Your Nalgene replacement has arrived
Review by Michael Smith
For all those that like the Nalgene bottles but not the Bisphenol A (BPA) in the polycarbonate plastic used for those bottles help is at hand. A replacement has arrived in the form of the “Tap” re-usable water bottle from “We Want Tap”.
The Tap re-usable water bottle is made from a new generation of Tritan plastic which is 100% recyclable. It is also absolutely 100% free of Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, which is generally found in most other re-usable plastic bottles.
In its design it is to a great degree like the Nalgene bottle so much loved by outdoors people, in that it has a wide mouth – big enough even for this writer's big mouth (well, many folks tell me I have rather a big mouth) – and I certainly prefer those openings in a bottle over the sports spigots and such like.
The lid and the base both are made from recycled stainless steel and this makes this bottle a very good looking one as well.
One could think of them as flasks for water. They are certainly set to become the ‘must-have’ item of the summer, as the bottles are stylish and sustainable, and will be available in two sizes, making them the perfect fit for your handbag, gym bag or fridge.
The 400ml re-usable Tap water bottle, the fun, festive executive-size bottle is just the ticket for an on-the-go lifestyle - and this is the size that I was sent kindly by Mark of Consolidated for review. It fits in your bag or on your desk. The current retail price via the website is £6 (The price in is Pound Sterling for those readers in other parts of the world).
The 400ml size, it would appear from the website, is currently the only size available at present though a 1 liter one is due to come out soon. According to the information available this size will then be priced at £8.50 and the prices certainly are not steep for something that appears to be a well thought out and made product.
The bottles are guaranteed to last a lifetime and offer a practical alternative to unsustainable bottle water.
I must say that I definitely think that the Tap re-usable water flasks will become, in due course, the hip item to be seen with rather than with the unsustainable bottled water in its PET bottles.
While PET, being made from polyethylene and hence from a by-product of the petroleum and natural gas industry, and even from a by-product that otherwise might not be used (same as for the making of the plastic grocery bags) using those bottles is, nevertheless, and regardless, still not sustainable, as far as the water and the bottles are concerned. However, the alternative is at hand in the form of the bottle here review and it will very soon pay for itself.
Let's face it. With bottled water in a sandwich bar running at about $1 a throw it only will take the purchase of six 500ml bottles to have paid for the Tap re-usable 400ml version and you don't have to pay for the tap water that you are going to use in the Tap bottle, or at least not very much. It is pennies if that even.
Also, in addition, it should be noted that Tap will give 70% of profits from each Tap bottle sold to water and sanitation projects in the developing world. I am sure that this, aside from all the other benefits, already is a good enough reason to buy a bottle or two.
I find the design of the bottle most attractive, especially the contrast of the lid and the base being in recycled stainless steel. This, and the large mouth of the flask, rather than the silly openings in many other bottles, would be the major selling point to me. The stainless steel base gives the bottle a firm stand and that is a very important point as well. The lid is attached via a webbing strip and a plastic ring to the neck of the bottle and this should keep the lid always to hand; another important factor.
All in all this is certainly a little flask for the carrying of proper water, namely tap water, filtered if you so desire, and I can but recommend it to the world.
For more information and to purchase bottles go online to www.wewanttap.com.
© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Tap re-usable water bottle - Product Review
