Products RELIANCEPRODUCTWATER

Reliance made these 2.5 gallon hugs in a lighter translucent blue for decades where you could tell the water level at a glance. Some genius decided to make them opaque, probably in a rebranding effort spearheaded by someone with no camping experience. It's really important to know your water situation in the field, but Reliance lost sight of that. Now you can't tell what the level is, unless you hold the jug directly up to the sun or get a bright light just right. The dark opaque color is going to cause a lot of oops moments for people (oops I needed water at that last stop. Oops, I never filled the water, etc).As for durability, my whole family uses these jugs for camping and we've never had to throw one awaydue to failure. If you manage to wreck one you've been pretty rough with it.The 2.5 gallon size is a very handy size for those that want to keep their water load in manageable increments that are not too heavy. Multiple 2.5 jugs makes it so you can distribute the weight in your vehicle more evenly, and/or stow jugs out of your immediate way amongst your gear.I'm still not that pleased with the vent plug (essentially a cork), but that's the way these have been forever, and it mostly works. I would much prefer a screw cap vent at this price point, like other Reliance models have. The only failures I've had over the years involves the little press in vent plug, where the jug tipped over and the plug wasn't tightly secured. Oops, puddle in the back seat, live and learn. At least I didn't lose all my water from carrying an enormous 5-7 gallon jug that leaked, just lost the contents of one of my 2.5 gallon jugs. Reliance, I hope you are listening, these new opaque jugs are a pain. Go back to a translucent color, or consider a natural polyethylene model.

I honestly don't know what the 1-2 stars are about.This is a super product. My buddy has the same thing but 7 gallon so I was already familiar with the design and found it to be reliable.I have to admit that I hesitated ordering it because of the 1 -2 star reviews, but I ordered it anyway and after testing mine I can address the most common alleged weaknesses."It leaks from the spout" Mine leaked at first... til I realized I had overtightened the spout onto the tank. So I unscrewed it and tightened it down gently... tipped it back over into position... saw a few drips... tightened it down until the drips stopped. PROBLEM SOLVED"It leaks from the plug" There's a small opening for letting air in to displace the water running out. It has a stopper to keep bugs and crud out when not in use. This opening is NEVER liable to leak unless you lay the tank on its side when not in use... which is not advisable. The plug is just that--- a small plug for air that a 5 year old can pull out and push in as needed; IT'S NOT A VALVE AND IT ISN'T INTENDED TO WITHSTAND THE WATER PRESSURE OF THE TANK BEING LAID ON ITS SIDE. So stop trying to make it do something it wasn't designed for! When transporting the tank, keep the valve and the plug upright! PROBLEM SOLVED"It smells inside." Yeah, it smells like plastic inside... when you first get it, because I guess it's factory fresh. I let mine sit on the shelf for a couple of weeks fully open so it could "off-gas" --- no smell, and no taste. PROBLEM SOLVED"The plastic is thin." or "The plastic is thinner than it is on the bigger sizes". This was the criticism that had me the most concerned when I ordered it --- I pictured super thin, like milk jug thin and bulging. Not the case at all. First, it's more than sufficiently thick for 2.5 gallons, and maybe only just a LITTLE thinner than its bigger brother. Second --- and more to the point --- OF COURSE it's not going to be as thick as the larger models --- that would be overkill. A 7 gallon tank has to carry 58 pounds, while the 2.5 just 21 pounds! PLASTIC IS PLENTY THICKIn summary, this is a good value and I highly recommend it.

I have 4 of these and use them when we go "dry" camping with our trailer. I love the 2.5 gallon size (as compared to a larger 5 gallon) because they are so easy to carry and handle. Highly recommend.

The only thing that I didn’t like is the plug on top doesn’t seal tight.

Good for a weekend at the camo site

I have this same jug in the 7 gal size and although they look similar this 2.5 is much thinner material, The 7 gal is bullet proof you can use it as a step stool even if its empty and the bleed/air valve is threaded with rubber seal (proper). This one is not close to that quality, a tapered plastic pin that pushes in? eventually either the pin will wear out or the orifice on the jug will lose its ability to seal. Not to mention if you are traveling with this full of liquid and it tips over you run the risk of this bleed valve to leak or pop open then your screwed. I would give it a 2 star but as the company offers a 5 year warranty, they claim to stand behind their product...keeping in mind that if the time ever came will they honor that warranty? I would have preferred to pay more and have the same quality as their larger model, thought thats what I was getting.Update:Short story of how I use this water container, I have a RO water system installed and fill this container before I go to work which is a 48 hour shift then I bring it back home. At work it sits in my room at a fire station. I stand corrected regarding the quality, about 6 months ago I had just filled it and my daughter knocked it off the kitchen counter and landed on the bottom step of a step stool and it got a small bruise but did not break WOW!!! The other part of this container I felt to be suspect is the vent plug, well its been a couple of years of frequent use and its as tight as day one. So I gladly upgrade the stars from 3 to 5 stars....

Highly recommend for potable water.. perfect size. Not too heavy and fits on the RV counter over sink when dry camping / boondocking--- especially in the winter when I don't want to connect water system and have to winterize again after a short trip. As an aside, I first used this size on a canoe trip down the Yukon in Alaska, and found it fits well in bottom of canoe and again not so heavy it weighs more than the canoe when setting up camp.