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Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bottles > Nalgene N-Gen Bottle > Owner Review by Ralph Ditton

OWNER REVIEW
NALGENE N - GEN BOTTLE
REVIEW BY: RALPH DITTON
DATE: 8th August, 2007
                                                                              N-Gen bottle
                                                                                                       N-Gen Bottle
                                                                                         (Courtesy of Nalge Nunc Int. Corp.)

Personal Information
Name: Ralph Ditton
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Height: 1. 76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight: 71 kg (156.5 lb)
Email: rdassetts at optusnet dot com dot au
Location: Perth. Western Australia. Australia

Backpacking Background
My playgrounds are the Bibbulmun Track and the Coastal Plain Trail. I aim to become an end- to- ender walker of the Bibbulmun Track. I am nearly there as it is 964 km (603 mi) long. My pack weight including food and water tends to hover around 18 kg (40 lb) but I am trying to get lighter. My trips range from overnighters to five days duration.

Product Information
Manufacturer: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com
Year of manufacture: 2006
Model: N-Gen
Model Number: 2190-1003
Colour: Opaque Light green
Listed weight empty: N/A
Measured weight empty: 170 g (6 oz)
Listed bottle opening: 53 mm (2 in)
Measured bottle internal opening: 43 mm (1.7 in)
Measured bottle external opening: 47 mm (1.8 in)
Measured bottle external opening from outside of screw threads: 51.5 mm (2 in)
Measured cap internal opening: 52.5 mm (2 in)
Listed volume: 750 ml (25 oz)
Measured volume : 750 ml (25 oz)
MSRP: US $10. 25

Product Description
The bottle is made from a Polycarbonate material whose symbol is PC. According to the manufacturer's data, PC has the following characteristics:
  • High impact resistance
  • Resistance to staining
  • Won't retain odours
  • Withstands sub-freezing to boiling temperatures
  • Dishwasher safe away from the heating element
  • Maximum temperature: 135 C (275 F)
  • Minimum temperature: -135 C (-211 F)
The colour of my bottle is a light lime green, transparent and does not show on the web site as it is a newer addition with the model number 2190-1003. On one side of the bottle are graduations that are moulded right into the bottle. The graduations have two scales, one in millilitres and the other scale in ounces. The metric scale ranges from 250 ml (8.4 oz) to 750 ml (25 oz) and the imperial scale ranges from 8 oz (236 ml) to 24 oz (709 ml).
                                                          bottle showing graduations
                                                                                 Bottle showing graduations

As can be seen from the above photo, the bottle shape tapers from a wide base with a diameter of 87 mm (3.4 in) to a shoulder diameter of 73 mm (2.8 in). The bottle then has a short neck of 20 mm (0.8 in).  On the far side opposite the graduations, there is a tapered inwards "V" shape which is 55 mm (2.1 in) high and 46 mm (1.8 in) wide at the top. This is to give a better grip on the bottle with the fingers or thumb, depending on which face of the bottle is facing me and to prevent the bottle from slipping out of my hand when say it is wet. The indentation for the graduations also does the same job. On the base of the bottle is the name "Nalgene", "750 ml", "Made in USA" and the recycling symbol showing the Mobius Loop with three chasing arrows with the number "7" inside the symbol and "PC" at the base.
                                                                                recycle-resin logo
                                                                                  recycle-resin logo

The symbol with the "7" means that the material used in the manufacture of the bottle does not fit into the other six categories and the "PC" indicated that the bottle is made out of Polycarbonate and that is what the manufacturer claims.
                                                               base of bottle
                                                                        Base of bottle

The cap is made out of two different materials, with the business end that keeps the liquid inside the bottle without leaking is a light grey with a slight bluish tinge and is a tough plastic. There is a ridge at the top of the cap which sits over the lip of the bottle to give it a very good seal. The treads are very deep around 3 mm (0.11 in) which lock onto the extruded thread of a similar size on the bottle. The exterior of the cap has a rubber type material covering it. The manufacturer claims that it is for easy gripping. I find this to be true especially when I open the bottle. My hand does not slip around the cap when trying to open the bottle. In the ridge of the cap there is a good size finger loop with a diameter of 23 mm (0.9 in). I find this loop very convenient for carrying the bottle around a campsite and when exploring away from the campsite for short distances.
There are no warranties given by the manufacturer, just a facility to purchase replacement caps.

Field Information
I purchased this bottle in March of 2007. Since the purchase the bottle has accompanied me on thirteen days and nine nights broken down to six separate trips. The trips have been to huts on the Coastal Plain Trail and the Bibbulmun Track, my usual playgrounds. Temperatures have been moderate, ranging from a low of 5 C (41 F) to a daytime high of 30 C (86F). We have experienced the warmest autumn and winter for nearly sixty years. Elevations ranged from sea level to the highest point on the Darling Scarp, 582 m (1,909 ft). The temperatures and elevation had no affect at all on the performance of the bottle.

Use in the field
I purchased the bottle for one main reason because I had a mortal sin of a disaster with a PET bottle. I needed something reliable to carry my wine in as I do not like carrying glass bottles due to their weigh, the danger of the glass breaking and the dead empty weight of packing it out again. I was after a bottle that was strong, light and most important, had a good seal. On every trip that I have taken the bottle, I enclosed it in a clip lock bag for extra protection, but I now consider this to be overkill as I have never had the cap leak inside my backpack whilst in the clip lock bag. After the wine is consumed I then use it as an addition bottle to carry drinking water, a form of reverse osmosis, turning wine into water after a diversion, namely me.
I initially used the clip lock bag as a protection against a leaking cap because I had a problem with a PET and a commercial aluminium bottle where the pressure that built up from the wine being shaken when walking forced a leak around the cap seal.
This has not happened, but there is pressure inside the bottle which becomes apparent when I unscrew the cap. When the bottle has the wine in it, I carry the bottle inside my backpack standing upright and when I use it to carry water it sits in the outside pocket on the side of the backpack.
Quite often when I take my backpack off and try and sit it upright on the ground, invariably the backpack will topple over. Again this has not caused any leaking through the cap.
Fortunately, I have not accidentally dropped the bottle to see how it would fare as far as the bouncability stakes go or if it would crack. I treat it with loving care as it contains very valuable liquids, both the wine and water variety.
                       N-Gen bottle at Noggerup campsite
                                                                N-Gen bottle at the Noggerup campsite

The above photo shows the bottle on its last outing after the wine had been emptied out of it. I am boiling water for a cup of tea.
Drinking water straight from the bottle, never the wine, is an easy operation. I just put the mouth of the bottle to my lips and depending if I want just a sip, the tip of my nose will go inside the bottle opening, but if I want a big gulp, the top of the bottle will rest against the bottom of my nose where it joins my upper lip.
The opening of the bottle is large enough and deep enough for me to use my SteriPen to purify the water. I am able to move the wand around in a stirring motion to ensure that as much water as possible comes into contact with the UV light.
                                                        using the  steripen
                                                                                         using the steripen

Cleaning the bottle
When out in the field, I just rinse the bottle out in cold water by putting about a cupful of water in it and swirling it around to wash the wine off the sides. I then fill it up with water to drink. I have not noticed any off smells or off flavours in the water when drinking it. At home I give the bottle a wash in warm soapy water in the kitchen sink then rinse it out with warm to hot water and let it drain dry. The manufacturer recommends the following:
  • Soak in warm soapy water
  • Soak in warm water with lemon
  • Soak in warm water with baking soda
  • Wash in dishwasher (away from the heating element)
I have never had to resort to the last three methods of washing.
When the bottle is dry, I store it in my camping closet in an upright position with the cap off and the cap laying on its back to ensure that the threads are exposed to the air. I like to ensure that the threads are completely dry and that mildew cannot form on the inside of the cap.

Things I like
  • Lightweight and strong
  • Transparent/opaque
  • Graduations on the side
  • Extremely good cap seal
  • Good solid cap with an easy grip
There are no aspects that I dislike about the bottle.





 

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Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bottles > Nalgene N-Gen Bottle > Owner Review by Ralph Ditton



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