Water Bottles: What do you use?

KITROBASKIN

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Mar 28, 2013
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Location
New Mexico, USA
Recently a longtime favorite water bottle started leaking after dropping it wrong (is there ever a right way?). Vargooutdoors honored their guarantee by giving me a discount on the purchase of a new water bottle. The early version I had was made with a seam around the base, but newer ones don't. That discount shows a lot of integrity in my book. But That brings up a question: What water bottles do you all use? For work? For play? For exploration and adventure?
 
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My daily bottles are glass bottles with silicon tops from Target. Glass tastes best :)

for or hiking I have several Ss. Some donor have brands, but I get the kind with wide threads. Hydroflask vacuum bottle is awesome when it's hot. I can start it with some ice and leave it in the car. I also have a Liberty Bottle Works bottle. It's ceramic coated steel, which tastes good like glass, but doesn't shatter.
 
I keep a Klean Kanteen stainless bottle in my goes-everywhere bag. It can be used to boil water in to purify if needed, or melt snow. Thankfully, I've never had to use it for that "for real". There's a 1qt Platypus in there, too. Otherwise, lots of Poland Spring, Deer Park, and Fox Ledge plastic bottles. I do try to refill from my home tap, but it's not always practical.

Lol WoodsWalker, getting the 35lb. 5 gallon workout in camp! :)
 
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I keep a Klean Kanteen stainless bottle in my goes-everywhere bag. It can be used to boil water in to purify if needed, or melt snow. Thankfully, I've never had to use it for that "for real". There's a 1qt Platypus in there, too. Otherwise, lots of Poland Spring, Deer Park, and Fox Ledge plastic bottles. I do try to refill from my home tap, but it's not always practical.

Lol WoodsWalker, getting the 35lb. 5 gallon workout in camp! :)

I hear that!







My UL bottle for when going up even harder ground.



But honestly when going back down I dump to save my knees as it's for training. The world famous Nalgene wide mouth next to one of my smallest stoves.



I think the most popular bottle on the AT is the re used Smart water bottle with Sawyer Squeeze. still got mine from last season on the AT. Also have the SS Nalgene and a few other SS ones.
 
I use the nalgene and a 32oz hydroflask wide mouth. The hydroflask is heavier but it works really well.
I also use a Source bladder (3 liter) for hikes paired with a nalgene with a capcap to make it easier to drink on the go.

I have a camping cup that the nalgene nestles into for hikes to boil water in.

The hydroflask is my favorite on hot days to keep my water cold. In the cold weather, I still drink mostly water so for tea or coffee, I take a small thermos paired with a nalgene.
 
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Mizu brand bottle with Hayley strategic logo

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Mizu bottle with prometheus design werx logos

Love these bottles I use one everyday!
 
Very Interesting water bottles listed here, as well as the pure-functional tools. Who would have thought in, say, the year 2000, that we will enjoy such a wide variety of hydration container choices 17 years later.

The ones I take to work are SIGG stainless and the two-piece Alexbottle. Vargo is for the outdoors (except for the backup bottle in work-day pack). Klean Kanteen is used for storing primary drinking water at former home, where all water was hauled. Back then, most of the wash water was hauled in repurposed beverage containers. Carrying 5 galloners was too cumbersome. We reuse cat litter HDPE containers for emergency wash and toilet water and store them in the basement.

The wife and son use Klean Kanteen.
 
In the winter I use Hunersdorf water bottles. They are like the HDPE (soft) Nalgenes but without the flavor tainting and with better sealing caps. They are much easier to work with when the temperature drops below freezing. For all other outdoors stuff, I've switched from the standard Nalgene to collapsable water bottles from Vapur, which are tough enough and have a nice wide fill mouth.

At home and work I use an insulated Klean Kanteen or Hydroflask, which keeps water hot or cold for an unreal length of time. They're also stainless steel which looks and wears great.
 
Awesome thread! I love water bottles. Haha

On the trail I usually use Platypus and/or Camelback bladders. I also have some SIGG and Nalgene bottles that I may use for short hikes or carry empty for use around a campsite since bladders are cumbersome for that purpose.

For everyday use I generally use Hydroflask 18oz insulated bottles as they stay cold. I also have Vapur bottles and have been very impressed with their durability and usefulness.

When I'm working and it's hot out I have a bigger orange .5 gal Igloo insulated plastic jug with a handle as I gotta drink a ton to replenish all the water loss. I'm not crazy about drinking out of that cheaper plastic but the giant steel bottles are pretty expensive. Maybe I'll suck it up and buy one this year.
 
The hydro flasks can't be beat. They just came out with a bunch of new styles I saw at REI last week. Even found a great 24 Oz coffee mug my girlfriend just loves it. Coffee will stay warm for a long time.
 
Some odd stuff here:

Daily at work: an empty Everclear bottle. Yes, the liquor illegal for sale in 14 states. I use it for backpacking stove fuel. Now I have a heavy glass 750ml bottle with a solid cap. A decent amount to get me thru the day, but I wish it were larger. I only drink from glass whenever possible...it just tastes better and I don't like the sweet taste from plastic. I don't give a s*** about the chemical stuff some people freak over. I don't buy that.

Backpacking: an empty Jim Beam plastic whiskey bottle. Now I sound like an alcoholic. I like it because it's lightweight and flat (like a big flask) so it packs well. I'll also use assorted Evernew bags (similar to Platypus).

Backpacking in winter: the usual 1L Nalgene or two

Day hiking, kayaking, etc: the 1L Nalgene again
 
The hydro flasks can't be beat. They just came out with a bunch of new styles I saw at REI last week. Even found a great 24 Oz coffee mug my girlfriend just loves it. Coffee will stay warm for a long time.


+1 for HydroFlasks... But only the older ones Made in America. The newer ones Made in China are a clear step down in quality.
 
I have a camelback HK Heckler and Koch edition but looking for another. Would like to have a copper lined or solid copper one... and looking at the hydro???
 
I have a camelback HK Heckler and Koch edition but looking for another. Would like to have a copper lined or solid copper one... and looking at the hydro???


If you mean the newer HydroFlasks, go to a brick & mortar shop that sells them. No lie, I did buy one of the newer HydroFlasks.... after I spent over half an hour finding a bottle that was built properly, then finding a plastic cap that didn't have a blatant seam dividing it in half, and then looking even more for another combination of the two that fit properly without a ridiculous squeaking noise coming from unscrewing the cap from the bottle.

Ever seen the film, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"? Remember that one scene where The Ugly makes his way to a gun shop? He tries out a few revolvers and he's not happy with the lot of them. So he cannibalizes parts from multiple revolvers, takes the best-fitted different parts from each one, puts them together; and makes one really good revolver.

Honestly, I know what that's like. Difference is, I did it with water bottles.
 
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Usually I'm sporting a Nalgene bottle with a neoprene bottle holder, in either 20 or 32 oz. Add a HumanGear CapCap and it covers all the bases.

I've been known to use a Nalgene Oasis canteen or a 32oz narrow mouth bottle, and a various Klean Kanteen or Hydro Flask insulated bottles - mostly because those are the ones I can find on sale.
 
I dunno, my HydroFlask products are perfectly fine. I wouldn't worry too much.
 
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