Don't Drink the Water from that Bottle or maybe that one???

There are certain things in our life that are easily spelt out for us. One of the major ones actually breaks down into an easy little bit of arithmetic;

Marc + 4 litres of water/day = Marc lives another day
Marc + 0 Litres of water/day = Marc dies as a dried prune.
*4 liters of water, I drink a lot of water and 4 liters is literally not an exaggeration, I actually drink 4+ litres at work 730-400, and then after work is probably another liter that equals on average ~20 cups of water a day plus coffee, and every once in a while I may have a beer or two (ha!) on top of that. Wow just saying that makes me want to pee.

Ok I’m back. For years we have been purchasing Nalgene water bottles. They have been the best price for food safe plastic bottles. While working at trailhead I could get them for a couple bucks while they retailed from $5 to $14 depending on size. They are handy for everyday use, save on wasting plastic -as we all know plastic water bottles are horrible-, and they are light, and easy to pack for our outdoor activities and travel.

Years later many studies have been completed resulting in many negative results. The clear Nalgene bottles, made of Lexan plastic, were said to be leaching plastic into the water over time. This leaching plastic has been found to contain carcinogenic properties. Of course anytime something is wrong it is the big ‘C’ that rears its ugly and devastating head. So out went the clear plastic bottles we had, and we had many of varying sizes for different uses and we used them a lot for hiking and camping.

Ok so the other option is the white plastic bottles that are not the #7 Lexan plastic. Unfortunately yet again the studies are bad. These bottles ‘over time’ could begin to leach plastic into your water. But we have to look at this with some amount of caution. I believe -and last time I checked I am not a scientist so don’t quote me- over time are the key words here. I think if you use a Nalgene as much as I do i.e. every day, on trips as I only drink out of a glass at home, then maybe keeping the bottle for a little over a year seems about right. That would be well over 365 uses out of the same bottle, not bad for $8.99 -think of how many plastic bottles that replaced.

So what is the alternative? Well for now you can purchase a light weight and extremely durable aluminum water bottle. I recently purchased a Laken aluminum water bottle. The outer lining is made of aluminum but contains an epoxy-phenolic lining. They will cost you more then the Nalgenes as my new 0.75 litre bottle -seen below- cost me $22 with taxes. That is a little steep for a water bottle but what is your health worth to you? Of course there will be a study that comes out years from now stating that the aluminum from these water bottles has been found to leach into the water thus giving users early Alzheimer’s.

But we have to do what we can for ourselves and our environment as we only get one of each. I highly recommend these bottles and of course a Brita to slightly purify your tap water, god I’m thirsty now.