HikeArizona.COM

I noticed little labels on all the Nalgene bottles at REI stating they're BPA-free. So does this mean they've been leaching everybody in the past? I read a little about #7 but got lost in all the bla bla.

So, my $.02 on BPA Nalgenes; it took years and years to discover that there is a chemical in Lexan that might be leaching and that might be harmful (fact is the research only suggested a possible problem), then all of a sudden they came out with Tritan plastic to fill the gap. How many years will it take to discover whatever Tritan is leaching into the water and how much worse will that be than BPA might be? Oh, and funny thing about #7 plastic. All lexan was #7, but not all #7 has BPA in it. #7 is a catch-all that has has a lot of different potentially safe plastics in it. So, Nalgene's bottles still say #7 on them and people still complain that they're not supposed to use #7 (media hype) but Camelbak wised up and no longer prints the little "#7" on the bottom of their bottles; guess what, it's still #7...

BTW it was just released that SIgg uses a lining that has BPA in it and their bottles are being recalled from many store shelves.

For my part I use Platypus containers with a straw and either gatorade bottles or the old soft white (#2) nalgene bottles.

PageRob wrote:A couple old Nalgenes, Sigg aluminum bottle, and a big Camelbak bladder complete my water-toting gear.

I carry the exact same as you Rob.
Kurt taught me back in the day to always have a backup to a bladder. A couple times I have figured out the hard way why he said that. Turns out he was right

I also notice that the BPA free ones tend to be a bit heavier. Truthfully, old gatorade and powerade bottles would be a nice alternative and lighter.

I use Camelbaks and Nalgenes. I have a couple #7 Nalgenes and a #2. The #2s are nice because they aren't as expensive. I like the #7s because different stores have cool things printed on them (I just got one from Mesa Verde!) so they're souvenirs that have practical use. As far as BPA goes, BRING IT ON! I'll take a little BPA with my cool souvenir Nalgenes any day of the week!

In response to matt gilbert:
good info, thx

writelots wrote:

SuperstitionGuy wrote:Can you believe that I backpacked into Reavis Ranch in October, to eat those delicious apples off the trees and only had APPLE JUICE to drink all the way in! Needless to say I didn't eat many apples that trip but I sure did fill the plastic container with water from the spring before I backpacked out!

That's what you get for sending your woman to do your bidding...

But I did backpack out and take home to my lovely wife a dozen of those big red ripe apples. ;)
And I wasn't even tempted to take a bite out of one.

SuperstitionGuy wrote: But I did backpack out and take home to my lovely wife a dozen of those big red ripe apples. ;)
And I wasn't even tempted to take a bite out of one.

Sounds like her strategy was a winner, then


But, seriously, I blame this whole problem on the 24 hour news media and internet craze. I liked life so much better when all of the info I needed about the world came in 1 hour broadcasts once a day, newspapers published once daily and the occasional written letter from a friend. It was so much easier to boil things down to the really essential information. If we were to return to this model, however, we would have to find a way to keep HAZ alive, since my addiction can only be broken so far. Perhaps the old 300-baud modem system? I'd dial Joe's house to get my fix anyday!

I keep saying I'm going to switch from Gatorade bottles to bpa free...as soon as I see a decent deal on em I will. In rei yesterday (Really Expensive Inventory) and their cheapest 1l ones were like $15 bucks each. Can't stomach dropping $50 for water bottles!

I usually take 1l for every 2 hours (ideal temps), 1l per hour in extreme heat.

Btw, if anybody knows where I can get decent 1 liter bpa-free bottles at a good price, lemme know!!

Nope, don't even look at em.. they weigh too much

I LOVE the little graphic Joe came up with for the BPA discussion.

You know, there are some of us who run TOWARD danger, rather than from it... Maybe all this press is going to have a backlash effect

dshillis wrote:Btw, if anybody knows where I can get decent 1 liter bpa-free bottles at a good price, lemme know!!

Surplus military canteens. They just work...

I ENJOY MY WATER IN THE OLD NALGEENS BECAUSE THEY GIVE OFF A FLAVOR THE NEW ONES DON'T HAVE

Shouldn't you be working, John?

I pulled my 100oz camelbak bladder out for the Havasupai trip, plus one "sams flavored water" bottle to use to mix my drink powders in.

Along the trail I sucked a nice mouthful of Johnson Utilities finest from the bladder and BAH! it tasted like fabric softener sheets!! - seems that I had placed the bladder too close to a box of those buggers for too long and they permeated the plastic.

Now how do I figure out what I was drinking and how to purge it from my system and de-leach it from my bladders

baking soda... then store the bladder in the freezer

dysfunction wrote:baking soda... then store the bladder in the freezer

I done it with White Vinegar also, but the above works better.

vodka. doesn't take long before you don't even notice the fabric softener flavor anymore.

I just bought some stainless steel bottles, food grade, and while expensive they should last virtually forever, and there should be zero risk of any chemical leaching. I am probably going to replace the 5 or 6 general use, wide mouthed, Nalgene Bottles I own that all date from 2003 to 2008. Two I found, and I assume them to be just as old as my newest. I assume them to all be + for BPA leaking risk, and since I have had them all in the sun at times, and I use them all the time for hiking or while traveling/ driving, or at work, I drink the majority of my water from them. I understand there is some other chemical risk, too. For now, my new metal bottles will do, but come longer hikes, or highs topping 90+, I will need more storage and carrying ability.

I assume the risk to be substantial in these older bottles, but I do wonder how great. The information is variable. At any rate, I assume I should replace them, but do I need to go entirely over to expensive steel? I guess, "no". I spent 65 buck for 2 bottles, 1 is 1100 ml, and the other 1900 ml (both sold in English volumes of 40 and 60 oz). Is there risk in buying the newer #7 plastics, or is it better to buy the old #2 Nalgene, even if just for my bottle at work? I wonder, since all plastics decay at some point when subjected to UV light, is it even worth their use, when kept for a decade, or is it a who cares situation? I would enjoy a cheaper alternative, like a glass bottle for work, and maybe elsewhere. If I could find a 2 liter glass container, I would buy that, but since I don't know where to get one, I will likely buy another large 60 oz, or 1900 ml steel bottle, to be able to carry almost 5 liters on hot summer hikes, like Kimball, Wrightson, or Pusch. After that, carrying more water is getting too heavy.

Like so many issues of this type, its tough to find useful and unbiased information on the actual risks of BPA. Over the years I've started to wonder if maybe our culture worries too much, particularly about food, chemicals, air quality, etc. I've yet to find anything that has a better combination of features than my good old soft white plastic Nalgene, and that's what I'm sticking with.

2 1/2 gallon plastic gasoline container. Have not watched enough episodes of Breaking Bad to determine if the plastic is ok.