All, I'd like to add some military style jerry cans to my hunting gear. I've started researching them and noted there are both steel and plastic, for both fuel and water. Can anyone elaborate on the pros and cons of each style? How about a source for them? I saw military shipping/storage containers that will securely store four jerry cans that looked pretty intersting, though I did not find a place to buy those in a quick on-line search.

I would appreciate any information!

I use plastics ones for water in Rocksprings. Work pretty good. I make sure to sanitize them w/bleach before each use.

I agree with RVL III have used both and think the plastic are better in terms of dent resistance and rust problems. Go down to El Paso and visit any of the surplus stores and you can find both water and gas cans. You can also find on the surplus market a insulated cover for the water cans to cool them or keep them fron freezing. Some of the old (black) cans had a spigot, you can make a neat piece of gear by glueing a paper towel holder, dixie cup holder and a bar of soap in a mesh sack .

I like the old NATO steel cans myself. That said, I believe the US military has pretty much gone over to plastic cans so I suppose they are okay. I've just seen to many cracked/split plastic containers to be real comfortable carrying five gallons of gas in plastic. But then I prefer single shot rifles also, heh.

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Originally posted by DesertRam:
All, I'd like to add some military style jerry cans to my hunting gear. I've started researching them and noted there are both steel and plastic, for both fuel and water. Can anyone elaborate on the pros and cons of each style? How about a source for them? I saw military shipping/storage containers that will securely store four jerry cans that looked pretty intersting, though I did not find a place to buy those in a quick on-line search.

I would appreciate any information!

I carried jerry cans for my FJ-40 landcruiser until I had an aux tank installed that upped my capacity to 39 gallons.When I bought my jeep scrambler I carried jerry cans back and forth to towns in Colorado & Calif or wherever I went for years but I solved my problem of frequent trips to town to buy gas by having Aero Tanks in Corona,CA install a 33 gallon tank in my jeep scrambler.Haven't used a jerry can in years.

More on the subject of plastic vs metal than jerry can specific, but I have had mini bears (chipmonks) chew into a plastic water bottle before, ruining it of course. I had two water bottles, so it wasn't that serious, but waking that morning to a ruined container in a dry camp was a bit of an oh sh*t moment. I don't add juice mix (tang, gatorade, whatever) to my water anymore when back country for that reason. I still use plastic, but if space and weight aren't issues in your application, I'd have a backup plan, which may be as simple as multiple containers, in case....

Might try cheaperthandirt.com as a source

For fuel the steel containers are more durable, I'm still using one x military dated 1952 ,I've never replaced the rubber seal ,afaik it's still the original factory seal ,I've had it for 30 years and my old man bought it in the early 60's.

For water, plastic is the only way to go . Plastic fuel cans are also great if your taking extra fuel on a boat where corrosion is a problem.

I prefer steel for gas, but I have had them get holes in them from vibrating against their mounts.

For water I prefer plastic, but you do need to be careful about little animals chewing holes in them.

Go to Govt Liquidators, The often have jerry cans in plastic or metal in the auctions.

There are pros and cons. Personally I'd just use cheap plastic litre milk containers for water!

They are made to resist quite rough handling and if one does split you've lost only the one. A being see-through if left in the sun they UV rays have a sterilising effect on any water in them.

They also can be set light to if you need fuel for a fire.

For water I usually use the ones you can buy at local stores. They have a turn on/off spigot that makes getting a glass or a pan of water easy.

For water in camp I bought a rectangle 5 gal. one with spigot, placed a bar of soap in a knee high hose and tied it to the handle. So you have soap where ever you go, and dont worry bout dropping it in the dirt. I lay it on its side on the tailgate and wash dishes, my face, draw water to mix with bourbon, you name it.
Eterry