Re: [at-l] bottle question/esbitt stove

["Will O'Daix" <thegreenghost@email.msn.com>]

<snip>
>any one know how to take one of those nice 32 oz black- grey nalgene
bottles
>and hook it up so you can sip it like a platypus- with a hose, bite thing,
etc

funny you should ask, I've been working on that one for a while... actually,
on & off since 92, I was one of only 3 people that I saw with a hose set-up
out on the trail in 92 & I heard there was someone else out with one too...
I've played around with several homemade set-ups since then...

1-short answer-my guess is now that nalgene has a wide-mouth platy type
bottle they'll come out with some accesories to better compete with platy...
so it may be not be a problem for long... (hint, nalgene I'd buy one if
you're lurking)...

2-these are some ideas I have tried...
2a-my 1992 sytem was a mini-camelback bladder, hose, bite valve... it was a
good set up but it took a while for me to figure out how to prevent the pull
tab water openings from tearing off... as I suck out the water I created a
vaccum in the bladder, the trick was to blow air up the tube into the
bladder to not tear off the soft rubber lid... btw, I like the camel back
bite valves the best...
2b-most of my attempts have been gravity feed with the water supply inside
the top of my pack over my shoulder... with a hole cut in the pack material,
edges of the cut
burned-seared to prevent the material from unraveling... to secure the
hose... most of my home-mades use pieces from 2 old camelbacks...
2c-the msr dromedary top fits a regular wide-mouth nalgene... & the center
piece unscrews & I attached a food safe plastic hose onto that male piece
with a radiator hose clamp... & a mini-metal camping clothespin to clamp
onto the hose, which wasn't good enough for me... I then added a reducer
piece onto the plastic tubing to use a camel back bite valve... it worked
ok, but didn't really satisfy me... msr really missed the boat by not having
a hose accessory or having that center piece be more universal(gee I hope
they're lurking too)...
2d-using an old nalgene non-loop top lid, the old white screw-on lid, I
drilled a hole into that, glued in a rigid piece of plastic, it looked like
a straw... then I attached a plastic hose with bite valve onto that... sort
of a failure...
2e-first need water filters had a nalgene adapter top a few years ago...
this top had a small hard plastic nipple built into it... the underside was
a rubber check valve of some kind... well, I took off the check valve & it's
a perfect top to attach a hose to... it was good...
2f-then I found the sweetwater water filter universal top... it fits into
the neck of a nalgene with a hard plastic nipple sticking out to attach a
hose to... it does have a air small hole in the top which seals off with
duct tape... it was good too... & the universal aspect was smart...
2g-I purchased a hose with mouthpiece from brigade quartermasters, made by a
company named Upstream Products copyright 1991... & it worked well with the
sweetwater top & a radiator hose clamp...

3-one of the 3 set-ups I saw in 92 involved a nalgene clone bottle with a
hand held black squeeze bulb... you squeezed the bulb which forced air into
the bottle which forced the water uphill thru the hose... which meant the
water bottle could be carried in one of those bags that attached to a waist
belt... I came home in 92, checked my local hiking store, & they'd stopped
carrying them & didn't call me back with the company or product name...
anyway, sometime in the last 2 years I saw the black squeeze bulb & I
ordered one... but I can't remember from where... & I have yet to use it to
rig up anything with it...

4-the third hose I saw in 92 was all home-made... & I marvelled at it then &
still do for its simplicity... it set me off on a whole different line of
thinking, I saw it & said wow, use what's out there & can be replaced
anywhere on the trail... it was a 2 liter coke bottle with a plastic straw
thru the coke bottle top with a hose that fed down & I believe it just
pinched-off hose, not a bite valve...

5-I thought a plastic coke bottle was genius because they are virtually
free, you can always get a replacement... plus, it created a way for us to
recycle coke bottles... & most importantly they have a universal top size,
most tops are made by a couple of companies... so one top fits 12oz, 20oz, 1
liter, 2 liter, or 3 liter bottles... & a platy hose also fits a coke
bottle, any & all sizes... a coke bottle works well for me in my gravity
feed set ups with a platy hose & bite valve... (I still carry one nalgene
too but not the platy bottle)... I have the flexibilty of changing my coke
bottle size as I go along, a bigger bottle the hotter & dryer it gets...

6-the most interesting set-up I purchased came from a climbing store in
northern california... it used rubber bladders, that were like water
balloons, you had to pump the water in to expand the balloon... so, there
was always the pressure of the balloon contracting, forcing the water out,
it was not gravity feed or pump based but actually pressure activated... the
rubber balloons fit into nylon sacks to prevent punctures... according to
the literature the bite valves were very expensive & used in the space
shuttle & hard to track down...

7-if you can get hold of a medical-dental supply catalog you can get all
kinds of pieces & things to experiment with...

8-having somethings in universal sizes is something I like & want as a
hiking consumer... I understand companies want proprietary products only
they can supply to us... but when I'm in the middle of nowhere, I want
things to be able to fit each other if they can... to give me as much
flexibility as possible to be safe... msr should make the center of its
dromedary lid more universal like coke bottle size... nalgene should make a
lid that can adapt to a platy hose... basic design should have a nalgene
sized lid to its waterbag bladders... camelback should add a nalgene sized
lid to it bladders... sweetwater has a great universal top that fits
nalgenes & coke bottles & platys, they should start selling hoses with bite
valves too... platy shouldn't be afraid of losing market share on its
bottles, they should advertise the fact that they sell a hose that is a
universal size to fit all size coke bottles...

oh, well, oops... I guess that's .03 worth...
safe travel / will / the green ghost.




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