Equipment Reviews

When I read negative or positive reviews on a product I'm looking for details. Why does the reviewer consider the product good or bad? There may be very good personal reasons to disagree with the reviewer, even one with experience and a good track record.

For example, I was listening to “The Survival Podcast” archived shows. It's a pretty good resource for preppers. The host, Jack Spirco, had some very negative things to say about the product “waterbricks.”

Waterbricks are 3.5 gallon water containers that can be stacked a bit like Lego blocks. The funny thing is, I had bought 4 of them due to a recommendation on “Boat Bits.”

So who's right? They both are.

Jack Spirco was right. Waterbricks are an expensive way to store water. If you were going to store emergency water for your household, there are much cheaper ways to do it. 2 liter soda bottles can be reused and make good cheap storage. Even buying a 30 or 50 gallon water barrel is a lot cheaper than waterbricks.

However, “Boat Bits” is also right. They are rugged and store well on a boat. The 3.5 gallon size is much easier to carry than bigger water jugs. Because they transport well, it's not too big a deal to haul drinking water back to the boat.

For “The Survival Podcast,” it's an expensive water storage solution.

For “Boat Bits,” it's an inexpensive way to avoid buying a costly watermaker. (reverse osmosis filtrations system for removing salt out of water.)

Since I've been using mine on my sailboat, the are worth the expense. Rugged construction, stackability, and convenient size trump economy.

As always, it's all about the details.

-Sixbears