Narrow or Wide-Mouth Nalgene

[Motabobo]

Here is why the wide-mouth Nalgene bottles are the best period :

-If you are using wide mouth nalgenes (and if you have small hands), you can use them as punching gloves if attacked by a bear...
-I challenge anybody to do this with Gatorade's bottle and/or narrow mouth Nalgenes...
-On top of that consider the hardness of the bottle, you can knock down a grizzly with a single strike (while Gatorades would obvsiouly crush)

Moral of the story I feel safe with my wide mouth nalgene

 

[blacknblue]

I keep small-mouth in the car for driving. Otherwise, I'm a big-mouth, er, wide-mouth guy. They fit better in water bottle 'parkas', don't freeze up, are easier to fill, and easier to clean.

 

[Gris]

+ 1 on widemouth. Narrowmouth are useless: can't filter w/ em, can't use em as storage and worst of all ya can't pee in em (at least i can't)

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Another advantage of the big-mouths is the increased leverage you get when trying to open one that is either frozen or was overtightened.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Another advantage of the big-mouths is the increased leverage you get when trying to open one that is either frozen or was overtightened.

You can use your teeth to hold the top of a narrowmouth bottle.

This may have been why shackelton's men lost their teeth... Opppps Wrong thread.

 

[the starchild]

another thought!

don't buy another nalgene, just use a gatorade or bottled water bottle. they are lighter, cheaper, come pre-filled and you can recycle them when they have been used too many times!

 

[DougPaul]

FWIW, the wide mouth bottles fit inside the bottle insulators the best.

Maybe that is because the bottle parkas are designed to fit the wide-mouth Nalgenes...

Doug

 

[Lawn Sale]

I'll second the water bottle. The 32 oz Poland Spring water bottle weighs 0.9 ounces whereas the Nalgene weighs 6.6 ounces. I carry one in the summer just for Gatorade.

 

[pks4000]

New space age water bottles from latest Nasa research

We, The BMT winter mountaineering group, have been using the latest hydration system from the new Tunnel Brook NASA molecular biology research facility in Benton, NH.
We use both narrow mouth and wide mouth bottles never spiling a drop while carrying 8 bottles for each day out. The new bottles contain dehydrated water so carrying them is easy. 8 bottles weigh 24 ounces total or 3 ounces each.
When we are thirsty we just add water and drink.
Some of us prefer wide mouth Nalgene so we can add Accelerade our electrolyte supplement of choice. that of course kicks up the weight to about 4 oz per bottle
CS/BMT

 

[David Metsky]

<mod hat>
Please keep things on topic.
</mod hat>

-dave-

 

[DougPaul]

I'll second the water bottle. The 32 oz Poland Spring water bottle weighs 0.9 ounces whereas the Nalgene weighs 6.6 ounces. I carry one in the summer just for Gatorade.

My experience with bottled-water bottles (primarily Poland Spring) is that they leak after a little while. Soda bottles (perhaps because the contents are under pressure) seem to be more robust.

Either is light and cheap.

I can fit a 24oz bottle in my pocket and I carry 3 or 4 bottles with me on a summer day hike. Easy to drink from without breaking stride and when one is empty, I just exchange bottles. Some of the bottles usually contain electrolyte drink, and at least 1 pure water (for washing or first aid). I carry electrolyte powder for the last bottle and any refills.

Doug

 

[Mike P.]

I use two wide mouth & a 32 oz wide mouth soda bottle,

In winter you want to be able to free any ice up that may accumulate in the neck. Axe works well & fits wide bottles. Soda bottle is nice in case I can't open it, puncturing the lid is no big deal & cheaper to replace.

 

[sleeping bear]

My experience with bottled-water bottles (primarily Poland Spring) is that they leak after a little while. Soda bottles (perhaps because the contents are under pressure) seem to be more robust.

I recall hearing somewhere that bottled water bottles (Ploand Spring, Evian, the cheaper feeling plastics) are designed so that they can be crushed easily after use. I've also heard that the plastic is designed to break down faster, and can release harmful plastic particles into the water when reused.

While I don't use soda bottles for water, sometimes I use them to carry alcohol for my stove. I've often gotten the cap on so tight that I can't get it back off. This has never happened to me with a Nalgene. Although they supposedly leach chemicals too if you wash them with detergent...

I prefer to drink out of narrow mouth bottles, and use them more in the summer. Wide mouth in the winter. Camel back in summer too. I find I stay much better hydrated.

 

[Mr. X]

Over all, I'd stick to the wide mouth ones, they are more universal. I use the small mouth ones for taking to work and putting around etc.

 

[Grumpy]

I love telling tales about my Nalgene bottles . . ..

With freezing rain falling all around us yesterday, and anticipating that an electrical outage would occur to shut off our water well pump, Mrs. Grumpy and I got out a dozen of our Nalgene high density polyethylene bottles and filled them with H20. It’s quite a collection. Two of the bottles are 30 years old (or more) and still quite serviceable. Nine are quart/litre size, and three are pint/half litre size.

Oh, getting back on topic now . . . Our mix of jugs is half wide mouth and half narrow mouth. So, evidently, we have no special preference. But that would be a false conclusion. Both Mrs. G and I regularly carry one or more water-filled Nalgenes from home to work (and about everywhere else, including hiking) -- and our clear (or cloudy, as the case may be) favorites are the narrow mouth bottles.

Narrow mouth bottles work just fine with our Katadyn Hiker water filter.

We clean (sanitize) the bottles periodically by pouring in a shot of chlorine laundry bleach and topping off with warm water, agitating a bit, and letting them sit for several hours. Dump the bleach solution, rinse, and they’re good to go.

G.

 

[DougPaul]

Nalgene. Although they supposedly leach chemicals too if you wash them with detergent...

This may be related to an incorrect report that claimed Nalgene bottles leach a potentially harmful chemical into the water. (The claimant tested chemical grade bottles, the drinking bottles are made from food-grade plastic. Info on the Nalgene web site.) This report refuses to die and resurfaces every now and then...

Doug

 

[Frodo]

I hate Nalgene bottles! Actually, I use a hydration system 8 months out of the year, but switch over to those pesky Nalgenes from Dec-March. The large mouth ones make for an awesome pee bottle in winter (just make sure it is well marked...)

 

[dr_wu002]

Too Heavy

The large mouth ones make for an awesome pee bottle in winter (just make sure it is well marked...)

Jeez, why carry all that extra weight? I just use my hiking partner's sleeping bag.

-Dr. Wu