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Re: [at-l] water bottles

Ok, Pooh

Here's the deal on Nalgene bottles:

The white ones are made from HDPE  (High Density Polyethlyene) which
absorbs tastes and odors. You may taste a little plastic taste, but more
likely it's a combination of other things you've had in the bottle
(including the additives in tap water such as cholorine and fluoride).
There is no way to really rid the bottle of the taste or smell.

The clear smoky bottles are made from Lexan, which has two advantages and
two disadvantages. On the positive side they won't retain taste and odor
and they won't melt in boiling water. On the negative side, they are a
little heavier and more brittle (although still ridiculously strong).

An alternative to them are the Platypus (or Dromedary) water bladder-type
containers that are lighter than Nalgenes and will conform to the space
they need to fit.

I personally use one Lexan 1-L Nalgene and one 2-L Platypus with the
Ducklips drinking tube. I then have a setup that's lighter than two
nalgenes, will carry three liters instead of two (even though I usually
only hike with a liter at a time), and I can use the Lexan bottle for hot
drinks like Cocoa. The biggest advantage to me is the drinking tube on the
Platypus, I run it out of the top of my pack and it clips onto one of my
shoulder straps so I just grab the tube, stick it in my mouth and instant
water. There are no lids to fool with and I don't have to take the
container out of a carrier (like a wet rib). Finally, the playpus bottle's
drinking tube allows me to connect it directly to the output on my PUR
Hiker filter (there's an adapter for Nalgenes too).

That's my $0.02 for what it's worth,

Will Strickland

> 
> Here's another one of those "back to the basics" question for y'all.  All of
> my water bottles are the Nalgene hard plastic (smokey grey translucent)
> except one that is a Nalgene white one that seems to be of a softer plastic.
> Well that one makes my water taste like plastic.  It's horrible.  I've tried
> baking soda, hot water, salt water, dish detergent, you name it.  Any ideas
> how to make this awful plastic smell/taste go away???
> 
> Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
> Pooh
> 
> ---
> Jennifer Delia Sawyer
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