Hiker Deals

What does every experienced camper have 10 of, but still needs more? Wide-mouth, lexan Nalgene bottles (no direct-links at REI.com, so search for item #402065 for gray lexan or item #664604 for colors).

So why are these water bottles, normally $8+, far better than sliced bread when you’re camping? Even at this sale price of $5.49?

It’s not just because the loop top makes for easy carrying and the lexan material can stand ridiculous abuse without breaking (I have broken a couple of these though, one when it fell 90 feet on to a hard sandstone landing, while climbing. Another broke when it had frozen overnight and I tossed it only 10 feet, to a sunny spot so it could melt while I cooked - apparently ice and extreme cold aren’t friendly to lexan). The real reason you just HAVE to carry at least one wide-mouth Nalgene bottle on any camping trip is because every water bottle on the market seems to have a slightly different-sized opening, but Nalgene’s is the standard that all other cooking and water equipment attaches to.

For example, most water filters either screw directly to the top of a wide-mouth Nalgene, like the MSR ceramic water filters, or they have a cheap (as in less than $5) adapter that fits onto the top, like the Katadyn Guide water filter that my wife and I own two of (pre-marriage camping gear, I may write Hiker Deals but I’m not that much of a gearhead to keep a spare water filter). Also, some cooking accessories are sized just for the wide-mouth Nalgene bottles too, like the Press-Bot coffee press.

Since you need them anyway, scoop up a few of these wide-mouth Nalgene bottles while they’re just $5.49. And since there aren’t direct-links to REI.com products allowed, search for item #402065 for gray lexan or item #664604 for colors.