PDA

View Full Version : Wide or narrow mouth bottles and why?



Hummy585
12-05-2015, 21:15
Just pondering on the trail water requirements and I'm deciding which would be best. I'm aware that one could fit bigger things, i.e. ice cubes in the wide mouth but I'm not sure of any other difference...

bigcranky
12-05-2015, 21:21
I like the wider mouth Gatorade bottles. Using a Sawyer Squeeze it's easier to get the water in the bottle. Using an aqua mira tablet, ditto. Easier to drink from, for me anyway. They cost a buck at the grocery store and come filled with free Gatorade. :)

iAmKrzys
12-05-2015, 21:40
Most SteriPen models require wider opening. SteriPen has one model that will fit narrow-mouth bottles but I think its batteries cannot be replaced (though I may be wrong on this.)

mikec
12-05-2015, 21:43
If you are talking about Nalgene bottles I have some of each. They both have advantages and disadvantages.

lkmi
12-05-2015, 22:11
I use a wide-mouth Nalgene, with a cap that offers a narrow opening. Gives me the best of both worlds :)

MuddyWaters
12-05-2015, 22:22
Just pondering on the trail water requirements and I'm deciding which would be best. I'm aware that one could fit bigger things, i.e. ice cubes in the wide mouth but I'm not sure of any other difference...

Arent too many ice cubes on the trail

I use plain ol water bottles. Easy to replace, find anywhere, and light.

Gatorade/powerade bottles are more durable, thats the main advantage I see. But they are heavier than a plain dasani 1L water bottle .

I havent had a dasani bottle fail yet. I have had hole in the ultralight crinkly eco water bottles. Im cautious not to accidentally drop a water bottle off a cliff or something.

Lyle
12-05-2015, 22:28
...........

Oslohiker
12-05-2015, 23:31
In freezing conditions it is better with a wide mouth bottle. A narrow mouth bottle will plug up more easily. If you also store the wide mouth bottle upside down (preferably inside the sleeping bag or down jacket in your pack), you will always get to the water that has not yet turned into ice.

HooKooDooKu
12-05-2015, 23:32
I like the wide mouth to make it easier to pour in drink mixes.

Wise Old Owl
12-05-2015, 23:54
uh my vote is Go hike,,,, worry about this.....much later

Trailweaver
12-06-2015, 03:45
Wide mouth bottles are easier to fill and much easier to clean. Think "sweetened drink left in bottle accidentally and gunk growing" scenario.

Siestita
12-06-2015, 04:01
Like Big Cranky (#2), I find that the one liter Gator Aid bottles meet my needs well. I carry two of them with me on almost every backpacking trip that I make. Overnight I re-hydrate fruit, such as dried apricots, to eat with cereal the next morning. That would not work with a narrow mouth bottle.

daddytwosticks
12-06-2015, 07:38
Wide mouth bottles make the best drink (and pee) bottles, IMHO. Just don't get hem mixed-up. :)

mountainman
12-06-2015, 08:53
if you want the lightest bottle possible, then your looking at the narrow top. they are harder to fill. I carry the bottom half of a very thin water bootle to scope up water. this bottle will mash down to almost nothing.
If you use the Sawyer as I do then you should get a SmartScource bottle . The Sawyer screws right on it.

cmoulder
12-06-2015, 09:37
Another vote for Gatorade. For winter you can use bubble mailing envelopes as bottle jackets to prevent (or greatly delay) freezing.

BirdBrain
12-06-2015, 09:57
Wide mouth. Easy to fill. Easy to drink from.

Another thing to consider is where/how they will be stored. If stored in pockets, any wide mouthed bottle will suffice. If strapped to front of pack, a wide mouth bottle with deep grooves is desirable. I use these. After many iterations, I found these to be the most functional given my preferences.

3287532870

nsherry61
12-06-2015, 10:26
I find narrower mouth bottles easier to drink out of while walking. Wider mouth bottles are easier to fill . . . especially for winter hikes (the only time I use a nalgene bottle) where I keep a wide-mouth bottle inside my jacket and fill it with snow as I drink the water letting my body heat melt the snow while I ski, snowshoe, or whatever. It keeps me from having to carry as much water and/or otherwise having to stop and melt snow for drinking during the day. It can also keep me from overheating during vigorous activity.

garlic08
12-06-2015, 11:29
Easy answer for me. You have to pay money for wider mouth bottles. Narrow mouth plastic bottles are free for the picking up at every road crossing. Better than free--you're taking something out of the trash stream.

That said, I do own one Nalgene for winter trips.

George
12-06-2015, 15:22
I use bottles instead of a tube and like to walk along while snacking/ drinking - I noticed a lot more spillage with wider mouth bottles

jefals
12-06-2015, 19:30
Hiking out west in scarce water country, I wanted capacity, so I went with 4 1.5L bottles. Not that I ever had them all full, but I did have the capacity. These were bottles from the grocery, with the narrow tops. I found that amazon has drinking tubes with replacement caps for these bottles for about $13.

Starchild
12-06-2015, 21:47
Most SteriPen models require wider opening. SteriPen has one model that will fit narrow-mouth bottles but I think its batteries cannot be replaced (though I may be wrong on this.)

It's the opposite. The cheapest Steripen models, also the heaviest, that takes 4 AA's (disposable or rechargeable), can fit the narrowest opening which is a standard soda bottle size, perhaps smaller. The next category that takes a unusual battery size (CR-123 - disposable, or CR-123R rechargable) is smaller and lighter and can take a gatoraide bottle cap or larger. All the above is replaceable batteries.

The most expensive but lightest option is the non-user replaceable battery model (Freedom), which recharges via USB and needs a cap larger then a gatoraide bottle. Finding a bottle that complements the lowest weight (so keeps it the lowest in terms of a total water purification system including water weight), and leak proof but large enough to fit this Freedom model is a challenge.

iAmKrzys
12-06-2015, 23:24
It's the opposite. The cheapest Steripen models, also the heaviest, that takes 4 AA's (disposable or rechargeable), can fit the narrowest opening which is a standard soda bottle size, perhaps smaller. The next category that takes a unusual battery size (CR-123 - disposable, or CR-123R rechargable) is smaller and lighter and can take a gatoraide bottle cap or larger. All the above is replaceable batteries.

The most expensive but lightest option is the non-user replaceable battery model (Freedom), which recharges via USB and needs a cap larger then a gatoraide bottle. Finding a bottle that complements the lowest weight (so keeps it the lowest in terms of a total water purification system including water weight), and leak proof but large enough to fit this Freedom model is a challenge.

Last summer a friend showed me what I think was SteriPen Ultra model that will fit narrow bottles and also has to be recharged via USB cable (same list price as Freedom): http://www.steripen.com/ultra/

TexasBob
12-07-2015, 10:44
It's the opposite. The cheapest Steripen models, also the heaviest, that takes 4 AA's (disposable or rechargeable), can fit the narrowest opening which is a standard soda bottle size, perhaps smaller. The next category that takes a unusual battery size (CR-123 - disposable, or CR-123R rechargable) is smaller and lighter and can take a gatoraide bottle cap or larger. All the above is replaceable batteries. ...........

I have both the Classic steripen (4 AA batteries) and the Adventurer (bought in 2008). The Classic will fit a soda bottle or larger but nothing smaller. The Adventurer I have needs a bottle wider than a Gatorade bottle like a Nalgene wide mouth.

Starchild
12-07-2015, 10:53
Last summer a friend showed me what I think was SteriPen Ultra model that will fit narrow bottles and also has to be recharged via USB cable (same list price as Freedom): http://www.steripen.com/ultra/

Yes, I forgot about the Ultra model, it is basically the 'cheapest/heaviest/largest' form factor updated with a internal rechargeable battery (which does make it a little lighter) and a LCD display. Yes it does fit the standard
soda bottle.

Would really like to see a Steri Pen in the form factor of the freedom with the ability to use with a standard soda bottle.

Starchild
12-07-2015, 10:56
I have both the Classic steripen (4 AA batteries) and the Adventurer (bought in 2008). The Classic will fit a soda bottle or larger but nothing smaller. The Adventurer I have needs a bottle wider than a Gatorade bottle like a Nalgene wide mouth.

A gatoraide bottle will sort of work, I've seen it. You need to fill it to the brim and no you can't stir it, but have seen several people using it that way. I don't accept the effectiveness of not being able to stir the water, but it does fit unless something changed or I was in a wormhole at the time that I saw it.

TexasBob
12-07-2015, 11:14
A gatoraide bottle will sort of work, I've seen it. You need to fill it to the brim and no you can't stir it, but have seen several people using it that way. I don't accept the effectiveness of not being able to stir the water, but it does fit unless something changed or I was in a wormhole at the time that I saw it.

You are right that if you fill the gatorade bottle until water is spilling out then the unit will turn on and you are also right that you can't stir the water with it like you are supposed to or the unit will shut off. Not to be argumentative, but if you can't use the unit with a gatorade bottle like it was intended to be used then you can't count on the water being treated properly then it seems to me that it really won't fit in the bottle.

pauly_j
12-07-2015, 12:23
Wider mouth bottles are harder to drink and walk at the same time. At least without getting some on yourself.

Odd Man Out
12-07-2015, 13:08
I like the wider mouth Gatorade bottles. Using a Sawyer Squeeze it's easier to get the water in the bottle. Using an aqua mira tablet, ditto. Easier to drink from, for me anyway. They cost a buck at the grocery store and come filled with free Gatorade. :)

Me too. I get them for free from the recycling dumpster and then I don't have to drink the Gatorade. ;) Also, the deep groove around the Gatorade bottles make them easy to strap to my shoulder straps with mini bungee cords. 20 oz on each strap.