Nalgene vs. Army Canteen

[Kutter_0311]

I didn't realize the army canteen had the BPA problem, so I looked it up and found that it also tends to absorb chemicals? I looked inside mine and sure enough, it's RED. Not good.

This does explain the odd smell, no matter how much I clean or dry it.

Thanks, all, I'll be upgrading 'old smelly' tonight, now that I know what's wrong with it.

heh heh... One of my issued canteens smelled like piss and dip spit when I was in boot. A good soak in Purex and Listerine got it to taste like... well, Purex and Listerine, but it beat the alternative for the next 13 weeks...

If it's red, it could just be from red Gatorade mix. I know my lemon-lime left some of my stuff looking radioactive.

Otherwise, I really don't wanna know what red could be. Soak in Listerine for a few days.

Purex tastes a bit sudsy, and never totally comes out...

[Dutch253]

If I had to choose between a Nalgenen and an old Army canteen I would totally go with the Nalgene. I saw so many of the old army canteens break and they start to smell like crap after awhile too. My personal preference is a metal "Sigg" type bottle though so you can use it to boil in a pinch.

[praharin]

If I had to choose between a Nalgenen and an old Army canteen I would totally go with the Nalgene. I saw so many of the old army canteens break and they start to smell like crap after awhile too. My personal preference is a metal "Sigg" type bottle though so you can use it to boil in a pinch.

Most (modern) Sigg bottles are aluminum and lined. if you boil, you can heat the lining and it will leach into the water much quicker. However, the aluminum oxide that you could end up with otherwise might be worse. Don't boil or cook in aluminum.

An easy way to "make" one is to get a plastic nalgene bottle. Fill w. boiling water and jimmy it down a canteen cup. Then refill w. ice water to set it. Or so I'm told.

None of the bottles Nalgene makes are just plastic. There is the HDPE (high density polyethylene) and Lexan. I don't think water could get hot enough to warp the Lexan, but the HDPE just might.

[Sealegs]

None of the bottles Nalgene makes are just plastic. There is the HDPE (high density polyethylene) and Lexan. I don't think water could get hot enough to warp the Lexan, but the HDPE just might.

I meant plastic in the "see-through" sense of the word.

I've heard of guys that have purportedly done this. Would be great w. a verification though. I might even try it myself. Wide mouthed goodness in a canteen cup.

[Grant]

My stainless Nalgene is just that, plain stainless, no lining of any kind. If you remove the lid it is perfectly safe for boiling.

The plastic one is almost identical, but...plastic. Safer for purification chemicals, I'm told, though who knows?

The red in my old canteen is probably iodine, as I never used anything else in it. The dust that forms constantly, I have no clue on, though it tastes like plastic in the water.

[111t]

If it's red, it could just be from red Gatorade mix.

Polar pure?

[praharin]

None of the bottles Nalgene makes are just plastic. There is the HDPE (high density polyethylene) and Lexan. I don't think water could get hot enough to warp the Lexan, but the HDPE just might.

I meant plastic in the "see-through" sense of the word.

I've heard of guys that have purportedly done this. Would be great w. a verification though. I might even try it myself. Wide mouthed goodness in a canteen cup.

No problem, I was just trying to clarify. Like I was saying, the more clear of the Nalgenes is Lexan, and I highly doubt you can get your water hot enough to change its shape.

[Kutter_0311]

If it's red, it could just be from red Gatorade mix.

Polar pure?

Fruit Punch flavor Gatorade. Really. Not my fave, but my roomate loved it.

[ReverendGrizz]

Don't know if this has been stated, but Go with the Nalgeen Oasis for canteens and Kleen Kanteen for larger amounts of water.

That is all.

[Vicarious_Lee]

I didn't realize the army canteen had the BPA problem, .

It didn't, neither did the old nalgenes. They just took the BPA out and weakened them anyway.

[suhsjake]

I just bought two Blackhawk! Nalgene Canteens in Foliage. Very nice I must say. No smell to them.

[vahtryn]

I picked up a 32oz nalgene yesterday. It's replacing this thin quart canteen my room mate gave me. Certainly weighs less and my pot fits around it perfectly. Now I gotta either make a case for it, or find one I like.

[TMedina]

"Survival bags" have been built around 32oz Nalgenes and cups - check out the Maxpud 12 x 5 bottle holder.

You can check out this Youtube video by the folks at Canteenshop.com - they use a Condor bottle carrier with a Guyot SS bottle and cup. Another survival instructor had a video using Maxpud and a cup, but I think he's taken his videos down since.

-Trevor

[elricfate]

FWIW, I wouldn't boil water directly from a canteen (single walled stainless) unless it was an absolute last resort, not because of damaging the canteen, but having to wait for the whole thing to cool down before it can be carried, which is a pain in the ass.

A lot of folks go with the 32oz Nalgene (or 38oz Guyot designs stainless bottle, which is the same radius) and either an Olicamp Space Saver or a GSI Glacier 18oz Cup/Pot around the base. You can use the cup to boil the water, and then when you're done, nest the bottle back into it.

Also keep in mind that drinking from a wide-mouth Nalgene is insanely easy with the HumanGear CapCap. It is a replacement wide-mouth cap with a narrow drinking spout and a much tougher carrying strap (big upgrade from the Nalgene one). This gives you the ability to frontload ice or what have you, but drink from the bottle without having to perform a balancing act and not slosh it down your face.

Just some thoughts.

[TMedina]

Humangear capCap from REI. Big thumbs up on this one - gives you the best of both worlds, wide mouth accessibility and narrow mouth drinkability.

-Trevor

[USMCSergeant]

Humangear capCap from REI. Big thumbs up on this one - gives you the best of both worlds, wide mouth accessibility and narrow mouth drinkability.

-Trevor

Thanks for that link guys, I ordered a couple of those lids for my bottles. Should make life a bit easier and the carrying handle looks beefier.

[TMedina]

The strap connecting the cap and the base are beefier, but I still wouldn't default to it as a fixed clip point.

You'll love drinking from them, however.

-Trevor

[bltjr1951]

They are featured in the Discovery Channel special on the USMC survival school, I think. Very nice, but I cannot find them anywhere.

Try DHK, I've shown the site before and people bitch they can't order one.
http://www.dhki.com/Defense/p_solbotle.htm

Didn't they use iodine in metal canteens back in WW2?

They sell sippy inserts for wide mouths, see them at REI and Campmor.

One of you guys have too many "when" in your sig.

[TMedina]

I could never get a sippy insert to work well for me - especially if I had ice in the bottle.

YMMV.

-Trevor

[TMedina]

Just as a note: there are actually type types of "bottle cups" designed to fit on the bottom of a 32oz Nalgene: GSI's "Bottle Cup" and Olicamp's "Space Saver Cup".

-Trevor

[huntingohio]

Old canteen=BPA

There are new canteens w/o BPA, by Nalgene and Blackhawk!

http://www.canteenshop.com/index.html

This should take care of you...

not to derail but what is bpa and why ois it bad

[DaJoker]

I use both interchangeably but the USGI canteens are a) cheaper and b) easier to pack than a cylinder.

Some of you guys may be concerned about BPA, I'm not. In a nutshell ohio its a chemical that's been linked to causing some types of cancer. Let a bottle get old and expose it to UV rays for a period of time and most plastics break down and contaminate the water with this chemical, which is used in manufacturing to make plastics. New bottles and plastics are starting to be made without BPA though, like the new nalgene bottles.

Regardless, I keep a couple canteens tucked away in my car in addition to my GHB. Fun fact: canteens fit better in elastic/mesh bottle holders you find on some bookbags than normal water bottles, others are so tall they end up falling out.

[elricfate]

Just as a note: there are actually type types of "bottle cups" designed to fit on the bottom of a 32oz Nalgene: GSI's "Bottle Cup" and Olicamp's "Space Saver Cup".

-Trevor

Congrats. You have repeated, in four posts, what I said in one.

[TMedina]

Just as a note: there are actually type types of "bottle cups" designed to fit on the bottom of a 32oz Nalgene: GSI's "Bottle Cup" and Olicamp's "Space Saver Cup".

-Trevor

Congrats. You have repeated, in four posts, what I said in one.

Oooh! Do I get a prize? Maybe a promotion? I always thought I'd look good with a Mustard Stain on my ACUs.

-Trevor