CONTAINER HACKS
Condom Canteen
Coal-Burned Container
Pillowcase Water Carry
Happy Birthday Container
Mouth Spreader Canteen Bail
An Aluminum Foil Container That Is Actually Useful
PURIFYING AND FILTERING HACKS
Kill It with Household Bleach
Trash Bottle Solar Distiller
Boil Water in a Large Leaf
GATHERING HACKS
Sink Filler Hack
Drink with a Bandana
2-Liter Rain Collector
Umbrella Water Funnel
Make a Solar Water Blanket
In extreme conditions, humans can survive approximately 3 days without water. In a survival scenario the need for water is second only to regulating core body temperature. Nothing else matters if you can’t supply your brain, organs, and muscles with the hydration necessary to make decisions and keep pressing forward. The human body is 50–65 percent water and is highly dependent on regular replenishments.
There is more to water in survival conditions than many people realize. First, you must find water. In some environments, like the desert, this can be an incredible challenge. Second, you must gather and contain available water. This can be difficult with limited resources. Third, you must purify and filter water so that it is safe to drink. Shortcomings in any of these categories can leave you staggering and stumbling with the effects of dehydration. Let’s explore several survival water hacks using everyday items that could mean the difference between life or death.
CONTAINER HACKS
CONDOM CANTEEN
Many survivalists, including myself, suggest packing nonlubricated condoms in survival kits. They are small, compact, and inexpensive and have a plethora of survival uses. One noteworthy function is as a compact emergency water container. However, few people have ever actually tried carrying water in one. Here are a couple tips I’ve learned from experience. Fill the condom in a sock to protect it during travel. Use any rigid hollow tube such as an ink pen, elderberry branch, or bamboo section as a spout and secure the base of the condom around it using duct tape or paracord. Carve a spout stopper from any dry branch and add a sling and you’re ready to make tracks with more than 1 liter of drinking water.
COAL-BURNED CONTAINER
Containers are a luxury in the wild. Without one, it can be very difficult to gather, contain, or boil water. The lack of metal arts didn’t prevent primitive cultures from making containers. In fact, some of the first containers were “hacked” by using red-hot coals from the fire to burn depressions into chunks of wood. You can do this as well. Carefully place a coal in a small carved groove and then blow on it, using a hollow reed. The intense heat will slowly burn a hole into the wood. Our ancestors used wet sand along with the direction of airflow through the reed to control the shape and depth of the bowl. Coal-burned containers can be used for all kinds of water chores. To boil water in your container, add red-hot rocks from the fire.
PILLOWCASE WATER CARRY
It may be necessary in a survival scenario to carry large quantities of water (5+ gallons, which with water weighing around 8 pounds per gallon means carrying 40 pounds). Whether traveling in barren lands or hydrating a large group several hundred yards from a water source, you should know a few water-carrying techniques.
Line a pillowcase (burlap bags or feed sacks also work) with a thick plastic trash bag. You can then pour several gallons of water inside it. The cloth lining helps not only to stabilize the load but also to protect the lining from rips and tears during travel. To carry, fold it over the top and tie it closed to create a seal, then lash the top knot of this bag to the top knot of another equally full bag. These bags can now be safely and securely carried over your shoulder with much less effort than hauling water by hand in buckets.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONTAINER
I’ll never forget walking through the woods one day when I was a kid and seeing a cluster of shiny silver deflated helium birthday balloons hanging from a tree branch. After retrieving them with a stick I was surprised to find a note that had been written from a girl 3 states away and tied to the bottom before she released them on her birthday. It was like a modern-day note in a bottle. Since that time I’ve found deflated helium balloons in the wilderness on several occasions. Their Mylar surface can be used for a variety of purposes, including a reflective shelter back wall and even solar fire starting. They also make excellent water containers. Trim the filler neck off, fill with a liter or so of water, and tie on a spout similar to the one described in the Condom Canteen hack in this chapter. Voilà—instant bota bag.
MOUTH SPREADER CANTEEN BAIL
A pot handle, called a bail, makes hanging a pot over a fire very convenient. Many metal canteens don’t come with bails and, consequently, are cumbersome when it comes to boiling and purifying wild water. An outstanding and little-known hack solution to this frustration can be found in the fishing department at almost any big-box outdoor retailer. A fish mouth spreader, when opened entirely, fits perfectly and securely inside the mouth of many different-sized metal canteens. This can be used to not only lift the vessel in and out of hot coals but also as a bail for hanging it above the fire when desired. This tool costs less than $2 and weighs virtually nothing. It is a great addition to any metal canteen water kit. This hack works especially well with Klean Kanteen brand containers.
AN ALUMINUM FOIL CONTAINER THAT IS ACTUALLY USEFUL
Many people advocate packing aluminum foil into small everyday carry (EDC) survival kits. Often, you’ll hear them say, “Aluminum foil can make a great container.” In reality, this is easier said than done. It requires a bit of skill to shape a piece of aluminum foil into a usable container. It’s something that most people don’t think about until it’s too late. This is a hack best taught by video. Click on the following link to watch as a few folds turn a square piece of aluminum foil into a very useful survival bowl that can be used to boil water, cook stews and broths, or even fry meat and vegetables. www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2nC6T4muso.
PURIFYING AND FILTERING HACKS
KILL IT WITH HOUSEHOLD BLEACH
Many cities purify their municipal water supply with chlorine. You can do the same in a survival scenario using household bleach. Most homes, businesses, and retail establishments keep a bottle of bleach on hand, and memorizing the purification dosages could keep you from a gastrointestinal nightmare. Household bleach is sold as a 6–8 percent concentration of active sodium hypochlorite. This is often marketed as Extra Concentrated. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends using 2 drops of this concentration per 1 quart or liter of water. Make sure the water is clear to begin with and that you wait a full 30 minutes after adding the bleach before using it. Cloudy or murky water drastically affects the effectiveness of almost all chemical purifiers. Also, only use regular unscented bleach.
TRASH BOTTLE SOLAR DISTILLER
Distillation is the process of evaporating water and then condensing it again in a container. This process removes impurities, chemicals, salt, and even waterborne pathogens. All life raft survival kits include a solar distiller to desalinate salty ocean water in a survival scenario. You can easily hack a mini distiller from a clear trash bottle, such as a 2-liter bottle, in just a few minutes. Cut the bottom off the bottle and fold the bottom 2" of edge up under and inside the bottle. I’ve found it helpful to heat the bottom edge over a fire to make it more pliable. Place this bottle in a mud puddle, on wet sand, on a wet rag, or over a cup filled with dirty water and let the sun go to work. Clean, drinkable water will evaporate and condense on the inside of the bottle. It will then run down the inside of the bottle and collect in the folded lip that you created. Then it can be drunk from the bottle without further purification. Note: Full sun is required for the distillation process to work.