So I go to pick up the BunkerBabe from her civillian job…and she’s not outside yet waiting, so I sit in the truck and wait patiently at the curb. Then I notice a nalgene water bottle sitting over by the doorway. Hmmm. Im guessing a bicyclist left it when he unlocked/locked his bike to the rack. Anyway, I get out of the truck and examine it. Its a genuine Nalgene brand, hard plastic, full of water. Probably a good quart of water right there. Now, Im not about to keep a water bottle I find on the street..not out of ethics but more from hygiene. On the other hand, I was curious how durable these bottles were and now was my chance to find out. Full bottle. Heavy. I hold it over my head at arms length and let it drop to the concrete. I made sure to drop it so it would land at an angle for maximum damage.
Nothing. Nada. A gouge on the edge of the bottom from the concrete but no cracks, no splits, no holes, no nothing. Hmmm. Tried it again. Same results.
I’ll be buying a half dozen later this week.
Ahh nalgene. I’ve had one for a few months now and it is pretty durable. I took a spill on my rollerblades and slid a few meters on it.
’twas fine.
Refresh me if you would.
What’s the special magic imbued on the product of these bottle-makers of Nalgene? (sounds a lot like the gunshops of Isher, doesn’t it?)
’tis called high-density polyethylene. Or Lexan if you are a commoner.
I love Nalgene bottles. Through the years mine have plummeted a variety of distances (at least up to 50 feet) and were none worse for the wear. Those were the old types. I haven’t really challenged any of the newer Lexan ones with my clutziness yet.
…and my eyes are still not open to what makes these Bottles of Sir Nalgene inherently superior to a more pedestrian wineskin. ($0.25 ‘for dummies’ tour, please)
I’m quite fond of the no-name lexan bottles that target has on sale.
Think outside the box….
They can be used for more than liquids…
dried foods like beef jerky, rice, instant potatoes, other grains, candies, etc, etc.
as a ‘dry box’ for small electronics or documents
the wide mouth allows room for ice cubes and drink mixes
etc etc
Nalgene
Nalgene is good gear. A lot of guys in my unit have them. In fact, there’s a little gear shop out in town that sells Nalgene bottles with ‘2d Reconnaissance Battalion’ proudly emblazoned on the side along with the unit logo. Props on thinking outside the box. They are definitely useful for more than just hydration.
Nalgene makes a couple of different kinds; make sure you get the Lexan ones. I would have thought you’d have discovered them by now, actually; they are darn near indestructible. I have a friend who swears he ran over one with his car with no ill effects. I think we have three or four for backpacking. The wide-mouth ones are easier to fill and best for measuring, but the small-mouth ones are easier to drink from without slopping water all over your shirt front.
They have both standard and metric volume measure marks up the sides, so they’re great for backpacking trips – you know just how much water to put into that freeze-dried lasagna.
Sportsman’s Warehouse sells one as a “hunter’s kit” with a knife, mirror, whistle, space blanket, etc. inside. Cute concept, anyhow.
I’m not asking what can be done with them, I’m asking what inherent qualities do they posess to make them different than and superior to other types of storage vessels.
You’ve already covered theit ‘nigh invulnerability. Do they retart bacterial growth, upgrade Budweiser to Guiness (or at least Miller), fold to pocket size, stack together russian doll style, resist chemicals and solvents…???
I had one of the “white” (translucent) Nalgene water bottles that I used bicycling. I had it about seven years. One day I squeezed it to get a drink and it broke into 5 or six big pieces. The temperature was probably in the low 40’s or so and it was full of cold water, so that probably made it a bit brittle. I assume it was just weakened by UV, repeated washings, and so on.
More than worth what I paid for it, and its twin (purchased at the same time) was still doing fine about two years later when I lost it.
We’ve got a couple others we purchased more recently that are also standing up fine to regular daily use. But then so are the cheaper solid white generic food-grade ones.
Im sure you could mix your own Guuiness in one…just add one part rubbing alcohol and two parts WD-40.
What about the old coffee? You can’t make your own Guiness without some old, nasty coffee!
😉
Oh, I was aware of them, but since I go with CamelBak type products for personal hydration the need for a Nalgene water bottle didnt seem to be there. I knew they had a good rep but I wasnt about to spend $10 to break one…until I got the chance to break someone elses for free 🙂
They make a cover for the wide mouth ones that leaves a smaller opening to sip from…like cutting a wedge in the plastic top of a McDonalds coffe. They aslo make an ‘anti slosh’ silencing baffle to keep a half-filled bottle quiet.
Well, I was off a little. The original (translucent) Nalgene bottles are high density polyethylene (HDPE), the new clear ones are the Lexan (or polycarbonate).
I suspect that the reason for the polycarb versions is that the impact strength is 2 to 4 times that of HDPE. There are all sorts of details on cross-linked polymers (both PC and HDPE) that would help explain the toughness, but I’ll leave that be, unless you really want to know.
I’d also have to look it up, plastics really aren’t my area, and it’s been a while since I’ve had to know these things.
I don’t know what price you’ve seen on them, but brigade quartermasters has the smoke gray transparent wide mouth 32 oz ones for $7.99.
http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/level4s.tam?xax=4669&M5COPY%2Ectx=27104&M5%2Ectx=27104&M2%5FDESC%2Ectx=First%20Aid%20%2D%20Kits%2C%20Accessories%2C%20Components%2C%20Repellants&level3%2Ectx=results%2Etam&query%2Ectx=nalgene&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Fresults%2Etam
The HDPE bottles are supposed to resist bacterial growth. I can go a week without washing before it starts to smell of bacteria around the lid.
Correction: I have a Lexan bottle.
The wide-mouth ones are easier to fill and best for measuring, but the small-mouth ones are easier to drink from without slopping water all over your shirt front.
See: Easy Sipper
While you are destruction testing, wing it against a brick wall. Watch for ricochet.
So so so easy to clean. They really dont stain. Dont absorb odors. Dont impart funny tastes. Go from coffee to water after a fast wash and never know that coffee was in there. Resists bacterial growth oh so well. Clean with a bit o bleach and a bunch of hot water.
Nalgene ++
those are made from lexan. really tough stuff.
Feature I’ve not seen listed yet: MSR Water Filters can screw right onto a widemouth.