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Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bottles > Nalgene 32 oz Wide Mouth bottle > Owner Review by joe schaffer

Nalgene 32 oz (1 L) Bottle
(as a sleeping bag warmer)

Owner Review
by Joe Schaffer

February 12, 2020

TESTER INFORMATION:
NAME: Joe Schaffer
EMAIL: never2muchstuff(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
AGE: 72
GENDER: Male
HOME:  Bay Area, California USA

   I frequent California's central Sierras, camping year around with a goal to match my age in nights out each year; often solo. Summer trips typically last 5 to 10 days; 40 lb (18 kg), about half food related; about 5 mi (8 km) per hiking day. I winter camp most often at 6,000 to 7,000 ft (1,800 to 2,000 m); 2 to 3 nights; 50 lb (23 kg); a mile or so (1.5 km) on snowshNalgene bottleoes, pulling a sled.

The Product: Nalgene 32 oz (1 Liter) wide mouth bottle
    (Nalgene is a registered trademark.)
        Manufacturer: Nalge Nunc International Corporation
        Web site: www.nalgene.com
        Received: 12/2006 (or thereabouts; contains BPA)

Manufacturer specs and conversions:
    Volume: 32 oz (1000 ml)
    Volume to brim: 38 oz (1210 ml)
    Height: 8.25 in (215 mm)
    Diameter: 3.5 in (89 mm)
    Cap Diameter: 63 mm
    Weight: 6.25 oz (178 g)
    Colors: 22
         
KEY FEATURES:
    Made from Tritan--BPA, BPS and Phthalate Free (reviewed bottle precedes Tritan)
    Dishwasher safe
    Fits many filtration devices
    Guaranteed not to leak
    Guaranteed for life
 
CARE:
    Wash in soap and water.

WARRANTY:
    Lifetime. Website provides no return/replace/refund information.

MSRP: $11.54

DESCRIPTION:
    Nalgene makes this bottle in the shape of a cylinder, rounding the edges at top and bottom. White painted-on oz and ml gradations on one side are very easy to read. The plastic cap screws on and off; and sports a retaining loop to keep the cap affixed to the bottle, and which can be used with a carabiner for convenient attachment to a backpack. The cap is serrated for grip; the rest of the bottle is glass-smooth. The bottle is made from impact-resistant Lexan plastic. I've actually tried to break one of these by repeatedly slamming it into the corner of a board, producing no detectable damage. I have found the bottle to be leak proof so long as the lid is snugly tight. As noted above, my bottle for this review is not Tritan, a newer plastic polymer that does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA). Other than that, the Nalgene bottle has been around and unchanged in shape since 1980. The bottle will tolerate very hot water, making it an ideal sleeping bag warmer.

FIELD CONDITIONS:
   Over the years I've used this bottle in all conditions from disgustingly hot to near 0 F (-18 C). However, most of the time I use the bottle in cold weather as a heat pill for my sleeping bag. It also works very well as a vessel for treating water with a SteriPen. I've never connected a filter directly to the bottle, although some filter devices are designed for such interface. The bottle is also useful as a mini-rodent resistant container. The critters typically abandon their efforts before making much headway on the bottle. A larger varmint would be able to sneak away with the lid's strap for grip.

IMPRESSIONS:
   As versatile as the Nalgene bottle is, I prefer to use it as a sleeping bag warmer. I fill the bottle with just-boiled water (and do not shake it!). It's hot to handle, but feels good on cold fingers. I like to sit with it against my stomach for a few minutes to warm up my core, and to make sure the bottle is properly sealed and that any little spill from filling has dried off. Then I wrap a sheet of newspaper around it; seal it in a gallon (4 L) freezer Zip-Loc; wrap that in a couple sections of newspaper; and finally, stick that into a plastic bag, such as the Sunday newspaper is delivered in on a rainy day; all rubber-banded into a tight package. This pill will heat up the sleeping bag footbox in about half-an-hour or so; and remain appropriately toasty there throughout the night. Come morning when it's time to see a man about a horse, the pleasure of tidying up the operation with warm water cannot be overstated. I don't drink the water as my bottle has BPA; and even if it didn't, I'm thinking superheated water is going to leech something out of any plastic that I may not want in me.

    The older I get, the colder I get. I've come to learn that no matter how warm a sleeping bag may be, my cold feet will not warm up without introduced heat. I've used everything from hot rock to baked potato. Rocks are hard to find under the snow, require many hours to heat up, and aren't always clean enough for a finicky person to put in the bag no matter the fastidiousness of preparation and wrapping. Potatoes are good for about an hour-and-a-half and afford a quick bite to eat in the morning (with necessary amounts of Taco Bell sauce). A spud also requires a long time to bake; and even in hibernation season and tightly wrapped, a fellow wonders about putting a food parcel inside his sleeping bag. Chemical warmers work, of course, but as a routine measure their one-use capability offends my sense of wanting outdoor adventures to generate as little stuff as possible for the landfill. I maintain great concern about water leaking from a bottle or the bottle even bursting, but therein lies the benefit of considerable confidence in the integrity of the Nalgene bottle. (Still, I believe it would be foolish not to take the precautions noted above, which also serve to mete out a proper amount of heat all night long.)

    As a trail bottle I find the Nalgene a little too fat and slick for my (admittedly Dupuytren's-buggered) hands. I don't trust the cap's loop never to break as I'm tearing through the tangle of off-trail brush sometimes encountered in my cross-country scampers. Further, when I'm heaving from exhaustion I don't seem to be able to keep from gushing too much water out of the wide-mouth opening, especially with grape or fruit punch drink mixes. This latter matter can be addressed with an after-market insert, but I've never bothered to get one as I don't like handling the bottle for drinking anyway.

Quick shots:
    a) water-tight
    b) durable
    c) clumsy
   





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Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bottles > Nalgene 32 oz Wide Mouth bottle > Owner Review by joe schaffer



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