Nalgene Plastic Water Bottles Eco Product Review
May 9, 2008 · Written by Joel
Nalgene sent me a lot of their bottles to test, seven in total. Reusable bottles are a great alternative (we’ve previously looked at SIGG) and these plastic bottles represent many different styles and uses so it was great to test them.
From left to right in the image below we received two 32oz wide mouth HDPE Retro bottles; Oasis Loop Red Top; Loop Top - Sunny Yellow; pink ATB Bottle; OTG bottle; and a Loop top.
As you can see the bottles vary quite a lot. All are extremely durable, resistant to staining, resistant to retaining odors, dishwasher safe (top rack only) and guaranteed leak proof. The wide mouth bottles didn’t really appeal to me, though are much easier for getting ice into them, and can be hand washed easily. The other narrower bottles really have to go in the dishwasher to get properly clean. Our favorite is the OTG bottle that does not leach any taste, is a handy size and very sturdy. It probably looks the best out of them all, and can be opened with one hand.
It’s a tough choice to choose a reusable water bottle these days. Which ones leach, which ones don’t, is plastic reusable OK, or are aluminum or steel bottles better? What is the cost of manufacture compared to “disposable” plastic bottles? I think it comes down to a personal choice, and depends what you use them for - the plastic ones are lighter and more ideal for sports (such as fitting in bicycle cages or graduations for measuring energy supplements), whilst I think for walking/hiking the metal ones are perhaps sturdier. For day-to-day work and the like then pretty much pick whatever you’re comfortable with. Nalgene certainly have a massive range of styles, shapes and colors from which to choose and see what you like.
The bottles range from $6 and more and are available in many, many different styles and colors from Nalgene.
You say it comes down to personal choice, but I’m confused–people keep telling me to give up my nalgene bottle. This article [http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/feature-articles/2008/may/What-s-Next-for-Sigg-.html] says that we SHOULD be giving up our nalgene’s for SIGGs, but I like my nalgene and want to keep it. Except that I kind of panic that I’m getting poisoned every time I take a sip. What’s the deal?
Hi Rachel. I like my SIGG bottle too, and my BPA free CamelBak, so as I say in the article, it’s a touch choice these days to advise anyone. Naglene are confident their BPA is safe but due to demand are moving away from using it (like CamelBak are doing). Probably best to go for a bottle that is BPA and leach free.
I really considered a plastic bottle like the Nalgene bottles for the cost, durability, and ruggedness. But even before I heard that there was a tiny possibility that they leach harmful chemicals into my water/body - just like everything else, BTW - I decided to go with a Sigg. Its a ceramic coating (at least that’s what I remember reading somewhere) and I’m sure that they can be recycled, too.
But the thing that really did it for me was the fact that it wasn’t plastic and there isn’t any petroleum based product. That was it… it wasn’t plastic and since I try to avoid plastic as much as possible, I thought I’d go with the Sigg.
Yes, looking after your health should be your number one priority! My SIGG is great as I mentioned but I still use others for different reasons, sometimes it’s too heavy, it doesn’t take ice cubes and so on. Some people have complained about the coating on the inside but it seems fine to me.
I think avoiding plastic as much as possible is an admirable goal. I’m getting a steel bottle to test soon so we’ll see how that stacks up.