Friday's Thoughts and Other Stuff

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

An Imported Water Bottle
from Great Britain (ca 1755)
source
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water
After breathable air and appropriate shelter, water is the most important item that you and your family can have in your emergency preparedness supplies.

So, ...

You need to make sure that you have enough drinkable water, but how much is enough?

I would suggest at least a two-week supply for every man, woman, child, and animal, under your care.

That's 14-gallons per person with a family of four requiring 56 gallons of water.

In other words, that's about 110 two-liter soda bottles, or ...

One 55-gallon water barrel.

Sgt. Derrick Bell, with the 574th Quartermaster Support Company,
picks up an empty  55-gallon water drum,
which was part of a Container Delivery System
during sling load training (ca 2010)
source
United States Army

But, ...
That's not where I'm going.

I'm headed to the local ...


Charity Stores
I was cruising one of the local charity stores when I found aluminum water bottles, for $1.50 each.

So, for six dollars, I bought four rugged water containers for me to have in my emergency evacuation kit or Get Home Bag (GHB).

A Bare Metal Aluminum Water Bottle

As you can see, they are very reflective, but I wanted something a little bit more ... tactical.

So, ...

Off to the local big box home improvement store for a can of spray paint.

Three Painted Metal Water Bottles with an Unpainted Bottle

Needless to say, I am a little disappointed because the paint is a little too shinny for me.

Oh, well.

By the way, did you notice the little blemish on the left hand water bottle?

It had a piece of tape that I didn't remove before painting.

Detail of Painted Water Bottle

Needless to say, I took it out to repaint it when I painted the last water bottle in the group.

Why?
For most uses, a plastic water bottle is going to be adequate. They are rugged, lightweight, and plentiful.

But, ...

I wanted something that could take a beating, wouldn't become brittle in extreme cold, and could be heated for a warm drink in the winter.


Camouflage
Needless to say, these bottles will see use, so the paint will fade, rub off, and ... just get messed up.

But, ...

Not a big deal because I will choose another subdued color and hit the shiny metal spots.

Vola! It's camouflaged