All Climbing

With the recent Nalgene and BPA bottle scare, I decided to start replacing my collection of water bottles. To be honest, I hadn’t looked at bottles for a while. I like the standard lexan Nalgene wide-mouth bottles, so I just kept buying them when needed without even really looking at other options. I also know many climbers are big fans of SIGG and CamelBak.

While looking for new bottles, I was amazed at the numerous ways manufacturers can create complexity and choices for something as straightforward (at least in my mind) as a water bottle.

For my usage, primarily on climbing trips, I much prefer a wide-mouth bottle to the narrow drinking versions. While the smaller lids make drinking easier, I like the ability to add liquid, ice cubes, and drink mixes quickly to the wide-mouth bottles. I’ve always preferred the overall flexibility as well as the easier cleaning aspect of a wide-mouth.

So when I found an accessory cap replacement by humangear called capCAP, I was intrigued. The capCAP is intended to simply replace your current cap on any major wide-mouth bottle with their narrow, easier drinking version.

At first I was a bit skeptical that a replacement cap would make any sense, but after using it non-stop over the past few days I love this product.

The capCAP easily fit on my wide-mouth Nalgene bottle with no issues. The first thing I noticed was the rubberized lid on the small cap. This is what you will always be grabbing to open the bottle for drinking and it gripped well with a nice feel to it. This small, yet important feature will be useful out at the crags when hands get greasy, sweating, and chalky.

The other really noticeable design feature is how the drinking spout is curved ergonomically. No spillage and very easy to drink from.

The capCAP’s 2-in-1 design provides both the small cap as well as still giving you access to a large cap for filling the bottle. I like the fact that you get the easier drinking from the smaller cap without losing the functionality of the large cap.

So what does this all cost? The big question, right? The capCAP retails for $5.95 at stores like REI. The average wide-mouth bottle runs from $6 – $12 so your total cost for a bottle after adding the capCAP would be about $14. Not too bad for what you get, especially if you compare it with a narrow mouth SIGG bottle (a one liter bottle runs about $22).

Pros

• very comfortable
• best of both worlds – small-mouth and wide-mouth
• extremely grippable top lid
• ergonomic drinking spout
• BPA-free and PC-free
• works with all major wide-mouth bottles including Nalgene (wide-mouth, OTG and stainless), CamelBak (all sizes), Cyclone, Guyot stainless, and many others
• the carrying loop feels stronger than the standard ones provided with the original bottle

Cons

• currently only comes in one color choice (I don’t mind one color, but I know many do).

Summary

If you like the flexibility of wide-mouth bottles (or already own a bunch of them), but want to drink out of your bottle easier via a narrower spout, you can’t go wrong with the capCAP. Despite the extra cost on a bottle, the product is definitely worthwhile.

Disclaimer: All Climbing was provided a capCap for this review with no strings attached. We do not write reviews for products with any predetermined outcome.

• Tags: gear, water bottles