How to mix, not wear, your drink

Submitted by Eric Daniel

I saw something both sad and humorous while at my last National Guard drill; brand new soldiers trying to drink MRE beverage base powder out of a bag.  As you may or may not know, newer MREs now come with a resealable beverage pouch (I suppose in the event you want to walk around with a fluid filled Ziploc bag in your cargo pocket) for drinking the various concoctions (both hot and cold) that come with the MRE.

The reason for the bag is the Army’s going away from the canteen (replacing it with the camelback or similar hydration system) and the canteen cup (while I can get canteens from CIF, they are no longer issuing canteen cups) leaving troops with no other option than to either try and drink out of a bag-lined cardboard box (messy and embarrassing to say the least) or mix the stuff in a canteen, if they can get one.

Now, mixing stuff in your canteen has always been bad juju.  It’s dark and moist inside that canteen, and when half filled with a sugar-water slurry, it makes for a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria.  Moreover, given the design of the canteen, it’s very difficult to clean, and once contaminated, it’s really difficult to verify you’ve gotten all the crud out. 

My solution was to pick up a 1 qt. wide mouth nalgene bottle.

Fabricated from high impact polycarbonate plastic, it stands up well to its fair share of abuse.  It’s survived shipping in a duffle bag, kicking, dropping, and with a temperature range of –211 to +225 degrees F it performs well hot or cold.  Mixing drinks in this thing is a snap - add powder and water and shake.  It will even accept boiling water if you’re lacking a more suitable container for making coffee or tea in.  Moreover, if you’re using dehydrated rations, you can dump your meal in, add some water, and let it slosh around in your kit for the next couple of hours (something I did frequently while hiking.)

While the nalgene bottle does not eliminate the issue of canteen “fermentation” given that it’s made of clear plastic it’s easy to clean out and visually inspect for residue.

Get a nalgene bottle here

Comments

[Richard]

Nalgene is the best water bottle I have ever had. I've had mine for 5 years and it has survived being dropped over and over. The best part is that they are made in the USA!

[RJB1012]

these bottles can and should be thrown, beaten, bashed, dropped, abused, and battered. these things are great, and if you look hard enough, you can find some with some pretty cool designs.
but i should warn you, the lids do not last forever. the lids are inexpensive, so if you plan on using these, have a spare lid in your pack.

[Gene]

Nalgene is the best! I've seen specialized pouches for carrying these bottles. Maybe someone could come up with a nalgene-nesting metal canteen cup...Why in the devil would the military cease issuing canteen cups???? Dumb, dumb, dumb!!! When I went to A-stan in 2001, I had 2 canteen cups and a tommy-cooker with a buttload of hexamine tabs. It was the only way we had to make hot water for coffee, etc.

[Doug VW]

To Gene-
They do make a metal cup that nests with nalgene bottles. Go to Eastern Mountain Sports or REI's websites and search for "NESTER'S Space Saver Cup". I got mine for around $7. I rigged insulated carriers on my camping backpack's hip belt and it works great!

[Brian]

Just be careful how you clean these bottles. With certain detergents you can cause the Lexan to decompose and the chemicals in the body can be nasty. If the plastic looks cloudy or flakey, chuck it and get a new one. I have had 5 of the bottles for years and have only had to throw away one. The lids are another story. They need to make those out of Lexan as well.

[Jake]

I was an enlisted guy in the teams for 17 of my 20 years of service. we have been using the nagene bottles since they came on the market. They are truly incredible. I have seen them frozen to the point of strtching the Lexan but not breaking it, I have seen them deformed from heat and made reuseable with a little sandpaper, run over by vehicles, dropped from incredible heights and used for things they certainly were not designed for. not only are wide mouth versions easy to clean but, snow is easily shoved in to start melting. when you are stateside you can put ice in easily. One year I bought one for each of my family members and put a small survival kit in each complete with food and water purification. the whole thing fits in any glovebox and I feel good that everyone in my family is a little better prepared. as far as gathering unwanted microbes the place that gets overlooked is the lid that is where I have seen stuff growing probably due to darkness and that comes in contact with the part of the bottle you put your "who knows where its been" mouth. good luck guys and keep your powder dry Jake

[Pappy]

Great! Leave it to the Army to make decisions without consulting anybody. No more canteen cup? Real Smart!?!?!?
Oh, I forgot. The contract food service personnel will be delivering lattes to the line doggies at 0300 in the middle of a snow storm at 7,000 feet immediately after the firefight so the wounded can be comforted by something warm to drink or at least hold. Can I get a HOOAH? Maybe a HARUMPH is better.

[James]

To prove the Nalgene's durability, I filled it with with water and threw it forcefully from a 5-story building straight onto pavement -- bounced 20 feet, and no more damage than a few scratches.

[DangerBoy]

Hey service tip for the camelbak/canteen/nalgene bottle cleaning; use hydrogen peroxide, rinse with hot water. works well with drinking tubes and parts too. I've been doing this for years and it works great!

[Dylan]

These bottles are great, but you have to be careful with them, especially exposing them to heat. If they get any scratches the plastic can mix in with whatever you're drinking, and its an estrogen related molecule, and can cause some pretty serious problems.