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Gear Legends - Nalgene
Hunters are gear people. If western hunters made a list of the specific gear in their pack over the last 20 years, the list would be endless. The item that I believe would show up on everyone’s list would be a Nalgene bottle. The ability to carry water in a lightweight, reliable container is essential and Nalgene has been at the forefront of this industry from the very beginning.
In 1949 chemist Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic jars that were nonreactive. From there he went on to found the Nalge Company.
In the ’60s a group of Nalge labware scientists began backpacking in the Adirondack Mountains. They didn’t have dehydrated foods so in order to cut the weight of carrying glass jars and cans they started using laboratory bottles.
By the ’70s the “pack it in/pack it out” trend was catching on, as was a strong subculture of backpacking. The Nalge bottles were catching on with this crowd. When the company president noticed his son packing Nalge bottles for Boy Scout adventures, he figured it was time to start Nalgene Outdoors.
Hunters quickly replaced their heavy, leak-prone canteens and bota bags (who remembers those?) with Nalgene bottles. Today the many bladder systems available are a convenient way to carry large amounts of water, but you can’t beat the wide mouth Nalgene for mixing your favorite hydration products.
Your Nalgene bottle isn’t just important for hunting. An alarming 2.5 million plastic water bottles are trashed every hour in the U.S.! Over 90% of the 30 million tons end up in landfills or incinerators. Besides, at $2 for a bottle of water, a $15 Nalgene looks like a dang smart deal.
While there are literally hundreds of competitive, durable water bottles on the market, Nalgene was there first. For 75 years they have been delivering 100% U.S. made products for all sportsmen.
