This small 5 litre water container with a tap has become a permanent part of our camp kitchen. We have three of them, and they live at the back of our Titan drawers, safely stowed. They’ve come on many trips, from off-grid weekends around NSW and rough tracks near Lithgow to a salty coastal camp at Bouddi National Park, and they’ve never leaked. I paid $22 for one.
What’s in the box
A square 5 litre container in tough, army green plastic with a carry handle on top, a wide screw lid with an air vent, a smaller opening that takes either a cap or the tap, and a clear extension tube for the tap that clips into the side. It measures about 28 × 18 × 11 cm and weighs 480 g empty, so full it’s only about 5.5 kg.
What we like
- Never leaked on many trips
- Fits the back of our Titan drawers
- Tap and cap store in the lid
- Wide mouth: fits the FlexTail pump
- Light to carry for small jobs
- Extension tube included
What we don’t
- No volume markings
- Small for a main supply
- Seat the tap with a firm twist
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 5 L |
| Material | Heavy-duty plastic |
| Colour | Army green |
| Weight | 480 gempty |
| Size | 28 × 18 × 11 cm |
| Features | Swap-in tap and capWide lid with air ventTap extension tube |
Tap, cap and lid
It has the same cap system as our bigger containers. The small opening takes either a plain cap or the tap: the cap for driving, the tap at camp. The one you’re not using screws into the inside of the big lid, so nothing goes missing. Both caps screw on smoothly without cross-threading, and the tap seals well as long as you seat it with a firm twist. Open the small air vent on the big lid and the water flows freely, without glugging, right to the end.
With the big lid off, the opening is wide enough to fill from a hose or a jerry can without splashing and to get a hand inside to clean it. A clear extension tube pushes onto the tap for filling a pot or a bottle, and clips into a slot in the side when you’re not using it.
In the drawers
The square shape is what makes it work in a 4WD storage system. Three of them fit side by side across the back of our Titan drawers, so they don’t move while we drive, they don’t waste space like round bottles, and down there they stay relatively cool. They lie flat with both caps up, and after plenty of corrugated tracks in the back of the Prado there’s no scuffing, warping or leaking.
Using it at camp
Because it’s small and light, it’s the container we actually carry around: for simple jobs in the camp kitchen, washing hands, rinsing a pan or filling the kettle. It stands upright on a camp table with the tap fitted and gives a steady stream you can use one-handed while holding a cup. On an overnighter at Ingar Campground in the Blue Mountains it was our main kitchen water. It hasn’t left a plastic taste in the water either, even after a 35 °C afternoon at Patonga, and the green plastic hasn’t faded.
When one runs low, we top it up from the bigger jerry cans we keep behind the front seats, like our 12 litre container. That way the big ones stay put and the 5 litres we lift all day stay light.
Water for the shower
We even use them for showering. The big opening is wide enough to drop in the whole pump unit of our FlexTail Max shower, so a 5 litre container becomes the water supply for a quick rinse at camp.
Water container comparison
We use the 5 litre and the 12 litre container together. The 12 litre is the bigger supply behind the seats; the 5 litre is the one that lives in the drawer and comes out for every small job. If you value convenience, the Upwoigh 19L comes with a rechargeable electric pump: one touch and the water runs, without lifting or tipping the container.
This one 5L Water Container |  12L with Tap | |
|---|---|---|
| Swap-in tap | Yes | Yes |
| Extension tube | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 28 × 18 × 11 cm | 35 × 30 × 16 cm |
| Capacity | 5 L | 12 L |
| Weight | 480 g | 986 g |
| Price paid | $22 | $40 |
| Our score | 9.0 | 9.2 |
Conclusion: 5L Camping Water ContainerConclusion
This 5 litre container is small enough to live in the back of a drawer and tough enough to survive many trips without a leak. The tap and cap swap over and store inside the big lid, the wide opening makes it easy to fill and clean, and it’s light enough to carry for every small job at camp, even as the water supply for the shower. At 5 litres it’s not your main supply, but paired with a bigger container it’s one we use on every trip. I paid $22.
A tough little water container we use on every trip.
It has never leaked, fits the back of our Titan drawers and is light enough for every small job at camp, even as the water for the shower. There are no volume markings, and at 5 litres it's not your main supply.
- Weekend trips
- Campers
- 4WD tourers
Yes. I paid $22 for a tough 5 litre container that has never leaked, fits the back of a drawer and has the same swap-in tap and cap as our bigger ones. We have three.
