Stainless Steel Water Bottle Question

[sleeping bear]

I never taste plastic in my lexan bottles- even with boiling water. Yucky water/melted snow/iodine/floaties- yes, plastic no.

Now, put some chocolate milk in there, leave it set in the car for a few days and then try and tell me it doesn't retain flavors, ha!

I do like the stainless steel bottles, but I probably won't buy them because they don't work so well in the cold. Also, they may be made of metal, which is better than plastic, but if my nalgenes are still good (and probably will be forever) I see no point to buying more bottles.

 

[Chip]

Has anyone bought or used this bottle? I'm wondering if it fits into the bottle cozies that are designed for 1 L Nalgene bottles. It appears from the photo and dimensions given to be about the same size.

Matt

Matt, I don't know what kind of filter you use. It'd be interesting to see if the thread on the Guyot is the same as the thread on a Nalgene, otherwise a filter like MSR Miniworks won't. I have this problem on a couple of Nalgene wanna-be bottles I bought at Kmart or some where.

 

[DougPaul]

I never taste plastic in my lexan bottles- even with boiling water. Yucky water/melted snow/iodine/floaties- yes, plastic no.

Now, put some chocolate milk in there, leave it set in the car for a few days and then try and tell me it doesn't retain flavors, ha!

I used 500ml polycarbonate Nalgenes constantly for several months during the early stages of my recovery to carry a variety of hot and cold drinks around the house. (One can fill them in the kitchen, carry them in one's pocket, and consume the drink somewhere else. A big help when you need your hands for locomotion...) I had no problems with flavor retention, but I did rinse and wash them fairly often.

but if my nalgenes are still good (and probably will be forever) I see no point to buying more bottles.

The original round of HDPE Nalgenes lasted 20-30 years--the plastic became brittle and cracked. (The lids are still good at 30+ years...). Don't know about the polycarbonate bottles.

Doug

 

[Paradox]

Sigg bottles are indestructible (they won a competition where golf balls were shot out of a canon at several water bottles) but I rarely use mine, and never in the winter.

Interesting but not conditions one would encounter while hiking/camping. My 16 (at the time) year old son and a friend found an old 1 L Nalgene polycarbonate bottle and spent 5 minutes trying to break it by throwing it (empty) at our asphault driveway. It still did not leak.

 

[cbcbd]

It'd be interesting to see if the thread on the Guyot is the same as the thread on a Nalgene, otherwise a filter like MSR Miniworks won't.

Same thread. The Guyot bottle has the same lid that was made earlier for Nalgenes and the lid fits both, so...

Interesting but not conditions one would encounter while hiking/camping.

I think it was a Backpacker Mag experiment... which I guess you might encounter if you mistakenly step onto a golf course or driving range while hiking.

 

[MattC]

Same thread. The Guyot bottle has the same lid that was made earlier for Nalgenes and the lid fits both, so...

I will usually only use the Guyot in winter, so filtering won't be an issue, but thanks for posting that. Good to know.

I think it was a Backpacker Mag experiment... which I guess you might encounter if you mistakenly step onto a golf course or driving range while hiking.

Not out of the realm of possibilities at when hiking on Mohonk Mountain House property in the Shawangunks. When hiking through the Ausable Club property in the Adirondacks, you may be more likely to get clocked with a stray tennis ball. The perils of the outdoors.

Matt

 

[MattC]

Transparent would be polycarbonate. HDPE is translucent. (Also noted by Jay H.)

Polycarbonate (Lexan): http://www.rei.com/product/402065
* hard
* clear
* often tinted
* purported not to pick up taste from flavored drinks
* (There have been reports that some polycarbonate bottles leach biphenol A (may cause chromosome damage) into the water. This may or may not be a problem with Nalgene polycarbonate bottles.)

HDPE (high density polyethylene): http://www.rei.com/product/402049
* flexes
* translucent
* generally white
* picks up some flavor from flavored drinks
* tastes plasticy if you leave water in it for extended periods
* (There was a false report that Nalgene HDPE bottles leach BPA into the water. Nalgene uses a food-grade HDPE for which this is not a problem.)
* (most biking bottles are HDPE)


The reason that I asked is that the word Nalgene alone is not an adequate description for this discussion.

Doug

Mine are the Lexan. Thanks for research.

Matt

 

[DougPaul]

Not out of the realm of possibilities at when hiking on Mohonk Mountain House property in the Shawangunks. When hiking through the Ausable Club property in the Adirondacks, you may be more likely to get clocked with a stray tennis ball. The perils of the outdoors.

Methinks spending the extra weight in the form of a helmet may be a better investment than spending the weight in the form of a metal water bottle if I were in the habit of hiking in such hazardous areas...

Doug

 

[michaelb]

There have been reports that some polycarbonate bottles leach biphenol A (may cause chromosome damage) into the water. This may or may not be a problem with Nalgene polycarbonate bottles.)

Do you have a source for this? I don't want to make you do research and I am too lazy right now to just search on google. My memory of this story about lexan from now several years ago was that it was something like an accidental finding after washing lexan rat cages (or something liike that) in harsh industrial chemicals/dishwashing detergent, and that at the time, there wasn't any evidence or suggestion that this could happen with bottles used for human drinking and in regular dishwashers or cleaning.

 

[MADMAN]

Did anybody look further into the line of Sigg bottles in the link? I like the flask with the cup attached, maybe not for $30 but good idea. I would use it for my special beverage on backpacking trips!

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DougPaul
There have been reports that some polycarbonate bottles leach biphenol A (may cause chromosome damage) into the water. This may or may not be a problem with Nalgene polycarbonate bottles.)


Do you have a source for this? I don't want to make you do research and I am too lazy right now to just search on google. My memory of this story about lexan from now several years ago was that it was something like an accidental finding after washing lexan rat cages (or something liike that) in harsh industrial chemicals/dishwashing detergent, and that at the time, there wasn't any evidence or suggestion that this could happen with bottles used for human drinking and in regular dishwashers or cleaning.

This is just a short mention of Nalgene bottles containing BPA: http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/11/z-report-bpa-nalgene.html

I came across it as I was researching which baby bottles are BPA free.

 

[DougPaul]

Do you have a source for this? I don't want to make you do research and I am too lazy right now to just search on google. My memory of this story about lexan from now several years ago was that it was something like an accidental finding after washing lexan rat cages (or something liike that) in harsh industrial chemicals/dishwashing detergent, and that at the time, there wasn't any evidence or suggestion that this could happen with bottles used for human drinking and in regular dishwashers or cleaning.

Re: polycarbonate
I heard a news report on a local TV station (Boston Ch 4, I think. http://wbztv.com/ search on "bisphenol A") I then verified the info using Google searches. Try searching on "bisphenol A nalgene water bottle". http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa and http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/nalgene are two reasonable-looking reports.

Re: HDPE
This issue is several years old. A researcher found BPA leaching from Nalgene HDPE lab bottles and released the report before checking to see that the drinking bottles are made from a different grade (food grade) of HDPE. There used to be a report on the Nalgene website, but I couldn't find it.

Doug

 

[michaelb]

thanks for the links, although interesting I am not sure they are unbiased, and I think this is an area in which we are not going to get clear answers. I try to avoid being paranoid about anything (as I drink from my only occasionally washed lexan bottle). Past discussions at VFT were inconclusive in the same way.

This was an interesting take that more or less goes along with my view:

http://thegearjunkie.com/hydration-bottle-health-polycarbonate-polemics

 

[DougPaul]

thanks for the links, although interesting I am not sure they are unbiased, and I think this is an area in which we are not going to get clear answers. I try to avoid being paranoid about anything (as I drink from my only occasionally washed lexan bottle). Past discussions at VFT were inconclusive in the same way.

This was an interesting take that more or less goes along with my view:

http://thegearjunkie.com/hydration-bottle-health-polycarbonate-polemics

Not sure I'd call this report any less biased that some of the others...

Since there seem to be no reliable studies, it is impossible to draw good conclusions.

Just to muddy the waters (so to speak... ), don't forget that many were in fear of aluminum causing Alzheimer's disease a few years ago. (There is no good evidence supporting this conclusion and much evidence against it.)

The net is a great place for spreading baseless fear...
I'll wait for real evidence.

Doug