucks wouldn't be lost in the collapse of a multi story parking garage or something like that so they are an integral part of my BOB/72 hour+ kits and plans.

I carry 2-3 liters; then rely on treatment or tap water after that. To heavy otherwise.

tro

If I'm leaving in the vehicle, it won't be a problem to put in my aquatainers. If I have to go on foot I have Nalgenes I'll use. At some point I'd like to get a Camelbak BFM for a BOB and that will have a res as well. I have chlorine tabs for purification. It's a weak link for me.

I'm with Teacher on this one.

In my BOV I have a case of bottled water that I rotate. In my BOB I only carry 2 one liter soda bottles of water. I treat with Aqua Mira when backpacking and in an EOTWAWKI event I would use Chlorine bleach to treat as I go.

Lightweight backpackers seldom carry more than 2 liters of water at a time.

Thanks for the responses so far. Here's my "new and improved" situation in the 72 hr supplies. At this point, the idea is to keep items in one bag, and use it as a BOB if absolutely necessary.

1 Gal in my ALICE pack, along with a Nalgene and 10 Cldioxide tablets. More tabs to come in the near future, along with some coffee filters. I might stash another Nalgene in there.

2 Gallons in a very bright orange Wallyworld School backpack in my garage. The 2 bottles almost perfectly fit the main pocket. I also have 1 gal. in a milk-style container, on a shelf. I'll probably throw some food and a roll of TP in the orange bag, maybe a second pocket knife. That'll help split the location of supplies, as well as give me a quick BOB option. I can either attatch via carabiners to my external frame, throw it in the car or give to my girlfriend to carry. I've got a camo pack cover for my ALICE that can cover this bag if needed.

I assume that, in an emergency, I'll have a few minutes to grab the last bit of water from the tap. I've got my hiking supplies: a 70oz. camelback, 2 GI canteens, and 2 Nalgene bottles that are stashed. If need be, I can use my filter, jog/drive a mile to the nearest lake (or 1.5 to the next closest, with another 2 lakes within 10 miles), and top those off before the world comes crashing to a halt (people getting home from work, traffic snarling etc). I've also got a quart of H2O in my car, along with another Nalgene and 10 CL2O2 tabs (I found a store that sells them for $4).

End result, worst case scenario: 4 gallons stashed to this point, the possibility of filtering, within an hour, another 2 gallons. After that, quite a few lakes in the area, and absolute worst case scenario, the Mississippi is about 80 miles east (coming from So. Cal, this is a LOT of water!!)

I like the idea of having a big plastic tub with already filled gallon or liter containers of water. Keep it on a shelf in the garage and pop it in the truck when necessary