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I have more water bottles than I really need, but frankly I’m always finding that I’m glad I have them around. Bottles are like headlamps — you think you’re buying them for all your outdoor escapades but really you end up using them more often in day-to-day life than you ever thought. Sigg’s line of lightweight aluminum water bottles are definitely part of that field of outdoor gear — overused and very appreciated.
I first saw Sigg water bottles at ColeSport in Park City, in their bike department during the summer, and was taken by their cool designs. The one I’m showing here is actually one of the more bland ones — still sexy, but understated. They have every print imaginable from stripes to spots to artistic renderings of animals. Really funky & stylish.
But cooler than the designs printed on the outside is the industrial design of the thing itself. Extruded from a single piece of aluminum, Sigg water bottles are extremely durable but also very lightweight. They remind me of a canister of gas for your camp stove. And being aluminum, they keep your drink very cool — which is why I purchased it in the first place. There’s nothing like sipping cold water from an aluminum flask after hiking under Utah’s mid-summer sun.
A couple of things that are downfalls:
1) Aluminum is inherently hard, so if you fall on it then you’ll get a bruise (duh), and
2) Aluminum doesn’t flex, so you can’t squeeze the bottle and squirt a stream of water like you can with a soft plastic bottle.
All in all, however, it’s definitely a piece of gear to add to the collection — and you’ll find you never leave it sitting in the gear closet for long without taking it on a backpacking trip through the Uintas, or just on a walk with the kid in the jogging stroller.
Buy Now: Search for Sigg bottles on GEAR.com.
Overstock.com: Check out more outdoor gear
;)
I have a hard time drinking from a bottle that resembles the same container I use with my MSR Wisperlite stove to hold fuel. Sexy or not, I’m sticking to a nalgene or a bike water bottle.
hehe — good point, though once you have an icy sip from an aluminum bottle, you might be persuaded…
These water bottles are extremely durable with cooler designs and also lightweight. There are very comfortable even for the children to drink without pouring water on their dresses. For more information look at water bottles
Thanks for the post, Sandy! At GEAR.com we’re fans of Seth Godin, so thanks for the link to that lens on Squidoo.
I had my SIGG for about 6 months and the liner started to wear and flake off around the thread area (Where the cap screws in). I guess it was due to the wear and tear of opening and closing the cap. Look closely around your thread area and ensure that none of the aluminum is exposed. The lining is yellow. If you see any silver, that’s aluminum. Aluminum, if leached into the water, can cause Alzheimer’s disease. I have switched to a Laken bottle and it does not have this problem. See how they solved it at http://www.laken.es.
Wow that’s interesting — thanks for posting. With such an endorsement, and the fact that you didn’t sign your real name, I imagine you work for Laken and are trying to spread rumors about a competitor? Can you provide us some more info about the background of Laken? That would be very helpful. Also, do you know where the scientific studies are that conclusively link aluminum food containers with causing Alzheimers? I only found this on snopes, which seems to indicate that you are wrong and that it is an old myth from the 1920s: http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/valentino.asp
I’m not trying to be disbelieving — I’d just like to know for sure, because if you are correct then that’s some pretty serious allegations and I may shift my opinion about Sigg, and toss out my Sigg bottles.
thanks very much,
Brig
Hi Brig,
I tried to comment but was blocked by the SpamBam. I will try again.
No, I do not work for Laken. I too was once very happy with my Sigg until I noticed the flaw. I am just a disappointed customer trying to get the word out. As for the aluminum exposure, I said that it can cause Alzheimers and not that it will cause Alzheimers. Either way the aluminum cannot be good for us. I suppose that is why all the aluminum bottles have a liner to begin with. Just Google ‘aluminum safety.’
I was considering a Klean Kanteen bottle as well but some reviews stated the water tasted metallic and the sport lid was leaky.
Ever since I got my Laken, I’ve been very happy with it. I have the Blue Futura 0.75L. I might get the red one as well.
PS. Don’t throw out your SIGG bottles. Just use them ’til they break or until the liner wears down. And don’t buy any new ones =)
Thanks dontbuysigg —- I’ll have to keep that in mind, and perhaps consider some alternatives.
yeah i appreciate the posts everyone. brig, the taste on a hot day sounds great, i think i will try but im gonna do it with caution. i like switching up my outdoor routine.
like have you guys ever boiled water and put it in a nalgene to sleep with? oh my gosh! where was that when i was 12 freezing my butt off.
wow I never thought of that! good idea for the next backpacking trip….
I just checked out the new Sigg Oval 0.6L. They didn’t line their thread area like their other bottles. Great improvement!
Apparently Sigg used to manufacture fuel bottles and now manufactures water bottles. My questions:
1. What is the difference between a Sigg fuel bottle and a Sigg water bottle?
2. What are the hazards of using a Sigg water bottle for camping fuel?
3. What are the hazards of using a Sigg fuel bottle for water (assuming no remaining fuel residue)?
Wow that’s interesting — I honestly don’t know the answers on that one. I’ll have to ping out to them and see if they’ll respond.
Hi Brig,
I had a Sigg water bottle and have stopped using it due to the strong metallic taste which made me begin some research. While there isn’t a direct correlation between aluminum bottles leeching enough aluminum to cause Alzheimer’s; it is known that individuals with Alzheimer’s have high concentrations of aluminum in their brains. There isn’t a guarantee that the bottles are ‘leech free’ so to speak, and if you have ever seen someone suffer the horribly devastating effects of Alzheimer’s …well…it’s better to toss out the expensive water bottle then to take a risk of that magnitude. Until Sigg can prove that their interior coating of stove enamel is completely leech proof (and how exactly can you see completely into the inside of the bottle), I would suggest looking at alternatives.
When in doubt stick with stainless steel. people have been using it a lot longer and it doesn’t seem to have the same health risks.
It broke my heart to toss away my $30 sigg bottle…but at least when I am 80 I’ll be able to remember doing it.
Excellent points all around — thank you very much. You know, perhaps I’ll reach out to Sigg to have them come give some added commentary here.
Um… folks if you use antiperspirant you are smearing yourself with aluminum. People have been exposed to aluminum for hundreds of years and it’s not proven to cause any diseases. If it did there would be epidemics because of the ubiquity of aluminum in our environment.
Even if it did, these bottles would only leech aluminum from the tiny amount of area exposed at the threads. You’d get more exposure touching an aluminum handrail or your bicycle. I like these bottles for the design and durability.
I like to see my water and not feel like I’m camping. I’m rolling with the new KOR ONE over at korwater.com
That KOR vessel looks awesome…
I’ve been doing a little research about the whole aluminum-alzheimer’s link. No one seems conclusive regarding the matter. I would check out the WebMD article and the UK Alzheimer’s Society article. On both websites, they state that the links between the two are “claims” (and studies since then have yielded inconclusive or questionable results), not irrefutable fact. I wouldn’t flip out like people did during the BPA-scare of ’07-’08.
Thanks Paul — you’re probably right. Any thoughts on Klean Kanteen?
I’d rather not take any risks. I have used Stainless Steel for years now and love the cold taste of water from it. I have a double walled stainless steel sports bottle from Oggi and no I don’t work for them. I’m not even sure if they make these anymore. Mine is so durable and yes it is heavier than all those mentioned above but I’m not willing to drink out of anything that might leech out harmful materials. All my cutlery, pots, pans, dishes are either glass or stainless steel. Water is a universal solvent so why take the risk of carrying water in toxic containers ?
I bought my water SIGG water bottle because I was tired of using plastic water bottles and wanted a greener and safer option. However I wish I had done my research before I bought my SIGG 1L bottle (model: frames Green). I have had my SIGG bottle for only 2 weeks and the top inner lining thread where the cap screws in has started to flake. Aluminum is now exposed. But I am not sure what is worse the aluminum or the tiny plastic particles(or whatever material it is) that drop into the water every time I unscrew the cap? My end thoughts: Good looking water bottle but poor design.
Thanks for the note, Chris — I haven’t had that issue so pronounced myself. But in the past couple of years since writing this, I have been moving more towards collapsible Platypus water hydration pouches — which reduces the worries you mention here.
http://momguru.com/content/when-bpa-free-isnt-siggs-dirty-little-secret
Sigg water bottles manufactured prior to August 2008 have a liner that contains BPA. Disappointing news from a company that claims to be eco-friendly.
That is interesting, I was unaware. So post-August 2008 are good?
I bought a SIGG Heritage bottle a month ago. The inner lining is their newer light yellow (non-BPA) lining, and it’s flaking off in large pieces around the threads
Very interesting article from gearjunkie.com about Sigg — I figured I would post the link here: http://gearjunkie.com/sigg-bottles-bpa
I bought a new generation bottle after my old one was punctured. It started flaking in just 2 days. After going through 3 replacements from Sigg customer service, my latest one is showing the same tell-tale signs after the first tightening of the cap. This time I think I know why Sigg is claiming this is happening in a very small number of cases. I screw my caps on very tight. I can see very clearly (due to the interupted thread on the cap) how the friction fron overtighthening can tear the liner.
Ya know… I’m not a fan of aluminum bottles or stainless steel ones either. I guess I see no problem with BPA-free plastic ones and see no need to switch. In my mind, the Sigg bottles will dent and scratch while a plastic one will scuff a bit, but won’t dent. Seems odd that they work so hard to make a nice aluminum bottle, then they have to line it with some sort of plastic lining that will chip off (as everyone seems to agree above).
I’ll stick to plastic and make sure to recycle it when it’s lifespan is over (in 50 years), long after that Sigg bottle’s lining has been ingested into my body and caused cancer.
Platypus make my new favorite water bottle: http://www.gear.com/platypus-platy-softbottle-water-bottle-new-gear/
NOT SAFE, EVEN WITH NEW LINER!
I do not trust this company. The bottles have a chemical liner and the company does not disclose the composition. Some bottles contain the old copper-colored liner which contains BPA, as the company admitted recently. The newer bottles have a different liner, but the company again does not disclose the composition and when I purchased my bottle, after thorough washing, I could detect a weird taste in the water. If the new lining is truly non-toxic, then the company should come clean and reveal the composition. I do not trust that the new liner is any better than the old. I bought mine directly from the SIGG website and their 30-day return policy is a joke (only store credit, $5 restocking fee per item, $10 if it has been used, plus of course you pay for shipping). So now I am stuck with a possibly toxic bottle that I cannot use. I recommend you buy stainless steel bottles like those from Klean Kanteen, which even SIGG’s research posted on their website showed that they do not leach anything toxic.
I just wanted to also add, on top of the concerns about the SIGG lining, that the customer service for SIGG is absolutely terrible. I’ve sent in my old SIGG bottle for a replacement during the recall period, and after two months of waiting, nothing. No email or phone call from a customer representative, and certainly no bottle. I’ve tried contacting them several times since, to no avail. At this point, I may never know if the new lining is indeed better or not — if I don’t get a replacement bottle, I’m never buying or using SIGG again.
I’ve owned many SIGG bottles over the years but will never own them again after their lie about BPA in the lining and the horrible customer service I’ve recieved from them on this issue. After selling their bottles as a BPA-free alternative to Nalgene, they then get caught with BPA in their lining. Then when I try to return them they tell me I didn’t act quick enough to get a free replacement. I’ll never buy from them again.
I went from Sigg to Laken and now to Thermos. This one has a double wall vacuum that keeps water cold for up to 12 hours. I bought one for my wife as well and I plan on buying a third.
http://www.thermosbrand.ca/ContentPage.aspx?name=Canadian_Thermos_Products_Inc._FEN500C&Topic=
The cap tends to leak on the flip top models. Get the one that screws down.
i had a 0.6L sigg that began flaking at the threads after about one year of daily use.
i’ve replaced it with a pura, and after two months, no problems. although it tasted ‘metallic’ at first it does not now. in hindsight it probably should have been better cleaned before first use. it is sandblasted stainless steel with a silicone washer. it also has a nice feel/shape and there are versions that donate some proceeds to charity.
http://www.purastainless.com
@othello
That’s great to hear. I’ve also replaced all my aluminum bottles now with stainless, like this one by Thermos that is co-branded with UnderArmour: http://www.gear.com/underarmour-thermos-vacuum-insulation-water-bottle/