Nalgene bottle questions?

J

jw2n

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Sep 22, 2009
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As I am sitting here sorting thru stuff trying to put together a bottle/nesting cup combo, I have run into some snags. I also have some general questions.

1) The bottles made of polyethylene handle a much greater temp range, yet cost 1/2 the cost of copolyester. Why is this? What other advantages does one have over the other?

2) I was originally set up with a PE bottle and a nesting cup. I bought some of the new lexan bottles and they do not fit. There is a .37" diameter difference between the two. My new bottles will not fit into my current cups. Who makes a nesting cup that fits the larger bottle?

The best info I have found so far is that the PE is 3.25" OD, and the CP/lexan is 3.62" OD. Both of these dimensions are for the 32 oz widemouth.
 
which cup are you using? I have the GSI one and it fit the newer lexan bottles as well as my PE bottle.
 
awad,

The cup is unmarked. It is stainless, and I have seen it listed on the EMS site. Mine is old enough that I do not remember where I got it.
 
ah. we'll heres a photo i just took. it's the standard GSI cup from EMS. it's fairly new and with a PE bottle that's also fairly new.

bottle.jpg


the cup was a little too loose for my tastes when i first got them, so i used a tip from that cory lundin book to store duct tape around the bottle. i found that it also created a perfect fit for the cup. you can hear the air getting pushed out when you press the bottle in and out. this is with a full bottle of water, the bottle slides out slowly and comes out easily when you pull.
 
jw2n said:
1) The bottles made of polyethylene handle a much greater temp range, yet cost 1/2 the cost of copolyester. Why is this? What other advantages does one have over the other?
Click to expand...

I think the HDPE (polyethelene) bottles are cheaper than the Lexan (polycarbonate) bottles, simply b/c the material is cheaper to get and easier to form into shapes. The wider temp range for the HDPE bottles is just a property of the material... they're still soft through that range, and they don't get brittle like the Lexan bottles. Polycarbonate bottles will leach BPA, which is not good for anybody. The Tritan (copolyester) bottles are supposed to be the best of the three, with the durability and clarity of the Lexan, but with a better temp range and no BPA leaching.

The Tritan & Lexan bottles are harder and not flexible, so they will resist punctures much better than HDPE, but they can still break. They are pretty tough, though... I saw a kid throw a full 32oz Lexan bottle off of a second story balcony a couple of times (on purpose) before he finally broke it.

The Tritan & Lexan bottles can also be clear, while the HDPE bottles are opaque. This is not really a big deal unless you want to either see exactly what kind of liquid (or stuff floating in it) is in the bottle, or if you want to leave water in sunlight as a UV disinfection treatment.

Some people feel that the HDPE bottles will absorb the color, odor, and/or taste of the liquid that they hold, and that they can smell musty or taste odd, whereas the Tritan & Lexan bottles tend not to do this. All three types can get musty if not cleaned, though.

There are probably other advantages of each type that people could come up with. I had used the Lexan bottles for quite some time, but stopped about a year ago b/c I needed to carry larger volumes of water in the field than 32oz. I haven't gone back to them for shorter hikes b/c of the BPA leaching. I now just carry gatorade bottles.
 
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