Best Winter Water Outage Kit

A UN-approved, stackable container with a tamper-evident cap, sized for storing water at home ahead of a supply interruption or a hard freeze. The stackable shape saves space in a cupboard or garage, and the sealed cap keeps stored water clean until you need it. Keeping a few days' water put by like this is far more reliable than scrambling for bottled water once the taps run dry.

• UN-approved container rated for safe liquid storage
• Stackable shape stores efficiently in a garage or cupboard
• 61mm tamper-evident cap keeps stored water sealed and clean

A pair of 10-litre rigid jerry cans for putting by a household drinking-water reserve ahead of a burst main, supply fault or planned outage. Stackable and fitted with a spout, they hold a sensible reserve without relying on flimsy bottles — roughly a fortnight of drinking water for one person across the two. Keep them dedicated to water only (never mix with the fuel these cans are also sold for), and refresh a few times a year.

• 20 litres total — a meaningful household reserve for outages
• Rigid, stackable cans store more tidily than loose bottles
• Spout makes dispensing water easy without spills

A food-grade liner that turns your bath into a clean 100-litre drinking water store when you get warning that supply may be cut — a storm, a mains burst or planned works. You fill it from the tap before the water goes off, and the sealed bag keeps it cleaner and easier to draw from than an open bath. It only helps if you fill it in time, so it's a plan-ahead item rather than a last-minute grab.

• Holds around 100 litres — days of drinking and cooking water for a household
• Food-grade, sealed liner keeps stored water cleaner than an open bath
• Includes a hand pump to draw water back out easily

Chlorine dioxide tablets that treat questionable water to make it safer to drink. A tiny, long-life backup for when filtering or boiling isn't possible.

• Treats water without any equipment
• Compact and light with a long shelf life
• Ideal backup to a filter or stove

A rugged 18.5-litre jerrycan with a built-in ultrafiltration cartridge that removes viruses, bacteria and cysts as you pour. Fill it from a rain butt, stream or standpipe and it delivers clean drinking water for a household — up to 20,000 litres per cartridge, with no power or chemicals.

• Removes viruses, bacteria and cysts — not just chemicals
• Carries and stores 18.5L: days of water for a family
• Up to 20,000L per cartridge, no power or chemicals needed

A single-burner butane stove that runs on Campingaz CP250 cartridges, giving you a stable 2,200W ring for boiling water or cooking a hot meal when the power is off. It sits flat on a sturdy outdoor surface and packs into its own carry case, which makes it a practical backup for camping and longer winter outages.

• 2,200W burner boils water quickly for meals or hot drinks
• Wide, stable base suits a firm outdoor cooking surface
• Piezo ignition means no matches or lighter needed to start

Eight Campingaz CP250 valve cartridges — the resealable, puncture-proof type used by Campingaz Bleuet stoves and lanterns. Worth stockpiling so an off-grid stove or lantern keeps running through a long power cut or a run of camping trips. Only fits appliances built for the CP250 valve fitting, not screw-thread EN417 burners.

• Eight-pack gives a real reserve, not a single evening's worth
• Resealable valve lets you swap a cartridge before it's fully empty
• Isobutane mix performs better than plain butane in the cold