Badlands Fieldcraft: Junk on the Bunk: Water Kit

This post originally appeared on Badlands Fieldcraft. -NCS

Hydration is key. Hydrate or die. We’ve all heard the cliches, so today I’ll cut to the chase and show you the gear I use to rehydrate when I’m out in the bush.

I’d like to make a very important point first though. We’ve all heard that you can go 3 days without water. I’m not exactly sure where this information comes from or what testing was done, but I’m assuming that means a healthy person who is fully hydrated doing nothing for 3 days solid. Also, I believe it means at the end of the 72 hours you are completely dead, so at some point during the 72 hours you will become ineffective. I wouldn’t adopt that as part of your planning, your goal should be to never have to dip into that 3 day reserve.

First and foremost, you need to be well fed and hydrated before you go into the bush. Tying one on the night before is not the best way to hydrate before heading out, trust me. It takes about 3 days to properly prepare your body with nutrients and hydration. You need good nutrition so your body has a full tank of electrolytes and calories to burn in addition to just stored water. Don’t just pound water for 3 days, you’ll pee everything out and when you head out you’ll be nearly exhausted at the beginning of your trip. This is why a proper diet is good to maintain regularly, then you’re always ready to go.

I want to make a few definitions clear, I hear these words tossed around incorrectly by people who I doubt have ever drank water off the landscape and it really irks me because they are giving people advice that could kill them. One promise I can make is that anything you read here has been done by yours truly.

Disinfected versus purified

It’s typically not the visible “floaters” in the water that will hurt you, it’s the microscopic germs, viruses and parasites that will. To “disinfect” water is to boil or treat it with a chemical that will kill these microscopic critters. All the “floaters” are still there. You might not even be able to see through the water. It’s going to taste like a turtles belly, but you won’t die of dehydration.

To purify water is to remove all impurities, microscopic and visible. This is typically not possible in the field. So now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the gear.

Water Containers

I use a few different containers to carry my water. Since I always want to have the 10 C’s with me, a stainless steel single walled water bottle is number one. At a minimum I always take it with. I prefer the Pathfinder 32 oz. bottle. A metal container allows you to boil water to disinfect it. It also makes a nice heater to put in your sleeping bag at night when it’s full of hot water. The 32 oz. size works good when using disinfecting tablets since they are sized off a container that size.

Don’t wash that bottle! Many layers of soot create a nice black color that helps the water heat up faster.

Next on the list to bring is my Grayl Geopress. This is a water bottle and filter in one. It operates similar to a French press. Dirty water is put into the outer container, then the inner container with the filter on the bottom is pressed through the dirty water. The clean water shows up inside, and you can drink it through the top opening.

For extended trips when I don’t anticipate a source of water or when I’d like to have accessible water when I’m hiking I have two 3L Camelbacks. These fit into each of the side pockets on my Karrimor SF Predator 45.

I also have a small collection of plastic water bottles and a 2 quart canteen that I use to carry additional water if I don’t want to use a Camelback.

A word on filters

Before I start to discuss what filters I use, I want to make something clear. Not all filters are equal or the same type. Technically a bandana is a filter but because of the porous nature of the fabric it will only filter down to a certain micron level. All the invisible critters that are present will pass through and without further filtering or treatment you will ingest them.

Filters that utilize a filter element have a material with many microscopic holes for the water to pass through, just like the bandana. These should be a standard size and this is the micron level. The micron level for the filter you are looking at should be readily available, any manufacturer who doesn’t provide this information is not worth using. I don’t use anything with a micron level larger than .1 microns. This means particulates larger than .1 microns of an inch are caught by the filter, and anything smaller passes through.

Filters

As previously mentioned, my Grayl has a filter attached. This filter doesn’t rely on a fabric media but rather a combination of activated charcoal and an ionic charge to filter out contaminants. A nice bonus to this is that the filter isn’t compromised once it’s been frozen, although the manufacturer recommends replacing it if it’s been frozen more than twice. I’ve personally filtered water out of a cow crap infested pond without any effects.

The other filter I use is a Sawyer mini. It’s a great little filter system for the $20 it cost me at Walmart. I say system because it consists of multiple parts and can be used multiple ways. It comes with a small bag that can be filled with dirty water, then you screw the filter on top and press the dirty water through into another container, or just drink it directly. I also comes with a straw that can be attached to the filter so you can drink from a container or from the water source itself. The filter itself can also be attached to most plastic pop bottles and you can use them as a makeshift container. Lastly the system comes with a large syringe to help back flush the filter and clean it out. I keep this is my large aid bag since it is great for flushing wounds as well.

Prefilters

Sometimes the water source you are using is not nice and clear, this is called having a high turbidity. The problem with high turbidity is that the contaminants making the water unclear will clog up your filter causing it to filter slow or not at all. Using a prefilter will help reduce this problem.

I always try to carry a cotton bandana or two, and I store one with my stainless water bottle just for this reason.

Another tool that is very useful is a Milbanks bag. These were issued by the British military to help filter water in the field. I have a modern one made by Browns Bushcraft called the Brown Filter Bag. The bag is filled with dirty water and once the canvas has absorbed water and expanded gravity will pull water through and into a container of your choice. This is not safe to drink yet and must still be boiled, although it is very effective and filtering out turbidity.

The brown bag filter works good for passively melting snow also

Lastly I have used the Portable Aqua brand Iodine tablets quite a bit. Just like filters, not all chemical treatments are the same. Some are stronger than others and some take longer to work than others. Iodine tablets are rumored to have a bad taste, but honestly it isn’t that bad. Anyone who has refilled their canteens off a water buffalo will know the taste.

Line 2 water kit

So in conclusion, between the three methods of filtering, boiling and chemical treatment you should be able to assemble a robust and reliable water kit for yourself.

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About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

4 Comments

  1. Alan Burquist July 29, 2020 at 09:05

    Good article, useful info..
    My homeground is the Olympic Peninsula, so as far as water goes, we are GTG.. Water is plentiful and good quality, even in high summer.. Been using the MSR Miniworx filter for 20yrs.. Effective, reliable, economical, easy to get.. Ceramic cartridge is good for 2000L of water, (says the manufacturer), and replacement parts are available..

    I own 4 of these MSR filters, plus some extra filter cartridges, but I haven’t needed to replace the cartridge in the oldest most used unit yet.. No matter what kind of filtration, I always back it up with pure tabs.. Unless, I am boiling the water for cooking or coffee, tabs make it taste nasty..

    Found that Pathfinder nesting cooking set on Amazon, I ordered one.. I have always used the GI canteen cup and nested stove on my webgear, and a folding rocket stove in my Rucksack.. Have boxes of hexane tabs, but no shortage of fuel and pitch in our Olympic Fir forests, so I never bother with them.. I keep a magnesium fire starter on my webgear too, only use it for practice tho..

    LOL, what can I say, I cheat, keep a few of Bic lighters in my gear.. Notch the bark on a Fir tree, collect a blurb of pitch on a stick, and light it with a Bic lighter.. Start any fire, burns long and hot even in the rain!

    Interestingly, this article made me go looking at water filters on Amazon too, found the Purewell Pump system, looks pretty good, so I ordered a 2 pack.. Never have enough water filters..

  2. Rucksack Rob July 29, 2020 at 09:09

    another great article!
    Tip: An inexpensive way to get rid of the Iodine taste in your canteen / water bottle is to drop in a Vitamin C tablet. It must be ASCORBIC ACID and NOT ‘natural Vitamin. C’ such as from Rose Hips, and it must be done AFTER the 20 mins (minimum) of the Potable Aqua tablet(s) being in your water bottle (per the instructions). Ascorbic Acid is the same product included in the Potable Aqua 2 bottle kit and it’s much less expensive seperately since most people have Ascorbic Acid at home already (again, vitamin C NOT from Rose Hips).
    NOTE** the combination of Rose Hip vitamin C and Iodine will not hurt you, it just won’t get rid of the Iodine taste like Ascorbic Acid does…

    Another tip from an old man (me) is: Making water from snow and depending on it for your sole source of water is a constant job. It can take about a beach ball size of snow to make 1 quart +- of water. (depending on water content of the snow, I.E. fresh powder vs. wet stuff) That’s a lot of work when your pot / cup / melting bag is only quart size and your daily intake is measured in gallon(s)
    When winter camping, and I’ve done my fair share, I bring a piece of parachute (you could use a piece of bed sheet also) about 6 or 8 ft. square, fill it full of snow, tie it off with 550-paracord and hang it from an overhead branch in close proximity to your fire, letting it drip into your pot. That will give you time to do other important tasks such as firewood, setting snares, build shelter, etc. This is for multiple people or a group size element. For individuals you can do the same with a T-shirt or smaller piece of bed sheet or parachute.

  3. Badlands Rifleman August 2, 2020 at 11:32

    Hey Alan, I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the article and thanks for the compliment. You are in some of my old stomping grounds, I was stationed at Bangor for awhile and truly loved it out there. That’s a good idea backing up your filter with a chemical treatment or boiling. Bic’s aren’t cheating, they are like the AK-47 of Fire starters. If it’s simple and works what more do you need? I remove the safety on the spark wheel to help dry it out and add a loop of 550 to the end so I can spin dry it if need be.

  4. Badlands Rifleman August 3, 2020 at 01:17

    Rucksack Rob – Thanks for the tips on the Ascorbic Acid. One trick I’ve used to neutralize the flavor of water that has that fishy taste after I boiled it is to add a little ash from the fire and once it cools down throw some pine needles in it too. I wonder if the ash trick would with iodine as well? my experience with melting snow fire water is exactly like you describe. I packed my brown water filter with as much snow as I could, and after it dripped by the fire all night I woke up to find I had about a quart of water, maybe a bit less. I’m a big fan of using the jet boil type stoves for melting snow, other stoves I’ve tried just don’t put out the BTU’s on a cold day to get the snow melted. Thanks for so the winter patrolling tips, I’d love to hear more when you have time, take care!

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