Water Containers
The Desert is DRY, and there IS NO WATER there. So we Burners bring our own. AND we take it all back with us as well. Dealing with Water is a big part of Burning Man and the experience. From drinking water to grey water, Burners are always containing and transporting water everywhere. Seeing the different creative solutions that people have developed, really inspire your own ideas of how to do it better next time.
When You Leave Camp Bring Your Water
When you go out to adventure around, make sure to bring drinking water with you. There are a number of different solutions that everyone uses depending on their own preferences.
Whether you go with a CamelBak (Hydration Backpack) or a good thermos, make sure your container doesn’t leak. It happens quite a lot. Water is a precious resource, don’t lose it. If you’re out and about and run out of water, you can usually drop by a camp with a bar and ask for some water refill.
Hydration Packs
These funky designed hydration packs, not only look cool, but you can carry 2 liters of water at a time. If you do get a hydration pack, get a cleaning kit as well. These seem to be pretty standard issue with many burners. I’ve gone through a couple myself. They can leak, but it’s fixable with bicycle tire repair kits. See More Styles
Ziploc Ice Hack
Here is a handy tip. When you fill up your cooler with ice, Put the ice in ziploc bags first. The ice melts inside the bags, and doesn’t get all your food wet. Plus you can then take the bags as little portable Ice Water Drinks.
Be Creative
Whether you get a thermos, camel pack or goat bladder, have some fun with designing and blinging it up. Pick a theme you enjoy. Me, I like Zebras. Some spray paint, black marker and some zebra image searches and voila! My Zebra Water Container. Sis always makes wonderful tea bags to help my dusty throat. In the morning I throw one in the thermos, and keep filling it with ice. Ice infused tea in the desert is so nice!
How Much Water Should You Bring?
It totally depends on how many showers you are gonna take, how you wash your dishes, etc. Generally the rule of 1.5 gallons per day seems to work for most people. Of course if you are in an RV you also want to bring EXTRA water. All in all it’s better to bring too much than too little your first time.
Keep Drinking All Day and Night
Here is a graph showing what the military are calculating for water consumption in the desert. It’s a good guide based on the temperature. The red arrows show the average day temperature at Black Rock City, Nevada.
Dehydration is a real problem out on The Playa and can really bum your party. If you are drinking alcohol or taking other substances, you will want to make sure to drink extra water. If you are building up your campsite, or helping someone put up a giant sculpture, you’re gonna wanna follow the A line of the graph.
Collapsable Water Containers
There are a variety of Water Containers in different sizes. Depending on the size of your crew, you will want big or small containers. Remember 1.5 Gallons per day, per person. The Collapsable Water Containers have proven very handy in the past. However after a few Burning Mans, they can tend to break at the seams and leak a bit. Nothing that some flex seal can’t fix. Just make sure they are BPA free!
What are your Water Tips? Let us know in the comments.
Originally published at www.burningmanguides.com.
