I hate hot weather. I mean, I really hate it. I love the dress code as women in this college town suddenly start running around in sundresses and sports bras (summer is only second to Halloween for ‘lets dress skimpily because its socially acceptable at this moment’) but that’s barely enough to make the discomfort of the heat worth it.
And, of course, when it’s hot ya gotta ‘hydrate’…or as we used to say in the less-woke days, ‘drink’.
In the heydey of 70’s and 80’s survivalism your water toter of choice was the GI canteen. Plastic ones were just starting to turn up and you most likely had a metal one that could have been carried by grandpa in WW2 or Uncle Billy in ” ‘Nam “…(Why do people shorten it to ‘Nam’? Why not ‘Viet’?..”Yeah, we served together in Viet back in ’68”) They were durable but they were loud and sometimes leaked at the seams.
As the 80’s rolled in, we got basically the exact same canteen but now made of green plastic. With an NBC cap. An improvement? Depends on who you ask. Some folks didnt like that youy couldnt heat up the plastic canteens.
Fast forward a bit more and the Middle Easy is now where the action is. ‘Hydration bladders’ are the thing…basically a giant IV bag and tubing. Convenient? Yes. Carries a lot of water? Yes. Bulky? Yes. But, no two ways about it, its a handy way to drink on the go.
For the survivalist who isn’t fetishicizing military gear, the ubiquitous Nalgene bottle, with it’s amazing aftermarket accessory support, really comes pretty close to being Numbah One choice. The accessories available make the Nalgene bottle the AR-15 of water storage – modular, adaptable, and cheap.
Another alternative that I highly recommend are the collapsible Nalgene/Platypus ‘water bottles’. These are basically hydration bladders that are used by themselves as drink containers. Their huge advantage is that a) when empty you can roll them up to take up virtually no space in your gear and b) as you drink from them you can squeeze out the air so there is no sloshing noise like you’d get from a half-filled canteen. Big improvement.
And, interestingly, splitting the difference..the guys at Nalgene make a version of the GI canteen that comes pretty close to replacing the GI model, but with the convenience of lighter weight and transparency. Nalgene also makes a bladder-like product that uses the same screw-on lids as the rigid Nalgene bottles…which means that you can use all your accessory lids with it. Handy.
My preference? For static places like in the vehicle or at a temporary base, I like the 64 oz/ 2 L. size large bottles. For day-to-day use I like the regular rigid 32 oz, bottles. However, for tromping around in the boonies, I prefer the .5L or 1.0L Platypus for its stealthy properties and space-saving potential.
Another nice thing about the Nalgene and Platypus is that its extremely convenient to fill them about 1/3 of the way up and then freeze them. Once frozen, fill the rest of the container with water and go about your day. Very refreshing.
As an aside, the water I keep in the vehicle is store-bought bottled water. Why? Because those little plastic bottles are darn near impervious, cheap, and handy. They freeze/thaw without damage, and are handy to throw in a pocket if needed. In the summer, when i travel, I don’t screw around..I throw a 5-gallon water jug in one of the gas can racks in addition to the usual on-board water supply. I don’t mind being hungry for a day or two, but nobody likes being thirsty for a day.
Whatever you choose for your preferred water-carrying container, get a bunch of them. More than you think you’ll need. I’ve a collection of Nalgene bottles that must number almost a dozen. Theyre cheap and work perfect for their given task…why wouldn you have extras?
If you use nalgenes, you got to get a CapCap, by Humangear. Keeps you from wearing the contents of your bottle!
I like gear that can do more than one thing. The old metal canteen with the built in cup/pot on the bottom was neat when heating stuff over a fire so I got a few put away. Very handy when collecting water in the field and it needs to be boiled.
Fiji water bottles are double thick and work as a cheap re-fillable water bottle.
The ice idea is good also. Read an article about a female military person dying in the heat with a full belly of water. Turned out the bladder water was maybe too warm to be absorbed readily, first time I ever heard that, and cooler water is taken up more easily by the body.
“..too warm to be absorbed readily, first time I ever heard that, and cooler water is taken up more easily by the body.”
I’ve never heard of this. Further info?
https://www.healthshare.com.au/questions/46295-do-our-bodies-absorb-warm-water-quicker-than-cold-water/
Those of you of “a certain age” will remember a song recorded by The Sons of the Pioneers, Johnny Cash, and Marty Robbins, among others, “Cool, Clear Water.” To my knowledge, and for good reason, nobody (the sane ones, at least) ever sang about warm, clear water.
I will leave it to others to argue over which water is better for the metabolism, but I expect that cool water is quickly warmed up in the stomach after it has provided its refreshing effects to the person drinking it.
I’ve drank water from 2 liter drink bottles which were left in my truck whixh were more than tepid. I don’t recall any bad effects from it, but cool water produces more pleasure, that is certain. When I remember to do so, I freeze solid containers like this so when left in truck, they melt and provide a cold drink later. Wrapped in a damp towel, it is welcome after a work detail or long hike.
I use the camelbacks for about everything i do, tho if anyone has an easy way to dry one effortlessly, i’d sure like to hear about it. Be sure to get the widemouth ones so you can feed it Large ice cubes in the summer.
I stash Nalgenes stuffed full of small survival gear (purification tabs, fire makers, fishing kit, spare blade, basic first aid, paracord, etc) pretty much everywhere.
Camelback makes a drier that looks like a plastic coat hanger with”ribs” to allow it to dry. You might make a drier out of tennis balls on a string if it would be cheaper.
I use sport drink bottles(bpa free) as the cost is right,almost indestructible and can solar sterilize without clouding quickly
I’ve made similar stashes with emptied peanut butt jars which can be used as a canteen as well.. Two of these containers can be stuffed into the USGI 2 quart canteen pouch – pretty handy.
I keep a metal military canteen, canteen cup with lid and understove, so I can always heat things, cook, or purify the water with a fire.
I use 2L or 3L Camelbaks for quantity and simple access.
Including one hanging on the car seat(s) for drinking water while travelling.
And a big +1 for the roll-up bottles, for spares. No space when empty, minimal weight and bulk, and priceless if you need additional storage.
Nalgene?
While I broke myself in backpacking, those are mainly useful now for solid bulk (nuts, hard candy, trail mix, etc.) and buried storage.
You can get shorty wide mouths that’ll hold a spare set of car and house keys, some cash and coin, and some other bits and bobs (compass, firestarter, fish hooks/line/sinkers, Victorinox Huntsman, mirror, space blanket, etc.) darned near forever, in the location of your choosing, a foot or so down. The bigger ones can fit a fishing reel, or a very small pistol, should you find the need, let alone a brick of .22LR, or a box of shotgun shells. I recommend dessicant, lithium grease for the bottle threads, and a layer or three of plastic baggies for the latter, as well as a good slathering of CLP on any weapon or reel before you seal it in.
Learn to locate and unobtrusively mark your caches well, and practice finding them every year, throughout the year.
F’rinstance:
Make four small stone cairns. But don’t put anything under their center.
Or maybe, put a small 90% silver coin, sealed in plasti-dip or roofing tar.
Or just a hunk of nuts and bolts. Just for bait.
(If it’s every gone, or disturbed, you’ll know someone’s been prospecting your turf. Conversely, if it’s not, everything’s liable to be just fine.)
Offset your actual cache in any given direction from that decoy center, a certain distance, and well outside that circle.
Put your cache there.
Nobody’s going to dig up an acre in all directions to find your hoard, but you’ll be able to go right to it.
GPS it, and triangulate compass points to it. Perhaps even bury most of a large fist- to head-sized rock over it, and leave no trace of the operation afterwards.
If you attach a small shower head to a drinking bladder, you know how to make a field shower.
If you use it to make it rain, you know how to make your cache sign disappear, in about a quart.
I prefer my Camelbaks over Nalgene bottles when hiking. Also preferable when kitted out and chasing bad guys IMO. With that said, my water filter (MSR mini works) threads onto a wide mouth Nalgene bottle, which is convenient while camping, and less expensive than MSR’s dromedary bags.
Thanks Aesop, that’s a lot of detail. I’ve been picking up nalgene bottles at the Goodwill for 50c or $1 when I see them and they are clean. Wife and kids don’t like them so they’ve moved to the “camping” shelf. I’ve been thinking food containers for short trips, like rice, flour, cereal, etc. instead of liquid. I only buy the wide mouth ones anymore, since they are much easier to clean.
When caching, in more populous areas, you can take a small water resistant container along, with a little trinket and paper inside, and if you are interrupted, you can just show the little box and explain that you are “geocaching”… not burying ammo and water purifying tablets……
n
A little more detail:
https://raconteurreport.blogspot.com/2021/07/for-rainy-day.html
” I love the dress code as women in this college town suddenly start running around in sundresses and sports bras (summer is only second to Halloween for ‘lets dress skimpily because its socially acceptable at this moment’) ”
CZ, here comes a comment from an old curmudgeon, I suppose.
But since you touched on something that has annoyed me so much, every male is aware of how some men are challenged at times because the woman says, “My eyes are up here (pointing to her eyes), not down there (pointing to her breasts). Of course, it is obvious that the very reason the woman wore a plunging neckline is because she wanted people to notice what is “down there.” Flat-chested women rarely wear plunging necklines, as it draws attention to the issue.
So many feminist think nothing of going to the beach wearing a swimsuit that consists of 6 square inches, or less, of fabric. They then complain that men want to make them sex objects and don’t take them seriously.
Women like to have it both ways, and then complain when men do what comes naturally for men. That is what passes for “feminine logic” in this world.
Rant completed.
Mae West famously said “Its better to be looked over than to be overlooked”.
I’m so in agreement with you! I’m old now, but even when I was young & skinny, I didn’t dress in revealing clothes. I liked being looked at, but after one outing while wearing a mini-skirt (this was a LONG time ago!), I decided a little more covering was better.
I simply don’t understand the logic of wearing “look at me” clothes, then get mad when people look.
The army introduced bladder type canteens in Viet Nam. I didn’t like them as they were subject to collect holes from branches. Not good on a long RECON mission.
I prefer the CamelBak bladders. They don’t slosh, they store well when empty, and there are lots of packs and such that have bladder pouches for them. The only downside to them is keeping them clean. You’ve got to sterilize them once in a while. Bleach makes the water taste like, well, bleach. I use a product called 1 Step to sterilize mine.
https://www.amazon.com/CentralBrewShop-1Step-8oz-NR-One-Step-oz/dp/B06ZXWZDHL/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B06ZXWZDHL&psc=1
It’s actually made for sterilizing beer bottles when home brewing, but it works really well for your reusable water bottles, whatever you use. Put a tablespoon of the stuff in a gallon of water and then fill the bottles with the solution. It sterilizes on contact, needs no rinsing, and leaves no taste. Sloshi it around and pour it out. For the record, I DO rinse the bladders.
Before running the 1-step through the bag, I clean the hose and mouthpiece. I pull the bag and mouthpiece off the hose. I wad up a small ball of cotton and use an old CB antenna whip to push it through the hose. I do this until the cotton comes out clean. Then I use a Q-tip to clean out the inside of the mouthpiece. You’d be surprised at how much mold will build up in the hose and mouthpiece! I use the old CB whip because it’s long enough, and has a rounded tip on it so it won’t scratch or poke through the hose. DON’T use a metal coat hanger for this… unless you want to scratch or poke through the hose! After cleaning the hose/mouthpiece, I run the 1-Step through the bag and the hose and mouthpiece.
I had military canteens when I was in the Boy Scouts. Then, as now, I was WAY more inclined to drink out of my canteen than to boil water in it. Metal canteens cannot be used for anything that has an acid in it, such as most sports drinks. The acid etches the metal in the canteen, leaving the contents tasting like metal. Also, the metal canteens had weight of their own, which you carried even when the canteen was empty, hanging at your side, and clanging around.
I keep commercially bottled water in the vehicles. It keeps for about a year. If you live in a hot climate like I do though, check on these once in a while because, believe it or not, water will evaporate though the plastic over time!
I always use Baby Bottle Cleaner. The way I see it is if it’s safe for babies it should be safe for me, and if it can be used on milk, it should be great on water.
This outfit does some interesting stuff in the canteen and camp cookware category.
https://www.heavycoverinc.com/heavy-cover-products-1/
I like titanium a lot.
Found out about Keith Titanium recently…
Yah, very nice.
(See anything you like, Commander? I might raid my piggy bank, seeing that Paratus is coming. Either mention here, or shoot me an email. High two, low three figures. Cheers, a long time appreciative reader.)
Two things. I find the wide mouth Nalgenes more useful than the narrow ones. If you were to put soup inside, for example…
As far as sterilizing a Camelbak, a friend suggested cheap vodka, to keep them mold and fur free after they’ve been cleaned if you’re not going to use them for awhile. Not much, just a shot, then shake thoroughly before you put it away as well as upon reactivation. ymmv.
white vinegar may work also, my go to non-toxic cleaner
Bleach-water sterilizing solution (i.e. about double the water-purification formula, IOW about three drops/pint.)
Seal.
Shake well and vigorously.
Hang up to drip-dry in shower.
Put a pinch-clamp or paper clip on the mouth bite-valve to open, and drain completely.
If necessary in humid environments (Miami, Hawaii, anywhere in the tropics), put a space heater inside the bathroom, and get the room up to a dry 90º for half an hour or so, along with a small room fan to keep a steady blow-through going.
If you’re really paranoid, dry carefully with a lint-free clean dish towel on a small wood dowel, or use a sturdy quality paper towel brand, to blot up all moisture. Keep your dirty mitts out of the inside of the water bladder in the process.
Reseal, and store dry.
Quality gear deserves quality care, if you want it to be there for you next time.
If I’m blowing $70-100 on a canteen system, I’m going to treat it right.
And they make a kit that has all the stuff you need, although I like the “hold it open so air can get in” plastic thing I got in my older kit.
https://www.rei.com/product/171318/camelbak-reservoir-cleaning-kit
I buy most of my camelbak at goodwill so I want it CLEAN before use. Although a surprising amount of it still has the shrink plastic on the mouthpiece, and the reservoir smells like brand new…. I’ve got a couple dozen of different capacities, cap sizes, hose lengths, and carriers, at least 2 for every member of the family and a full set of spares.
n
In movies, one often sees whiskey, particularly vodka, being used to sterilze a wound before engaging in some medical procedure.
The problem is that, in order to have any effect on bacteria, the alcohol level needs to exceed approximately 67% (from memory). When the pandemic was shifting into high gear, I saw a lot of discussion about products used to sanitize surfaces, and the possibility of using vodka was mentioned.
Yet, the only drinking alcohol that met the standard was Everclear at 130 proof, and Everclear is illegal to sell in many states due to its potency.
While I don’t know what small amounts of vodka will have on mold in a Camelbak or a Nalgene bottle, the vodka myth about sterilizing surfaces needs to be dispelled so that people don’t rely on it and risk serious consequences.
Everclear is 180-190 proof(double of %,90-95%), if unavailable try 151 rum. Makes great drinks too! Lesser proof can be distilled with common lab gear or homemade still,just be carefull of metal/solder used.
Had the plastic canteens in the Army and I guess I got used to them, tried the camelback thing- a lot work for a drink. Much easier to clean the ole plastic canteen. CZ you comments on the transition from metal to plastic canteens and cooking brought back memories of the steel pot. Used on in basic and AIT and then when I got to the 101st they had NEW Kevlar helmets, all the E6’s and above bitched cause they could heat water, cook, or take a whore’s bath in the kevlars.
Any recommendations for a canteen cup?
I wonder why they didn’t also make a 2 quart canteen cup for the 2 quart bladder The standard 1 qt cup works well for face hygiene, but lacks a bit for whole body. And sometimes, the quart cup isn’t enough for multiple individuals.
A steel pot for the 2 quart bladder would be approximately 7″ x 3″, the height could vary. It could fit in pouch same as the 1 quart. To me, a useful addition.
I’m told the “US Military Arctic Canteen Cup” will work, no idea if it does.
https://bushcraftusa.com/forum/threads/tweaking-the-usgi-2qt-canteen-kit.224456/
https://youtu.be/ciJopiu_YNo
I wasn’t clear, sorry. I bought two of the GI style canteens as recommended above, the nalgene version anyway and would like to buy two metal canteen cups. I remember when I was in the old army how handy they were….and a P38….and c rations which I actually liked.
For the static water supply maintained in a vehicle, use a Scepter runt water can (“Scepter..not ‘just like Scepter’ or ‘private labelled but made by Sceptre’ or ‘better than Sceptre’”) and fill it with Datrex emergency water pouches. The pouches stack inside the can perfectly. It is the best of both worlds. The can protect the pouches from being crushed or punctured. And the pouches makes the distribution and rationing of the water supply easier than just a single Scepter can full of water (Stop spilling!).