I am not here to disparage the Rotopax product as they seem incredibly popular and definitely are absolutely quality built. We all love better products in the community! But for those considering dropping the cash on these, I will highlight some of the reasons I find/found them less than ideal in practice.

Aesthetically, these look great, and as I said they are super solid, but functionally they are lacking. Since the fuel rotopax is typically left alone unless you need to dispense fuel, most of these experiences refer to considerations around the water container:

- The obvious point – they are very expensive containers, and so are the mounts. I am not as price sensitive as I take on a buy it for life mentality, but with this cost I expected more "useable" function. And if you add up just 2 containers, and some mounts, its pretty nuts actually.
- They are very heavy compared to other containers when empty:
The 2 gallon water rotopax is 56.83 oz (3.55 lbs) empty.
The 2 gallon gas weighs 64.96 oz (4.06 lbs) empty.
The locking mount adds another 26.49 oz (1.66 lbs).
For those that care about this stuff THESE ARE HEAVY!

- So while this indicates a quality product, this heaviness, compared with the tall shape profile, make them very awkward to pour (especially with another 16 lbs of water in them), and in the case of lifting it to use the water nozzle often makes a mess everywhere.
- Although it does stand up on it's own if you carefully set it, is very very unstable and easily tipped. SO easy in fact I would say it doesn’t really stand up securely without leaning it on something. ON rickety camping tables, forget about it.
- There is no easy way to seal off the nozzle/spigot. Critters and dirt can and do get in if you leave it “open”.
- Because of the inverted spigot, everytime you seal it back up - unless you use absolutely clean hands - you are contaminating the water source, as the spigot requires you to touch the part that goes right into your clean water. Even if you aren’t a germaphobe, this bacteria over time can build up especially considering this next point…
- Even with the cap off, they take forever to dry. Over a week in a well ventilated area (maybe more). Think mildew in a humid climate, and to prevent this takes an extra level of maintenance considerations (time and energy).
- The Water dispensed tastes just a bit like plastic once it sits in the heat.
- Related to this last point, the plastic is food grade but not BPA free. As I cant find the BPA status anywhere, if this is incorrect, then I will retract this statement- but w/o specifying it is not, it may be assumed.
- Related to both of these last points, (heat and BPA) the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences advises against heating polycarbonate plastics because the plastic may break down over time and allow BPA to leach into foods. Having this mounted on your vehicle in the sun is indeed no beuno from this perspective. My Rotopax water gets VERY hot in the sun!
- Less of a concern but fact, in the event you need to purchase locking mounts, keys on the mounts can not be matched. In fact, there is no key # destination on them. I think if you order directly from rotopax they can try to match them. But also note if you loose the key(s) you are screwed.
- The "stackable" selling point of them is not really that functional in practice. On the back of your rig you constantly have to mount and unmount it unless you just keep it leaning it against something on the ground (see above point). On the top of your rig, 2 of them sit pretty high up (obviously relative to the other things you have up there!) so it looked better side by side, plus better aerodynamics. Rooftop also makes them less accessible and heavy to bring down. (Watch your back!)


Again, these look great, and some of these are minor issues, some not so minor. Personally I find them to be very overrated especially when compared to many other water containers I have used out in the wilderness or available geared towards outdoor use. For example i will always use a spigot valve, super convenient and functional.

Anyway, I view rotopax like i view rooftop tents. They seem cool and great at first, but know what you are getting into. I hope this helps someone at least.

Cheers!

Thanks for this. I would not carry water outside. I keep a 5 gal container inside whenever we do any desert trails.

It has a spigot so I can refill our thermos bottles. No waste! We only use bpa free plastics.

I have been mildly interested in the fuel version but so far I have used careful planning instead. Still, a low profile, just in case container in a roof basket sounds appealing so long as it does not spill when bouncing for many miles of rough terrain!

The "overland" world is full of products that are destined to look Billy Bad Ass but are actually less usable than the products they are designed to supercede.

I use $10 2.5 gal lawn mower gas cans from the hardware store in my crappy uncool roof basket and they work great.

Interesting (in general) about the water can. I just bought a 6gal generic (Igloo, maybe?) can that I was planning on putting on the roof but maybe that's not a good location for it.

Read up on the need to vent them, otherwise they get stuck on the mount and or leak. Depending on altitude and temp changes, even the fuel ones need management.

I agree about the spigot being poorly designed. The spout must be touched to reinsert it after use, contaminating the water. I bought it to try and squeeze underneath the seat but the 2 gallon water one is a little big for that.

Good write up and interesting point about the BPA... anyone care to provide a source for/against this claim?

EDIT: I have a call into them about BPA and ability to freeze the pack. I have a yeti cooler and want to use the 2 gallon rotopax as a large ice pack for the cooler.

all good points raised. however, are there any other alternatives available besides a regular red gas can?

BPA replacement bad also, article 2 weeks ago

From the Rotopax website FAQ:

Government Regulations prevent them from selling other colors of containers for specific contents. Red Gas White Water Yellow Diesel and so on. You CANNOT mix and match because of the plastic compounds used to make each container may not be safe for other contents (You don't want to drink water from PVC container etc...)

LOL... If the kid is obese, I don't believe the container he's eating out of is at fault