I carry water in my vehicle year round.
We get -30 on a regular basis in winter...such as tonight.
My water is in 1.5l and 500ml bottles straight from the store and never had a burst bottle.
I could just be lucky though...

Good question, maybe use large containers and keep them half full?

I'll make sure to stash some, and maybe wrap them in a garbage bag - just in case!

The 500ml - 1.5l are less prone to bursting if they are 3/4 full and stored on their sides so there is more surface area exposed to cold air inside the bottle. The bottoms can burst if stored upright I found.

I pack a dozen bottles of 750ml of water (these are sealed, never open bottles from costco) and have done so for 3 years now in my truck as emergency provisions. I live in the Lower Mainland 95% of the time where freezing is not an issue. That said, I do travel to my cabin up north quite a bit in winter where temps can be anywhere from -10 to -30 and the bottles have froze solid, many a time.
Never have I had an expansion problem where the bottle burst...they have all been fine...I replace yearly, and have never had an issue...I drink them from my ATV when I cycle out of my truck.

Hope that helps,
OffThePath

I keep one plastic bottle in the car for that very short time when it's cold but there's no snow. After there's snow on the ground I have my snow melting pot.

Has anyone carried the DATREX water packets in their vehicle? Do they hold up well to freezing?

Three years and good, a little late to reply 😀 😀 😯 😯

I work out of a service vehicle. I carry 1.5-2l of water in my pack, it comes in the house at the end of day.
To be clear, that water is surplus to the 1.5-2l I bring to drink during the day. So I have 3-4l with me on any given morning.

Nagol,

What containers do you store your water in?

I have 2 stainless Nalgene bottles and a pile of plastic sports type water bottles.

I use disposable 500ml and recycle them dozens of times.
Change out the gallons of water I have in dedicated bag in the car as well as the water in all my packs. Had one bottle develop a pin hole leak but as it was winter and frozen, only discovered when thawing in sink for refreshing.

I like my stainless bottles but they are used daily and used when I’m in the bush.
I use the stainless specifically because I can boil water in them. They can sit in a fire if needed. Plastic and titanium won’t hold up to that.

But my kits are all modular, edc, ghb, bob, bushcraft, hiking or camping.... they are all built on one another. I’ve found it’s cheaper to get a single product I can use for all than get specifics for a single activity.

Agree wholeheartedly on metal cups... mt plastic ones are for immediate use and to have lots of water in vehicle at all times. Also have katadyn purifier

Man your right about one bag being cheaper, wife gave me big stink eyes when I was on a buying binge 😆
In my situation, I went with having the option of quickly grabbing a bag and leaving on foot fast. I also made a note near packs to remind me to grab certain things like second gps, money, maybe second set of socks... from other bags.
Have three bags, plus other car stuff that would obviously stay in vehicle. One for carry in the city to meetings so I have meds, a water bottle, rope, light, fire, comes...this tiny bag would be stretched thin for hike home in the winter and in my condition would require help from people along the way to get me home. So if I did need to walk home, I would knock on doors along the way and ask for water. Have water pills but I figure I would likely try and seek a ride home by people going my way once I was out of congested panic of city core.

One bag for hike home, via roads, fields with food for two days.

And third bag for bush hike