1-Man, 24-Hours: How much water?

[RGoodellSr]

In a situation where a supply of water is not available in the field and must be carried-in, how much water does an average 24-hour period require?

I've assessed the average single meal MRE will use around 32oz of water depending on number/type of beverages, retort/dehydrated entrees, etc... 96oz Seems like a lot of water to carry for 3 meals, plus whatever a person consumes as needed for thirst or other needs.

How much water does a field soldier pack at the beginning of the day versus how much said soldier will actually consume?

[Smitty]

I don't know how much they have, or are ordered to consume. That would be super interesting to hear.

What I can tell you is that I will go through over 3L of water on a through hike per day. Cooking some dehydrated meals will use a bit more. I would say that is bare minimum and fairly standard amongst the four guys that I hunt with. One of the smaller guys tried 2L on a 14 km section once and he was boring water near the end of the day.

[RGoodellSr]

Thanks for the in input, very interesting

[donaldjcheek]

It really depends on the situation.

In the desert (Iraq, Saudi Arabia & Kuwait) we needed 7-8 liters/day in the summer, 4-5 liters/day in the winter. Same in Panama, roughly 4 liters/day MINIMUM. This was for drinking purposes only,, by the way. Cooking required additional water.

I've been taking Boy Scouts backpacking for about 30 years now, and rule of the thumb is 1 gallon (3.9 liters) per day per boy, both drinking and cooking.

I can tell you from experience, packing in 3 gallons of water for a weekend hike in the Guadalupe Mountains or Big Bend is no easy feat.

[RGoodellSr]

With 1gallon weighing in at 8.34lb, that's a major consideration... But what choice do you really have if there's no other source

[blue87fj60]

I also have done a lot of camping and hiking with my son and his Scout troop.
I figured early on it was easier to start using a bladder to carry water. You can use stand alone ones like a Camelbak or use like we have the military surplus ALICE packs. The bladder fits in a pouch in the pack. They hold quite a bit.
Then you can also carry a couple Nalgene bottles for cooking. It’s hard to get away from the weight so it’s best to have a good comfortable pack.

[RGoodellSr]

Makes good sense

[donaldjcheek]

What I normally carry for a "bring-your-own-water" Boy Scout weekend hike is:
- 3-liter Camelback attached to outside of pack
- US Army surplus 5-quart collapsible water bladder inside main pack
- US Army surplus 2-quart canteen clipped to side of pack
- 1 quart Nalgene in outside pack pocket
- US Army 1 quart canteen, canteen cup, & canteen cup stove clipped to pack belt

3 gallons (11.36 liters) weighing 26.35 lbs (11.95 kg), including containers & cup. Tent, sleeping gear, food & first aid add another 22 lbs (10 kg).

The canteen cup is my cook pot,my dinner bowl, and my coffee cup; all cooking is done over the canteen cup stove & fuel tablets.

[RGoodellSr]

Excellent info, thx!

[Cookoff013]

5L per person, per day minimum.
If in hot or excersise. Alot more.