What do you all use your steel bottles for?

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

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Oct 8, 1998
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I mean, I get their value, I think.

And I get the sense that you all are using your steel bottles and steel cups to do your cooking, instead of carrying a regular pot.

Do they have any other value, other than being cool?

What value do they offer, that my Nalgege and a GSI pot don't offer?

Marion
 
durabilty and absence of cancer causing stuff (not that that is a problem in all nalgenes) are the only other things I can think of
 
Marion David Poff said:
I mean, I get their value, I think.

And I get the sense that you all are using your steel bottles and steel cups to do your cooking, instead of carrying a regular pot.

Do they have any other value, other than being cool?

What value do they offer, that my Nalgege and a GSI pot don't offer?

Marion
Click to expand...

I like them for my local winter day hikes. I make tea at home, add a little sugar and honey and fill the Guyots which end up in a fire i usually make. Less to carry, warms me up, makes my day complete.
 
for me it's simple convenience. i can boil my water for my tea in the same container i'll be drinking it from. they are far more durable ( not that nalgenes are prone to cracking though it has happened to me.)
i'm not sure that there is any great advantage aside from that. however, the truth is that anytime i'm out for more than just an afternoon i ALWAYS use my steel bottle atleast once for something that a plastic bottle could not do (98% of the time it's boiling water.) so given the rate at which i use it, i wouldn't change it out for anything.
a Steel guyot bottle does NOTHING that a nalgene and your gsi pot cant do. it just does it all in one item, for the most part.
 
I don't have one. I am wondering the same thing...my gsi cup and sierra cups have worked well for years, but I'm looking to learn and improve my gear.
 
“Well, if you are looking for a single item solution, sounds good.”

And that's why I don't bother.

Heresy – more often than not I carry water in the very same bottles one buys water in. Harder to get lighter than that. I find water a heavy thing to carry even when I can prune back the amount 'cos of my filter. I'll avoid adding weight to it if it isn't necessary. There are times when I'd want to have a much more reliable container in the mix, but for a few days out over familiar terrain no. I'm not an ultra-lighter, I simply prefer allocating that portion of the weight to being able to carry something else. I also hate any kind of jangle, rattle or creaking when I walk. The sound of sloshing from a part full metal water bottle annoys me.

Dunno about in the US but here water has become a lifestyle product. Water related paraphernalia
abounds, and the TV continually pumps out bilge about how many glasses one needs to drink to be healthy, and how many more to achieve beauty. It's become a lifestyle product and wet dream of the beauty editor. Many of the devices seem to be lifestyle products to sex up water. I saw a Sigg the other day. It had a funky top on it rather similar to the way a the wire cradle on a Grolsh beer bottle top works. Matey can just pop the lid of his metal water bottle while the guy standing next to him suffer the indignity of unscrewing his the old fashioned way. Just the kind off thing I want in my pack next to my dry kit. I guess I don't always do fashion.
 
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I own a variety of different steel bottles to compliment my Gucci shoes, or Armani sportswear, etc., depending on what function I'm attending. The Gloss black Klean Kanteen will be toted along to art galleries and symphony performances, whereas the olive drab Klean Kanteen will go well with my khakis on an outdoor adventure to the polo field. My new conservative matte black SIGG Steelworks accompanies me to the bank, because after all, it is Swiss.


No, not really. Baldtaco II, the water fashion thing does exist here in the States, too. US Canteen is a good example. However, i wouldn't say that the fashionable side to toting water around is limited to the steel bottles. Nalgene, SIGG, and a myriad of other manufacturers make bottles in many shapes, sizes, colors, and graphic designs so that folks can 'personalize' their 'water experience.'


Ok, hikeeba's real answer to what/why he Does the steel bottle thing:

- Easier to clean after forgotten in a pack for a week with 1/8 bottle of tea and tea bag. Yep. I forget to unpack all the way sometimes. Also, sometimes I arrive home from work on Friday, Hang my pack by the door, and forget about it until I need to pack it for work on Monday. Hence, why I have more than one steel bottle. Also, I find stainless steel is easier to care for in the field. I've scrubbed out many a ss pot with just sand and gravel; something I wouldn't do with a HDPE Nalgene bottle.

- As some have mentioned, I use the bottle with a cup as a canteen and cup combo sometimes when camping/packing/hiking. I set the bottle or cup in the coals or near the fire to heat water for tea and freeze-dried meals. The combo serves as an alternative minimalist setup for me. I say minimalist, but I don't necessarily mean lightweight.

- On the 'I'm-a-crazy-survivalist-nutburger' side, if I have a SS bottle with me, I know that I can boil up some water if I have to if the SHTF and I need to take the long way home on foot through field and forest, evading zombies all the way.

- I just plain like stainless steel. Most of my camp cookware is stainless steel. But when they start making the Klean Kanteens and SIGG bottles out of titanium, I'm sure I'll start saving my moola for one of those. I have a couple ti pieces, and I really like them.


The SS bottles aren't the lightest out there, for sure. And they won't ever replace the Camelbak resevoirs or the MSR Dromlite bladder I use. And I still use plastic bottles now and then. the 16 oz Nalgenes are good for mixing up doses of Gatorade, and I recently used a clear Nalgene in conjunction with a SteriPen for 2 weeks while out of the country. But for daily use, and where I and sure of what is going into the bottle, I'll usually choose steel.
 
I have a 40 OZ Klean Kanteen, which I have used on a few campouts to boil water for cocoa and to sterilize snow water, and it has worked well. It is easier to stick right in the fire than a pot, in my opinion, because it is not as likely to spill if it is a little crooked.

I usually just use it to drink out of, though. Sometimes I use it instead of one of my Nalgene bottles, usually because the slightly smaller opening is easier to drink from in a moving vehicle.

I use my Camelbak reservoir the most in the outdoors, though. It is easier to drink from without stopping, and encourages better drinking habits.
 
I'm using 4 old 1 liter Nalgene bottles - the plain milky white ones. A couple of them are reddish-brown from iron stains, but they're holding up fine. I use stainless for cooking, and plastic for carrying. As long as you have a pot and a teacup, you don't need a stainless bottle. Plastic is cheaper, and quieter in the pack, too.
 
Usually its just to drink out of. Although it is nice knowing I have a means to purify water if a short trip turns into a long trip...
 
One reason for me- to boil water in if necessary. Guyot bottle slung in a Maxpedition carrier with a few food items and small FAK, fire kit, poncho and a knife, that's my basic kit that I take fishing, hunting, banging around the backwater sloughs, etc. Hiking and camping is another story.
 
The cleaning tip is the best one yet! - Thanks....

Ahw - burning your fingers on your single walled SS bottle - a joy we have all experienced :D
 
I just like the simple fact that I have a choice...kind of like "paper or plastic"?...now it's "plastic or stainless steel"? The smaller Guyot (24oz) or Kleen Kanteen bottles (12/18oz) are ideal for the smaller day-hiking kits where you don't need a nesting cup; plus they fit into smaller kits quite well for a dual purpose water bottle/boiler.

It's such a hard decision that I just said screw it and have a few of both Nalgene, Platypus, Guyot, Klean Kanteen and Sigg...along with USGI and NATO canteens/cups. A much simpler (albeit more expensive) solution:D

ROCK6
 
Now I have, use, and like my Guyout, but there's an argument to be made for the plastic Nalgene bottles. Insulation. I've found, that overnight, the thicker plastic bottles do not lose their heat as quickly and tend to be *a little* more comfortable - not needing as much insulation between the bottle and you to prevent burns.
 
I like the durability and chemical-free (hopefully) properties. But tops is the ability to boil in them or put them near or in the fire to reheat contents.

I have a couple of stainless bottles, but both are something like 27 oz. capacity. Doesn't anyone make one with the same form factor as the classic one liter Nalgene?

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
desmobob said:
I have a couple of stainless bottles, but both are something like 27 oz. capacity. Doesn't anyone make one with the same form factor as the classic one liter Nalgene?

Stay sharp,
desmobob
Click to expand...

Nalgene has 32 oz and a 38 oz ss bottle (the 38 oz beign the same as the Guyot Designs bottle): http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/store/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=74

Klean Kanteen makes their regular bottles in a 40 oz size. they also now have wide-mouth ss bottles in a variety of sizes, including 40 oz and (eek) 64 oz: http://www.kleankanteen.com/

Steelworks by SIGG are 1-liter (~33 oz) bottles. I got mine at Altrec: http://www.altrec.com/steelworks-by-sigg/steelworks-water-bottle-1l-33-oz

Hope that helps!



quote=kgd]The cleaning tip is the best one yet! - Thanks....[/quote]

Another cleaning tip: I have also been known to freshen up my bottles with generic denture cleaning tablets (similar to Efferdent). The denture cleaning tablets kill bacteria and such.
 
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I was in a nearby Eastern Mountain Sports store today and looked at the Nalgene SS bottles. They're HEAVY compared to the other brands. They appear to have an uncoated interior and you can remove the cap and cap lanyard completely for use in/on the fire.

I saw the Sigg 100-year anniversary retro bottles and really liked them a lot. They're big, lightweight and are available unpainted. BUT... they have an enamel interior coating. :mad:

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I've got an 18oz klean kanteen that I carry with me on my walks. I normally just drink out of it, but I like the fact that I -could- use it to boil water in if I needed. Although, it'd probably mess up the paint job. :p

DSCN0193.jpg
 
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