Thinking about getting a WaterBrick or an AquaBrick? Storing your water is very important, especially for the long term. Preppers and survivalists often go with either one of these products of choice for storing water long-term.
But did you know that WaterBricks and AquaBricks are often highly debated among the survivalist community?
It’s true. Both products are well known for being high quality, but their differences are enough to start a debate, especially if it is between two hardcore preppers and survivalists.
If you are interested in the differences between WaterBricks vs AquaBrick, then continue reading. We will judge each product by the most important factors of a long-term water storage container with enough details to help you know which is the best.
Let’s dive in.
WaterBrick Vs AquaBrick
Water storage is among the most important things a prepper/survivalist can stock up on. Over the years, there have been many types of long-term water storage, but the two most recognized brands are WaterBrick and AquaBrick.
The debate between WaterBrcik and AquaBrick has been heated among the survivalist community because they are both very good products that offer quality long-term water storage.
However, each storage unit has slightly different specifications. These differences in specs do result in particular advantages that one might not have over the other.
We will review the most important factors that all peppers and survivalists consider when deciding what water storage to invest in. These factors include storage, portability, durability, and accessories.
Storage
Storage can be a crucial decision-making element for some survivalists. We will compare the sizes of each container to determine which could hold the most water.
WaterBrick
The WaterBrick can hold an impressive 3.5 gallons of water. Its measured dimensions are 9 W x 18 L x 6 H.
It weighs roughly 2.52 pounds with no water and up to 27 pounds when it is full of water.
AquaBrick
The AquaBrick has the exact same dimensions as the WaterBrick. However, it can only hold 3 gallons of water vs WaterBrick’s 3.5 gallons.
AquaBrick weighs in at about 2.36 pounds, and with water in it comes in at 20 pounds.
Winner – WaterBrick
If you’re looking for a water container with the most capacity, then the WaterBrick is for you.
The WaterBrick beats the AquaBrick by offering an additional 0.5 pounds of water storage.
However, the caveat with the WaterBrick holding more water means it will be the heaviest of the two. The AquaBrick does have a slight edge in terms of weighing slightly less.
So while the WaterBrick is the winner of offering more water per inch per storage, you must consider the weight and how it could impact transportation.
Portability
Speaking of transportation, what good is a water storage container if it is a pain to move around? Aside from space, portability should be another consideration before you decide which one to choose.
WaterBrick
Its already been established that the WaterBrick slightly weighs more than the AqaBrick. While weight plays a major role in portability, its design is another key factor that affects it.
The WaterBrick is known to be the pioneer of its portable design. It comes with a carry handle above the lid. Its simple design allows for it to be easily taken on the go.
In addition, WaterBrciks were also clearly designed to be stacked like lego bricks, so if you were planning on getting a lot of containers, you could minimize the space it takes by stacking them.
This design would be mimicked by its key competitor AqaBrick, so technically, stacking is a method that can be used on both products.
AquaBrick
The AquaBrcik’s design is heavily inspired by the WaterBrick but has a few modifications.
AquaBrick offers more handles integrated with the container than WaterBricks. The extra handles make transporting easier and more comfortable, versus WaterBrick’s flimsy handle that could break over time.
Winner – AquaBrick
While both products can be stacked for space conservation, the AquaBrick weighs less and offers a more robust design with its handle implementation. The AquaBrick is perceived to be slightly more portable due to its weight and handle designs.
Durability
What good is a storage container if it’s not built to last? The good thing is that both are considered very high quality, but one product does take more of a beating if handled poorly.
It’s important to know that both WaterBrick and AquaBrick are made of the same materials. Both are made of high-density, high-impact polyethylene plastic. The difference is in the thickness of the plastic each product uses.
WaterBrick
WaterBricks’s plastic is only 1/16 thick. While polyethylene is a strong plastic, the lack of thickness in WaterBricks products makes it more prone to getting dents if dropped.
Since both products are made of the same polyethylene, they can expect to have the same shelf life, which is an impressive 15-20 years before degrading.
However, the lid of the WaterBrick is more prone to leaking due to its lid placement. Failing to screw the lid on tight will cause it to leak, which could be bad if left unattended over a long period of time.
AquaBrick
AquaBrick water containers are more sense than WaterBricks. The thickness of AquaBrick measures to be 1/18. This extra layer of thickness does offer more protection from taking hard-impacting hits.
As for leakage, the lids on the AquaBricks are more accessible and easier to tighten. There are fewer reports of AquaBricks leaking than WaterBricks, which is very low overall.
Winner – AquaBrick
AquaBrick offers the most durability thanks to its extra layer of thickness. Tests have demonstrated that this product can take more of a beating, while the WaterBrick will show its scars due to its lack of thickness.
While both lids are fine, the AquBrick gets fewer reports of leakings because of its design for easier tightening.
Check out the video below for a detailed durability test between a WaterBrick and an AquaBrick water container.
AquaBrick vs WaterBrick. Which is the best for portable, long-term water storage?
Accessories
A feature that is often overlooked by survivalists is accessories. Both products support accessories and add-ons, but one product takes advantage of them more and offers additional features.
WaterBrick
The manufacturer of the WaterBrick offers accessories in the form of spigots and water dispensers. These are designed to make using the product easier and provide more options for how to get access to your water.
AquaBrick
Like WaterBrick, AquaBrick products support accessories. The design of AquaBrick, however, allows for more exciting accessories that can completely alter how the product works.
For example, The manufacturers of AquaBrick also sell water purification kits that complement the design of the AquaBrick.
Winner – AquaBrick
While WaterBrick offers quality accessories, AqauBrick takes it to a new level by allowing water purifiers for more dynamic uses.
Having a product that offers multi-functions is extremely useful for survivalists as it opens more possibilities and reduces the need to bring other tools.
It is also worth mentioning that both products are third-party friendly regarding accessories. So while AquBrick offers an official water purification kit, a third-party accessory for WaterBrick could come along later to help make it more competitive.
Final Words
The WaterBrick vs AquaBrick debate likely stems from brand loyalty. While we are not biased, the AquaBrick offers more benefits from a prepper and survivalist point of view.
WaterBrcik is an older brand that has helped contribute to the development of long-term water storage, but the problem is that they allowed themselves not to innovate where their competitors AquaBrick have done for them.
WaterBrick is still a very good product. It does offer the most capacity of water as one strength over AquaBrick.However, survivalists and preppers should also consider other factors besides carrying more, such as portability, durability, and its potential to get more uses out of it.