Water in 72hr pack

[Mirium]

How much water for each person do you put in a 72hr pack?

Bearing in mind its heavy.Is it advisable to pack enough for the 72hrs or would you just carry some water and pack water purification tablets to make up the rest?

[gabelpa]

Depends on where you are. I've always treated the 72 hour kit s a "Bug out bag", something you use to get away from the local area, Food storage to stay put (Always stay put unless you must leave your house. Some recommend that you take the bare minimum you would need just to drink, and prepare food, under harsh circumstances. I can't remember how much that is, I think it is also heavily dependant on your fitness level, BMI and other factors.

Personally, we carry about 2 litres per person, and water purification stuff, but water is relatively easy to find locally,assuming what makes us need the 72 hour kit doesn't also taint the natural water supply. Things like floods that wash up sewage from the drains would taint local water supplies.

Here's a quote that came from someone who is more survivalist than realist

If your bag is too heavy, don't pack less,hike more

meaning, if your pack has all the essentials,and you still find it heavy, go on hikes with it, until it doesn't feel heavy anymore.

[BenRaines]

I buy the instant water packs. All you do is add water.

Ben Raines

[eternalpromise516]

lol i'm sorry, but that was hilarious ben :grin:

[Alana]

I have the water in a separate bag. It was mashing the other stuff. I think I have two of the 16oz (or something around there) bottles for each person each day. I've also taken to keeping a few gallons in the trunk of the car.

[Captain_Curmudgeon]

I've also taken to keeping a few gallons in the trunk of the car.

I have a 7.5 gallon container inside (so that it doesn't freeze) next to the back door. In summer, it just lives in the car trunk. Every few months, I refill it to keep it fresh.

[Rico]

Sometimes water purification tablets just aren't easy to get. I think you can go to a specialty store, but two minutes at a local pharmacy is all it took for the me to get what I needed. For water purification, I bought a small 250 ml bottle of bleach(without additives), a small 5cc syringe. 1cc will purify one gallon of disgusting water.

Total cost? Less than $1 to have the ability to purify 250 to 500 gallons of water. It's much cheaper than water purification tablets.

[gabelpa]

Remember, with water purification, boiling, bleach, iodine tablets etc. only deal with the majority of nasty bugs. They do nothing for particulate, and more important, chemical contaminants.

[kemct]

FEMA recommends and it is oft quoted elsewhere that you should have 1 gallon of water per person per day. This is for drinking and hygiene.

It is best to keep water containers sealed properly at all times to limit bacterial contamination as much as possible.

If you use bleach to purify water, remember bleach has a shelf life of one year and loses effectiveness. As Rico mentioned, make sure it is unscented plain bleach.

Here is a great resource on how to purify water;

How to Purify Water - wikiHow


You can by a bottle of cheap tablets online for around $5 -$6, and much more expensive filters for under $100 at;

Nitro-Pak.com The World Leader in Innovative & Affordable Preparedness Gear
Water Filters & Water Purifiers - Emergency Essentials
Discount Emergency Water & Accessories - The Ready Store

[Mirium]

Originally Posted by gabelpa

Remember, with water purification, boiling, bleach, iodine tablets etc. only deal with the majority of nasty bugs. They do nothing for particulate, and more important, chemical contaminants.

So if they don't work for everything is there any alternative?