SIGG Water Bottle

When we found out this month that polycarbonate plastics were carcinogenic, and we could no longer use the faithful nalgenes we had built our outdoor hydration upon, we decided to look into the alternatives and found SIGG. With hundreds of colorful and even declarative designs, switch-out caps, and several sizes to choose from, my attachment to nalgene was entirely usurped.

Why not nalgene or polyC plastic? Apparently when it breaks down, which happens after six months, if you put it in the dishwasher, use it for hot liquids, or forget to wash it at all, the plastics turn to nasty chemicals our bodies can't handle, turn into cancer tissue, and create dis-ease. If California's pulled all the baby bottles made of this nasty stuff, you can bet I'm listening. NOTE: Polycarbonate plastics are labeled 3 and 7. 1, 2, and 5 are safe. But don't drink out of something you're going to throw away either, there's a US-sized island of plastic drifting in the Pacific we're trying to reduce!

There are other options than SIGG, such as Klean Kanteen (no fancy designs, less choices), CamelBack (great for wearing your waterbottle but not for carrying it), and the old fashioned Sacajawea bovine bladder sack, but after my usual extensive research for this product, I found SIGG to be as handy as its Swiss Army Knife brother.

Overall Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Pros:
Earth Friendly
Metal keeps the water cool
Lightweight design
22 interchangeable lids
Speak your mind with one of 144 designs
Sizes give you options

Cons:
We had to find good uses for 8 nalgenes
Nalgene is losing money faster than you can say Oh Sh*$


Review:
Sure, having to replace perfectly "good" items is a drag, but when those good items are shortening my life span, that $20 bill flies out of my pocket like dandelion fluff.

SIGG has been around 100 years, has that self-respecting product model that its Swiss Watches and Swiss Army Knife brothers are made of, and there are plenty of pros to this item that keep us from feeling too bad about not "buyin' American."

Even in Steamboat, where we don't even have a Target, I found three stores that carried SIGG and over a dozen designs, sizes, and lids to choose from. I like the idea of not spilling water down the front of me like my fat-lip nalgene did. But I LOVE the idea of being better on the planet. It's not only drinking from polycarbonates that are bad, the production of them is worse. I also like the idea of interchangeable lids, one that squirts easily when I'm cycling (and yes, my brown 18oz bottle with trees on it fits in my cycle's bottleholder), and one that has a convenient hole in it for a carabiner to hook onto. I'm also impressed with the weight of this bottle, I would have expected it to be heavier than my nalgene, but it's not.

Craig's red bottle with Chinese motif dragons and tigers on it fits nicely into his wheelchair bag and is easy to find when he reaches in there. He fills his up 5-6 times a day or more, though, so it's got to be easy to reach.

You can also put anything in them. Not just water; juices, energy drinks and alcohol aren't leaked into the sides as they are with plastic. And buying SIGG, you're giving back. They're a 1% for the Planet company committed to donating this portion of their sales to environmental causes.

If you're like us, everything else you buy is tough, you need a SIGG, "The World's Toughest Water Bottle."