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Reviews > Hydration Systems > Bottles > Aquaclips Water Bottle Holder > Owner Review by Ray Estrella
Aquaclips Water Bottle Holders
TESTER INFORMATION
I have been backpacking for over 30 years, all over California, and in many of the western states and Minnesota. I hike year-round, and average 500+ miles (800+ km) per year. I have made a move to lightweight gear, and smaller volume packs. I start early and hike hard so as to enjoy the afternoons exploring. I usually take a freestanding tent and enjoy hot meals at night. If not hiking solo I am usually with my wife Jenn or brother-in-law Dave. The Product
Manufacturer: GJC Products, Inc. Web site: www.aquaclip.com Product: Aquaclips Year manufactured: 2007 Size listed: N/A Actual size 2.25 x 3 in (22 x 31 cm) Weight listed: N/A Weight measured: 0.4 oz (11.3 g) MSRP: US $3.00
Product Description
The Aquaclip is a piece of molded plastic shaped like an upside-down L with a C on the end of it. The open ended C part snaps onto a standard pop or water PET bottle allowing the bottle to be carried hands-free by sliding the leg of the L into a belt or waistband. But it can also be slid into or onto anything that will fit inside the space between the clip and the bottle it is hooked to.
As can be seen in the picture here, the Aquaclip has teeth inside the ring that will grab the grooves found on most bottle tops. This allows it to act as a bottle wrench making it easier to open a stubborn or wet bottle. Here is a picture of it in this mode.
Field Data
I have used the Aquaclips on two day hikes in Minnesota, both at 900' (300 m) elevation and on dirt farm roads. Temps were from 39 to 67 F (4 to 19 C) and I carried no pack. I walked 8 and 10 miles (13 & 16 km) consecutively. But most use has been on the backpacking trips below, all in summer of 2008. Observations
I did not buy the Aquaclips, but instead was contacted by the inventor after he read my Aquafina Water Bottle review that I wrote in fall of 2007. He told me he had these clips and asked if I would like to try them out. I told him sure but that as I was going into winter I would not be using those kinds of bottles. I also am very prejudiced to the wide-mouth bottles I wrote about, which the Aquaclips do not fit. He sent me a few and they sat in my desk for half a year. I used them a couple times on day hikes and thought they worked pretty well. The weight savings of using an extremely light PET bottle instead of a heavier type of material like polycarbonate is substantial. But when I take a serious hike I carry a pack with a bladder or bottles in it. On shorter "walks" (under 8 miles, or 13 km) I just do not need water, so they did not see much further use. Then I started taking my children backpacking. I did not want them to have to carry the weight of their drinks at first, and their packs have difficult pockets to use for water bottles in any case. I remembered the Aquaclips in my desk and decided to try them out for the kids.
They worked great. I gave them each their own color and would put one on each side of the back of my Osprey Argon pack, as can be seen above. (Raymond has Raspberry Lemonade on the right and Emma has Fruit Punch on the left.) This let them pull it off whenever they wanted a drink and it was easy for them to slide back on once they were done. Then once we made camp it was time to go exploring. On one day we walked another three miles after getting to camp, to go around Beers lake. Rather than remove the lid of my pack to use as a lumbar pack I just put a few things in my pockets and slid the kid's flavored waters through my belt in the back, and away we went. Here is a shot of them used in this fashion.
The kids carry them all around camp too. They hang them on a nearby branch to keep them close to hand. I asked them if they would like to take them off but they always say no, they want then left on. And many times I found them slid onto the gear pocket inside the tent also, like the picture below taken at 6:00 AM when Dad could not sleep any longer.
Of course the only problem I had with the Aquaclips was the fact there was only one blue colored clip. They both wanted it but Emma graciously (or should I say eventually) let Raymond have it. As I am writing this review in Moorhead Minnesota I showed her on the Aquaclip web site that they make them in 29 colors. She asked me to get her a translucent purple one. (She is such a girl… and I love it.) I will as soon as I get back to California. The Aquaclips are now a permanent part of our hiking gear. So wave if you see a guy with multi-colored bottles hanging from him. It might be me! I leave with a picture in the hardwoods of Minnesota, lemon-lime and orange this time…
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