Mainstay Emergency Drinking Water 4.225 oz (60 Pack)

Interesting product, not necessarily in a positive way. I purchased these for an emergency ditch bag on my sailboat. The price seemed reasonable and I need the product to pass pre-race safety inspection. They will serve for that purpose but I wonder about the water inside them...Why? First off the Mfg. claims good for 5 years. Well, since the lot number and the manufacturing date are missing on the units I purchased, who knows when 5 years is up. The terms LOT and MFG DATE are printed on the pouch, there is just no entry of the relevant data. The opened and re-taped box they were delivered in has a stamp on it which says "replace in 2011" what the heck does that mean? Is this the original product box or something they picked up on the shop floor when hey packed my order??? I am operating on the assumption there is good water in the pouches and that expiration dates are pretty loosey goosey ianyway. I have some ten year old Tylenol on the boat which still kills a headache so what the heck. Assuming Armageddon comes along, the last thing we'll worry about is the expiry date of water pouches, right? But two stars off for putting the tags on the packet and not including any information. I'll report back on my survival should I wind up having to abandon my boat. Review updated to five stars. After looking more closely at the packets, I found the expiry date and lot number had been pressure printed into the mylar. Kind of hard to see unless you really inspect the packet because the indentations are printed in the outline of the packet. signage. Mine are dated 10/16 so that is reasonable with me receiving the order 06/17. I just drank a packet and water quality is about what you would expect out of a mylar bag. A little bit of taste but certainly fine for emergency use. I am pretty sure you would be absolutely delighted to drink these if the alternative was slow and agonizing death by dehydration.

I've had a supply of these for many many years. In the early 1970's they came in soda sized steel gray cans. Except for foods like milk and certain organics that obviously decay and putrify, certain freeze dried foods, MRE's and especially emergency water packets like theys have a much longer usable shelf life that the expiration date. Crackers stored in the mid 1960's, as I recall, for Cold War "fallout" shelters, if not exposed to water, are edible, today. Much of the original flavor might have been lost, but they still supply nourishment in an emergency. I would not hesitate drinking this water 15 or even 20 years from now, if I were surrounded by sewage or chemically tainted water around me. I'd have to pour it into a cup and sniff it befors taking a sip. If there is no smell of decay or poor taste, I'd go ahead and drink it. Certain canned foods from the turn of the 20th century, that did not swell up or contained chemicals that would react with the metal or the soldered seams , have been analized and found to be completely "eatable" and not harmful by scientist over a century later. Canned foods or even meat and crackers left by both the Scott and the Shackleton Expeditions in the early 1900's have been tested to be not harmful, if consumed. So, I wouldn't throw them out, if the date is expired.

If they are good enough for the US Coast Guard, they are good enough for my family! I like that they have a shelf life for 5 years. I have an emergency supply kit by the front door and it is stocked with these. I have four people in my family, plus two dogs. These are great because they are so packable! I also have ten pouches in each car (in a Zip Lock bag) in case one of the cars break down (they haven't ever, but just in case) and we need water on hand. It makes me have peace of mind that I'll have water on hand in case of an emergency (in my case; probably an earthquake.) They packaging is a very strong aluminum type pouch. I've thrown them around a bit and no water has spilled out so far...

I put these in my winter survival kit because unlike a bottle of water, even if these freeze, the 4oz size flattened in a pouch provides sufficient surface area to melt quickly from body heat. Plus - because they're packaged in metal foil - I don't need to worry about BPA leaching into them (like you would from a plastic bottle) when the weather gets warm. The small size makes it easy to ration volume, especially important if needing to serve more than one person, plus it's an appropriate small size to carry with you for emergency purposes. I bought these in November, and the pouch clearly states they were packaged in September 2013 - so the company gave me product that's pretty much good for a full five years. I have tasted the water and while not delicious, it's fully drinkable. There's an off-taste - strange enough that I won't finish the pouch I just opened, but if an emergency arose, taste probably wouldn't be a priority of concern. That said, I'll be following up with the company to see if that's expected from whatever purification and packaging method they use, and not just an anomaly from my shipment. When I receive a reply, I'll edit my post to let you know what they say.

I purchased a case in order to test for suitability for emergency kits for cars. Each pouch is made from a heavy foil/mylar(?) material and contains 4.225-oz. I placed 15 pouches into a 1-gallon resealable freezer bag. I put the bag of pouches outdoors for several days in below-freezing weather (~25 deg. F daytime and ~10 deg. F at night). A few of the pouches froze but most did not. I drank a pouch so that I could check the taste. The water is from the Oxnard city source. I did not experience any unpleasant taste. Since this is shipped directly by Amazon, you can get the free "Super Saving Shipping." This make the cost per pouch less than some other merchants since they will charge shipping and water is heavy (about 17-lbs for the 60 pouches). I didn't have any problem with broken pouches that another reviewer complained about. Yes, this is an expensive way to purchase water. However, for keeping a minimum supply of potable water in an environment with temperature extremes (like inside a car), this is a good idea. You could buy a couple of gallon jugs of water for much less money, but I wouldn't want to try to melt a gallon block of ice in an actual life-threatening emergency. Also, if one pouch develops a leak that is not such big problem compared to a gallon or liter bottle leaking. The manufacturing recommends 2 pouches per person per day but would be if you weren't exerting yourself at all. I think 15 pouches per person per day (that's almost a half gallon) would be more realistic.

I bought this product to go along with my disaster kit I keep at home. It's a good addition to anyone who is looking to have a clean source of drinking water in case something happens where water is cut off. That being said, this should not be your only means of drinkable water. Iodine tablets, filters and boiling should be considered as an alternative in case of a severe emergency. But at the very least this item suits a specific need, as it is efficient in packaging and doesnt take up much space as they are flat packages stacked on top of each other. Their 5 year shelf life is more then adequate for an emergency kit. To be honest though, I'm not sure what would happen if you left it for 10, 15 years. But for the price of the water and the durability, if you had to replace it every 5 years that wouldn't be the worst thing. The packages are sealed very well. I'd definitely keep a couple of these in the car as well if you have a kit for emergencies. Other then that, this is a good component to a disaster kit. And as people say, better to have it and not use it, then need it and not have it.

I keep these in our vehicles, great emergency kit item. Tastes good, easy to use and can keep you hydrated. Good packaging

This is what happens when you watch too many episodes of naked and afraid