Canteen on a budget.

With the weather already approaching 85 to 90 degrees, I needed a canteen really fast.
Wanted it to be p/c but didnt want to spend a lot of money.
I found some wine bota bags at Walmart for under $5.00.
Removed as much of the plastic that I could,removed all of the braid.
I wanted wool or bucskin but was all out. Found some heavy cotton canvas material,sewed it on with some artificial sinew, used a leather shoelace for a strap.I had some left over glass crow beads, and I have a canteen that sort of looks p/c. Well maybe not.
Canteen on a budget.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Looks good! I have one that I used to use when hunting. Will warn your the water tastes like it came from a garden hose because of the liner used in the bottle. :shake:
Mix up a solution of baking soda and water and let sit in the bag overnight, rinse good, (several flushings). Then put your water you intend to drink. This will take some of that rubber taste out of the water. However if you leave water in for a couple of days the taste comes back, and you will need to flush before next use! :grin:

 

Hi 50calcliff,
Thanks for the info.
I was wondering how to clean it out.
Ill give the baking soda a try.
Thanks again. :thumbsup:

 

[jeepwj992002]

Looks great! That is a neat idea. :thumbsup:

 

Thanks David.
:thumbsup:

 

[bramble]

Looks good.

Another thought on the odor/taste issue. At walmart or camping stores you can get water purification tablets (the usual iodine based bad tasting stuff), but now they have a two part system with a neutralizer to remove the taste/odor. That neutralizer might be effective in dealing with the problem.

bramble

 

Hi Bramble,
Thanks for the info.
That is a very good idea. :thumbsup:

 

[PitchyPine]

Neat, good idea :thumbsup:

 

[wil]

Hi,
Another idea for a good PC canteen for a little money is a gord style. Let the gourd dry,cut the top off and clean the inside out. You can then plug it with a cork or a chunk of wood and your set to go. I like to line mine with bees wax, it helps get rid of the after taste.
Also if you go to some of the miltray surrplus stores you might be able to find one of the WW1 British canteens for around $10.00. Then all you have to do is change the cover and the strap. These canteens look an awful lot like the 18th century ones. Hope this heilps.
wil

 

Thanks Pitchypine. :thumbsup:

 

Hi Wil,
Thanks for the info.
I thought about growing some gords in my garden this spring but didnt know how to make canteens out of them.
Are they sturdy? Im afraid they would collapse or crack easy.
Never had a gord canteen before. Dont know much about them.
But with the information you provided I might give them a try.
Thanks again. :thumbsup:

 

[bob1961]

i have the same thing from wal-mart that i was gonna do the same thing to also, but was gonna strip it all the way down to the liner....guess i won't have to now, thanks fer the idea....i get the taste out of my old metal army canteens and that bota bag with efferdent denture cleaning tablets....fill with the hottest water from the tap and drop 1 or 2 tablets in the metal canteen and set in sink to catch any overflow from the foaming action....kinda have to be careful with the bota bag from getting wet on the outside though :v ..................bob

 

Hi Bob,
Thats a good idea with the efferdent.
I think Ill do the next bag in leather or buckskin.
Ill check crazycrow and see what there prices are.
I think brown cowhide leather would look real good. :thumbsup:
As long as I dont forget to blow it up before I cut the pattern.

 

[spudnut]

Mentioned this somewhere before,But if you do a search for British Army surrplus you can find a canteen like the tin kidney shaped ones found in reenacting but these are steel and enameled with either a blue or olive drab wool cover stitched on.They come with a modern military web strap and buckle that can be replaced easy,My buddy has the green one ,he dipped it half way in red dye and it looks really nice about 15 bucks I think..Mark

 

[Zemenar]

Great Idea!!!
I will try putting a cork in mine instead of the plastic stopper.
Might make it a little more pc.

 

[Andy Mueller]

Well I don't know too much about this, but what about asking the local butcher for a bladder? Shouldn't be too much work preparing it and it's pretty darn PC. I bet he/she would give you one for free- Thats my favorite price!!
Scouter

 

BBBBBBBBBBBladder, :shocked2: :shocked2:

 

[Zemenar]

:shocked2: :shocked2: :shocked2: :shocked2: To drink out of!!!! :shocked2:
Argh!!!!