Water Bottle Safty, which are the best and which are the worst?

I feel good when I see the words of people who are still capable of critical thinking.

Back to water bottles ... if you're going to be a nervous nelly about all kinds of contaminants, perhaps glass is the only viable option. But then you have to worry about breaking it and maybe cutting yourself. Maybe someone should invent a polymer that is similar to glass, but stronger. Something that is light weight, tough, and more importantly does not absorb flavors or odors, and does not impart any odd taste or odor to whatever you choose to carry in it. Something that while it may be made with potentially hazardous substances, the finished product is incredibly unlikely to ever release a quantity of, oh, say, BPA that would be harmful in any way to humans.

Hmmm . . .

Oh! Wait! Maybe . . . a polycarbonate . . . like, oh, I dunno . . . LEXAN! :D
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Antarctica is gaining ice cover, not losing it. What it is losing are the peripheral ice sheets extruded from this cover on the actual landmass, floating alongside it, which eventually break off. Ever see glaciers calving?
Click to expand...

I've seen it on TV . . . the best part is the sound!
 
Lexan is GE's copyrighted name for polycarbonate. Once the sole maker GE's patents have run out so many make it now. I know a guy who was one of the first technicians hired by GE for the Lexan project. In those days they made it in small batches -- mixing it in 55 gallon drums with a canoe paddle !!
 
One thing that I've heard is that it's not good to re-use water bottle that you buy bottled water in. They are designed for single use, but I can't remember why.

I prefer Nalgene, although I want to try the Guyots also. I want something that I can boil water in, which rules out the Siggs, thanks for the heads up!
 
sodak said:
One thing that I've heard is that it's not good to re-use water bottle that you buy bottled water in. They are designed for single use, but I can't remember why.
Click to expand...

Because of a bad study done by a student that got hyped all over the media before it was refuted, and of course the refutation isn't the kind of news that sells so it didn't get that kind of coverage.
 
The safest water bottles are the ones cleaned and sanitized regularly. Whenever I am going to use the water bottle I first rinse it out after adding a drop of bleach, only one drop. Shake well for one minute, rinse out a few times and fill up and go.
 
The scientific studies are nonconclusive involving typical storage of water (et cetera) in BPA-composite containers.

Buy a Nalgene. Best damn water bottles ever---I took one to Philmont. Accidentally left my "smellable" water bottle (that filled with a sweetened, scented drink mix) down from the bear bag and the bottle was attacked where I left it on a stump. Some scratches, pits, dents---but the thing survived a bear attack. Mine have been tossed, cut, probably shot at when my back was turned, nearly run over, thrown, and blown up with Black Cats. They still haven't broken.

Get a Nalgene.

P.S.: I hate irresponsible fellow Scouts.
 
Bufford said:
The safest water bottles are the ones cleaned and sanitized regularly. Whenever I am going to use the water bottle I first rinse it out after adding a drop of bleach, only one drop. Shake well for one minute, rinse out a few times and fill up and go.
Click to expand...

Actually, no. It was over-cleaning/sanitizing (bleach/solvents and high heat) that caused the increased rate of BPA leaching in animal tanks. Once you see any crazing or whitening of your container, ditch it and get another one. They're cheap. Keep 'em clean but don't overdo it.
 
Nalgene polycarb bottles have been pulled from the market by Nalgene. You can't get them anymore.
 
sodak said:
Nalgene polycarb bottles have been pulled from the market by Nalgene. You can't get them anymore.
Click to expand...
You can indeed still get them. I just bought a couple at Dick's a week ago, and you can still buy them online at Nalgene's store. They do have a press release saying that they are phasing out production, but it's not quite as final as you state and it will take time for all those existing bottles to dry up from the supply chain.

I might stock up on a few more since I like them so much and really have no health concerns about them.

This whole issue has gotten really ridiculous.
 
ThinkOfTheChildren said:
This whole issue has gotten really ridiculous.
Click to expand...
What? But what would we do without something to fear all the time?

I do prefer the Lexan. Can't get the smell out of the 1L HDPE ones that I've used for food storage when hiking. I use a 1L, and a narrow mouth 16oz. Nalgene, and most recently a CamelBak "The Bottle"(which is pretty slick), all in Lexan. They're all safe as far as I'm concerned. These people who stress over a freaking water bottle are the ultimate pansies.

Campmor has the CamelBak bottles on sale for $4.97. The top fits on a wide-mouth Nalgene, too.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear...medium=CSE&CS_010=67734&utm_source=GoogleBase
 
Last edited:
OwenM said:
Campmor has the CamelBak bottles on sale for $4.97. The top fits on a wide-mouth Nalgene, too.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear...medium=CSE&CS_010=67734&utm_source=GoogleBase
Click to expand...
Yea, I also have a few of those CamelBak bottles. I like the bite valve for easy, spill-free drinking, and bought two extra tops like that to put on Nalgene wide-mouths. That said, they aren't quite as watertight as a normal cap. If I have to put the bottle inside a pack I use a screw-on cap. I've had some minor leakage issues here and there, including once having the CamelBak bottle laying down on my passenger seat and finishing up a road trip to realize that it had left a very small puddle in the seat from bumping around. It's definitely a slow and controlled leak when induced, but it's definitely there.
 
Well, that sucks, but I'm glad you posted, because I was thinking of getting an extra top. I screwed the top down onto a Nalgene to see if it would fit(guy in the hiking store where I bought it told me it would work) on the day I got the Camelbak. Never actually used it like that. Thanks.
Mine is a .5L, not a .75L like the one I linked to, but I'm going to get a couple of those. Hard to resist for $5 a pop.
 
I suppose a huge segment of Nalgene's customer base is tree huggers and similar types that are looking for the next Horrible Thing That Mankind Has Wrought Upon the Earth and Its Worthy Creatures. It's stupid for them to quit making the best water bottles available, but it's probably good business sense on their part since enough people have repeated the nonsense enough times that it's defacto "truth."
 
I like my nalgenes. All of them. I want a guyot, but it will be paired with my devil poison leeching bottle from hell. And I will not go thirsty.....
 
Perhaps this opens a market, though. If Nalgene is exiting the polycarbonate bottle business, perhaps someone else will expand their market share. Or, maybe a new player will come along. It would suck if only the cheapie imitations were available ... too many of them leak and they break a lot easier than a higher quality bottle (perhaps because of wall thickness).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top