RE: [Paddlewise] Water Carrier

Rob Baran wrote:
>Hello, I'm new to the list. I was wondering if anyone knows of a reliable
>and affordable collapsible water carrier in the 2-5 gallon range. I'm
>considering a Baja trip next month.

Alex wrote about wine bladders:
>As they will conform to any shape they are the most effective way of
carrying water, will fit where
>nothing else will.

I never liked the nylon covered "wine box liners" for kayaking (although
I've got one for backpacking since the late 70's when they first came out as
water containers and suggested my employer, Early Winters, sell them). They
seemed difficult to fit where I wanted them to go in a kayak. They always
seamed to want to blob roll down to the middle and they did not have enough
shape to stuff in anywhere else without a lot of fussing and two hands.
I use a combination of two collapsible containers. The cheapest ones are the
two liter soda pop bottles that I collect when I can (I'd pour out the on
sale soda pop before I'd drink it if I had to buy them though-even if you
have to buy the product with them they are cheap). They are also very tough.
I stomp them flat (except for the mouth) to save space when they are empty
and blow them back up to fill them again. I like not having all my water
eggs in one basket especially in Baja where enough drinking water could
become a life or death issue and is most often not easily available. When
these soda bottles are full they can be jammed into nooks and crannies
between gear bags and can be used to shift weight easily from one side of
the kayak to the other so that it will float level once loaded.
The other container I use is the 2.5 gallon size "Reliance" jug. It is about
an 8 to 9" cube and will fold fairly small (very similar to the cube at REI
but with a red carrying handle and a twist to pour spout). Made in Canada if
I remember correctly. They also made a 5 gallon version but I found them too
unwieldy and heavy when full (not to mention the eggs in one basket
problem). Two of the 2.5 gallon ones can fit side to side behind me and, as
opposed to the slinky wine jugs, will stay where I put them. Compared to the
similar cube type from REI, the Reliance jug's handles and hanging hole also
let me secure them better in the back deck if need be for those long Baja
trips (such as the time I had about 10 gallons of water in and on my
Khatsalano S when paddling out of Loreto. BTW figure at least a gallon of
water per person per day for your Baja trip. The corners of these square
type jugs (where they are thinner walled and fold into points) are very
vulnerable to getting a pin hole leak worn into them. I haven't had much
problem with this since I ran into Kenny Howell on my first trip to Baja
back in 1986 (I think). He was a guide for Sea Trek and he showed me the
cure for leaky corners that had worked for them. Inflate the jugs when they
are new and tape an X of duct tape over each corner of the cube before ever
using them. These jugs were widely available at most general sporting goods
and camping stores. However, the duct tape trick worked so well for me that
it has been a long time since I have looked for these jugs so I don't know
if they are still available now. I have had to replace the dried out duct
tape once or twice since first getting them though.
If you tie a short cord with a hook on it to the handle and/or hanging hole
they make a good emergency paddle float. Wrap the cord around the paddle
shaft a couple of times and hook the cord to itself to attach it to the
shaft, the cord will cinch up and not let it slide up the shaft. In fact,
the "Reliance" jugs became the first "commercial" paddlefloat as that is
what I finally settled on when I was looking for something better than my
PFD to use when I was first developing the paddlefloat rescue. I was looking
for a floating device that was easy to attach, compact, easy to inflate and
use, cheap (then it was under $6.00 retail) and widely available to paddlers
before promoting our then new rescue widely to the then very small sea
kayaking community. There is a drawing of this jug about 2/3 of the way
through the "Owner's Manual" on our website. It shows two cords securing the
jug to the paddle shaft but one cord was usually enough (with two cords tied
to the jug in advance there was a back-up in case one failed and with both
attached the paddle would be held more horizontal when in use-but still not
as horizontal as with the more modern envelope style paddlefloats I now
prefer).
Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com/
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