Thursday, December 3, 2009

Humangear Capcap for widemouth bottles


This product has been available for several years now, so it's not my wish to go in-depth here. If I could say anything, it's that the Capcap by Humangear is the best Nalgene/Nalgene-type bottle accessory I've ever purchased. I love Guyot Designs' inexpensive and awesome Splashguards, but Humangear's product goes many steps further.

both cap pieces are made from foodsafe polypro from the get go, so no worries about BPA or any other tumor-causing, unsavory chemicals leeching into your water. It replaces the lid of most widemouth bottles, and creates a small, spill-free spout, via the top cap. When screwed on tight, both sections are leakproof.

Humangear's site and packaging card advocate hand washing of the Capcap, though I've put mine on the top dishwasher rack with no ill effect. I've also had my Capcaps (that's right, I like it so much I bought 3!) in and out of the freezer and fridge with no ill effects. On both Nalgene and Camelbak widemouths, it fits flawlessly, and I have several generic/no-name widemouths that it fits perfectly as well. As I mentioned, I own a bunch of Guyot Designs Splashguards, and they are a durable and inexpensive solution to drippy, drooly widemouth water bottles, but the Capcap actually replaces the entire top. At this point, I only keep my old Nalgene loop tops in case I need a spare, but I'll eventually have enough Capcaps for all (probably a dozen) 32. oz widemouth Nalgene (and other brands) bottles.

The thing that initially kept me from investing in some Capcaps, was price. I've bought all of mine @ REI, and they are just under $6.00 USD. Not terribly expensive, but almost the price of a new bottle. Well after I realized how much I was digging the Capcap, I said "screw it" and went back to REI for another one. I'd purchased an extra for a family member too, who uses her Nalgene both at work, and keeps another one in the car. This is just one of those pieces of gear you have to use to appreciate, you can see the immediate simple genius that went into the design, but it takes drinking from it to fully realize how great it is. I like the fact that the cap strap is set up so it can go around the bottle's collar, like a stock Nalgene top, or you can leave the Capcap assembled together and make quick changes between bottle fast and easy. In other words, to use the Capcap, all you need to do is take it off it's packaging card, rip your old top off your bottle and screw the Capcap on (my preferred method). Or, you can slip the black base ring around the Nalgene collar (like how they come new), then screw on the gray base cap, this way the strap is more securely linked to the bottle, with the only free-floating piece being the large gray base cap...if that makes sense.

Anyhow, at around $6, I personally don't have any excuse to have one of these permanently affixed to most, if not all of my widemouth bottles. The Humangear Capcap is an elegant piece of designwork. It's durable, and works exactly as promised, plus it's not terribly expensive, even if you buy it somewhere that's typically higher priced, like REI. Good stuff indeed.

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