Greeting friends! I have decided to take a little time to do a review of Nalgene Water Bottles. About 6 months ago I picked up a couple blue Nalgene Water Bottles from my local REI store and have been using it both for outdoor adventures and even during my work/home life.
Before I bought the Nalgene I was trying some "unbreakable" glass water bottles from a big box store. One of my biggest issues with Water Bottles is that the water seems to get a funky plastic taste the more you use them. For this reason, I first tried these glass bottles, and they were good to a point. I tried them on two hikes but found that they did not hold enough water to my liking. I still enjoyed the glass water bottles at work until one day it dropped and hit the ground just right. Shattered is the right word here, but because of its plastic casing, it stayed relatively intact. This made it easier to clean up on its way to the trash can.
Upon finding my need for a new water bottle I decided to give the 32oz Nalgene a try. My first concern before using this water bottle was its wide mouth. I am not exactly great at drinking out of a cup when I am walking (just not something I ever figured out), so I had some huge concerns about how I would use these in the wild. My only other concern was its bulkiness and weight.
Over time using and getting used to the water bottle I am identified what I consider the "high points" of the product. The Nalgene bottle is advertised as being very durable. While I would always hesitate to say something is "unbreakable", I have placed two of my bottles to some pretty extreme tests. Dropping the bottle 1 story onto a parking lot, throwing it onto a boulder, and pouring boiling hot water into one that has been in the freezer are the best ones I have done to date. First, let me say had any of these actually broken the bottle, I would not have held the company responsible. Nalgene advertises these water bottles for normal use, and the expectations of anything more are unrealistic. However, my water bottles have withstood every test that I have tried. There are some stories out there of them breaking under certain conditions (and I don't dispute any of them), but mine are going strong. There are a few scratches from tests and hiking trips, but those are view as battle scars from good times. Based on my research I have found that Nalgene is very quick to replace a bottle of one does break.
Now, the water bottles ARE bulky. It can be hard to find room for them in certain situations and they don't fit into standard cup holders. Having said that, the amount of water that they do carry is going to result in something bulky no matter how you make it. The potential of the bottle rolling around in your car is, however, a small inconvenience compared to the usefulness of the bottle. I have found that just hooking the bottle to your bag or belt works fine. Some people have written reviews about the plastic lid breaking (one of ours melted in the dishwasher) when you use it this way, but you can find replacement lids at the store if this happens. There is always the option of simply carrying the bottle in your hand for small trips as well. I have found that I really enjoy the amount of water that I can carry in these bottles, but they do sell them in smaller and thinner sizes. There are even water bottles with thinner mouths (and you can buy a "splash guard" insert from third party manufacturers at many sporting stores) so that you can drink on the go.
There are many types of water bottles out there for your use. I personally have found that the durability of the Nalgene and the volume markings put the Nalgene ahead for outdoor and home use. You will have to deal with condensation on occasion, but that is a small price to pay for such a great product. I have increased my collection of Nalgene water bottles and use them every day. Ranging in different colors (and some with designs and logos on them) there are options for everybody.
In review, the Nalgene is great for carrying plenty of water and keeping track if that is your choice. The condensation and plastic lids are small drawbacks but are hugely overshadowed by the durability of the water bottle. For these reasons, I would give the Nalgene water bottle a rating of 4.5 out of 5 pine trees.
Cleaning Note
I have found that a spoon of baking powder put into the bottle and brought water to make a thin paste help get rid of any "plastic taste" in your water.
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