Ditch Bag Bottled Water?

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by capngeo

I have 2 canteens I keep on an ALICE belt for wildfires...

I had to look up "ALICE".

All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment (ALICE) introduced in 1974 was made up of components for two types of load: the "fighting load" and the "existence load". The ALICE system was designed for use in all environments, whether hot, temperate, cold-wet or even cold-dry arctic conditions.
➥ ALICE ALL-PURPOSE LIGHTWEIGHT INDIVIDUAL CARRYING EQUIPMENT

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by daddle

Because bottled water has a short shelf life.

Who tells you this stuff? H2O after sitting on a shelf for 10 years turns into what??????????? And club soda is just H2O and CO2 so that ain't gunna die of mildew either.

And if you are so worried then a nip of Scotch Whiskey will kill any bugs. Tequila does too - but hey, we are surviving, not having a Fiesta!

[hellosailor]

"H2O after sitting on a shelf for 10 years turns into what??????????? "
The issue is not what it turns into, but rather that the bottlers are not trying to package lab-sterile water for long term storage. They expect that with normal handling and normal cleanliness, there will still be some bacterial growth and other good stuff in the water, and typically put a 2-year "use by" date on it. I've seen threads of "stuff" in old bottled water. It probably is still better than the pond water a dog drinks, but who knows what that stuff is?
OTOH if I wanted to put the water away long term, I'd open the cap and add a drop of iodine or bleach or other sterilant. (Yeah, more toxins, what else is new.)
Club soda has various salts added to it for flavor, seltzer is simply carbonated water. In either case, the addition of the salts or the carbonic acid formed by the CO2 *might* actually keep it tasting fresher, or discourage stuff from growing in it. And might also be a problem as it would change the pH and adding to stomach acids in a life boat...might upset blood pH as well. (Any doctors in the house?)

So, the worm is in the tequila to prove it has killed bugs and is sterile enough to drink? <VBG>

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

...
The issue is not what it turns into, but rather that the bottlers are not trying to package lab-sterile water for long term storage. They expect that with normal handling and normal cleanliness, there will still be some bacterial growth ...

... So, the worm is in the tequila to prove it has killed bugs and is sterile enough to drink? <VBG>

Indeed.

There's no worm in Mexican Tequila, or at least there isn't supposed to be.
➥ The Straight Dope: Why is there a worm in bottles of tequila?
➥ Tequila - A Bit of History of Tequila, The Essence of Mexico

[Reckless]

It is water in a bottle, while I currently don't carry a ditch bag as I sail in the Great Lakes. I do inspect my safety equipment on a regular basis so that when I need it, it will be there for me. I do carry a 5 gallon water jug on board, it is topped up everytime before we leave the dock.

Does anyone really make up a ditch bag and let it sit for 10 years? 2 years even.

Life rafts need to be serviced on a regular basis so they will do what they are supposed to do when you need them. Why not inspect and replace your ditch bag and your water at that time as well? Seems logical to me.

That way the water in your bag will be no more then a year old? If the water isn't exposed to air or sunlight the bacteria growth over that time would be very minimal.

Taste in a survival situation is irrelevant, I have drank filtered swamp water, it tasted and smelled awful, but water was needed and that was our only option.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Club soda has various salts added to it for flavor,

Iv'e gone tottally off Club Soda!!!!!

Differences by Manufacturer

<LI id=jsArticleStep1 itxtvisited="1">Manufactured club sodas typically have some sort of salt added. For example, the popular brand Canada Dry contains water, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, potassium sulfate and disodium phosphate. Schweppes contains carbonated water, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and potassium sulfate.

Read more: Ingredients of Club Soda | eHow.com Ingredients of Club Soda | eHow.com

More drugs in there than a dealer on speed...

[hellosailor]

Mark, AFAIK the average bottle of club soda has no more "salts" in it than many bottles of "mineral water". In fact, I was at a kibbutz where there were two water taps in the dining room. One was the regular dirnking water, the other apparently was sunk down to a naturally carbonated mineral water source. Carbonated mineral water on tap, honest!

Water with no mineral content at all (RO water or distilled) also has no taste, most folks just don't like that either.

Gord-
Well of course real Mexican tequila has no worm in it. The wormy stuff is distributed by clever Scotsmen, eager to drive customers over to the Scots Whiskey aisle. <VBG>

I have no appreciation for tequila, give me a bucket of cold margueritas twice a year, and that's all the tequila I need to know about.

[Larry]

Hi
We always have one 5 gallon plastic water jug strapped to the stern rail. The line securing it is about 6 feet long tied to the handle and then the pushpit. When the ditching bag comes out it gets tied to it. Having two pieces of gear on either end of a rope makes it is easy to grab in he water. Hard for it to blow away quickly as the water jug is a bit of a sea anchor while the ditching bag floats.
Cheers
Larry