Re: Water usage
I know that it's not something that most follow, but I believe the gallon/day per person is something that should be considered. In an emergency you might also consider having a portable water purification pump or a means of boiling water and reclaiming the steam...there are several survival items that you can pick up at places like REI or your local hunting/army-navy surplus that you might want to consider as well.
Water water everywhere, but not a drop of drinkable in sight...unless you prepare in advance.
At 9lbs/gallon, your best off is weight is a concern to have a means to get fresh water close to your anchorage, or have a means to filter/purify in the field. I have one of these (
http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water...nd-hydration/miniworks-ex-microfilter/product) that I have used on several occasions....after filtering I move on to boil the water just to be absolutely sure that it's as sterile as possible, however, these are issued to Marines in theaters of operations for direct use to refill their hydration packs (and previously their canteens).
You can easily get the water hot by using a sun shower type bag sitting in the sun. this reduces the required fuel to get it to the boiling point...another possiblitiy is using a camelbak (the one I have is dark gray) and the water will get to about 120degrees if sitting in the sun, then place in a camping teapot and bring to boil, remove from teapot from your heat source and allow to cool then pour into your storage vessel (water jug, collapsible water container, etc).
