Goodbye Plastic Bottles – there’s emergency water in a bag now! What will they think of next?
Awhile back I won a little emergency kit that was the size of a large paperback book. Inside were some essentials for survival – an emergency blanket, some weird food bars, a few bits of first aid, and 2 bags of water?!
Really? Water in a pouch? That seemed like such an absurd concept to me at the time. Why would you carry water in little plastic pouches. Why not just carry drinking bottles like the rest of the world? Besides, there was so little in each pouch, what was the point?
Well…..the point is, they’re small, they’re easy to pack, they don’t make a bunch of noise, they aren’t bulky, they can be crammed into spaces no plastic bottle has business being in, and can serve as an emergency water source in a time of need.
They are especially perfect for carrying in a purse or bag if you don’t have much room and can be compact and sit at the bottom of your bag, or tucked away in a pocket.
Now before you balk and say…what’s the point of 4.225 oz of water? Isn’t this just something gimmicky? Normally I would say yes, but think of this: It’s an emergency. You don’t have your go bag, your 72 hour kit, your BOB, your Get Home Bag, or anything else. You’ve walked out the door with your purse or diaper bag, you forgot to grab a bottle of water, you’re with a friend who doesn’t have an emergency car kit, so what do you do now? This little easily forgettable pouch of water is sitting in the bottom of your bag and can get you through. It’s another layer in your stash.
We especially like them for my husband’s get home bag. We purposely do not pack his bag full of what he’d need to survive on a 7 day hike. He’s less than 1.5 days from home most anywhere he goes (if he goes further, there is more stash in his emergency car kit he can add). Using a few of these pouches tucked away in his bag takes up less space than water bottles, and gives him just enough until he can find a water source in which we use his water bag and a filter system. I also keep 2 in my day pack at all times. It’s also something you can tuck into your child’s school backpack or emergency school kit.
We don’t use this as our primary source of water in any circumstance, but they’re great as the backup – just in case. It’s not to replace the water you store for your family for long-term use. It’s not even something I’d say get first, though we have since purchased 2 packs to be able to tuck in places here and there to have just a little extra water security on the go.
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