Sigg-ah-Sigg-ah
Posted by Carrie on 27 Apr 2008 | Tagged as: Items of Interest
I drink a lot of water these days. Mostly, I’ve been buying flats of bottled water. I did this because:
A) I hate the taste of tap water,
B) I’m too lazy to fill the filter pitcher we have, and
C) For some reason, I drink more from a bottle than I do from a cup, anyway.
But drinking from plastic is Bad, apparently. The whole freaking world has been trying to tell me this for many months, and I suppose that I’ve been cramming my fingers into my ears and shrieking, “LA-LA-LA,” because paying attention would have meant that I needed to do something about it. Maya Angelou’s whole “We do better when we know better” spiel has been my mantra for ages, but somehow the selfish part of my brain likes to sneak in the teeny loophole “…so if I don’t want to have to do better, I better not learn better!” 
I promise, I try to shut down that sector, but it keeps opening new facilities and hiring new staff.
So after the latest cerebral crackdown, I finally got a couple of Sigg bottles for myself and Eric. (He’s been making an effort to bring his own beverages to work instead of buying them there, but the ginormous thermos of coffee he started to tote brings with it its own…issues. Jitter, jitter.) I figured that if we liked them, I’ll buy another couple for the boys. I was actually torn between the Sigg aluminum bottles and the Klean Kanteen stainless steel ones, but the kicker for me was that KK is manufactured in China. Though I doubt that anybody could turn a stainless bottle into something toxic, there’s just too much recent history there for me to really want to take the chance. 
Sigg it was, then.
And so cute! I got the red one here. Eric wanted something very plain and sober-looking, so he got this one.
Reusable Bags got them to us very quickly, as Amanda had told me they would. I love my bottle! The water tastes nothing like metal, and it stays nice and cool so far. (Of course, I haven’t had to take it out on a hot day, but still.) It’s extremely lightweight, so carrying it around is a breeze. Now I just want to make a sling pouch for it, but as yet all the patterns I’ve seen online for them have been crochet, not knit, or else they’re felted, which isn’t what I have in mind. I could make up my own pattern, but I’m not so inspired that way. Might have to get there, though.
Anyway, two thumbs up. I think Sam and Gabe will be getting their own Siggs in short order!
10 Comments »
on 27 Apr 2008 at 8:58 pm
gwen said …
One caveat about the kid’s siggs is that my son finds it hard or doesn’t like drinking out of the top. If you have a local whole foods or REI you can go and check them out, but the kid’s tops have these very small plastic openings. Just something to keep in mind. We have both the sigg and the klean kanteen for him. He prefers the klean kanteen part you sip (which is actually an avent sippy cup top - ie. easily and cheaply replaced), but likes the designs on the sigg better. (we have giraffes driving a jeep)
on 28 Apr 2008 at 6:39 am
Whitney said …
Mr. Whitney went the Klean Kanteen route (I forget his reasoning), so that’s what we all have. Do the Sigg bottles come with sports tops? I need to get one for my KK but they’re either hideously expensive to be shipped or out of stock, so I may just go out and get a Sigg bottle for when I jog.
on 28 Apr 2008 at 9:29 am
jay said …
As far as when I’m at home, I’m too lazy to filter too.
But most of the objectionable taste/smell is the chlorine. So I just fill a bottle and leave it open in the fridge, where it dissipates. Just remembering to fill the stupid bottle is still a hassle, though.
on 28 Apr 2008 at 9:57 am
Cetta said …
http://www.lanaknits.com/waterbottletote.pdf
http://flyingsticks.blogspot.com/2006/10/water-bottle-cover.html
I think knitty had one, too…
on 28 Apr 2008 at 2:45 pm
Amy said …
Good info about the bottles, I’ve been wanting to get a Sigg for a few months and haven’t gotten around to it.
Don’t know if it’s an option for you, but our kitchen faucet has a separate spigot with a filter for drinking water. We had it put in when we redid our kitchen, I don’t know how much of a pain it would be to retrofit it.
on 28 Apr 2008 at 5:32 pm
erica said …
You can also, of course, just get a PUR. We have one that we run all of our drinking water and ice cubes (no ice maker) through it. And if you’re so inclined, you can get those flavor things.
on 28 Apr 2008 at 7:27 pm
Cheri said …
We got all four kiddos Siggs in their Easter baskets. We typically have been getting them a new water bottle about that time of year anyway-but like you with all the leeching plastics talk we went with the Sigg. The kids are loving them. I’m eyeing one for myself now.
on 29 Apr 2008 at 10:30 am
Kelly said …
It might not have been clear from what you wrote, but are you just pouring the water from the plastic drinking bottles into the Sigg bottle? Because the water would still be full of the contaminants from sitting in the plastic bottle from bottling to warehouse, to store shelf.
If you can’t remember to fill the fridge filter, then check into buying one that goes under the kitchen sink. They’re relatively cheap (all those bottles of water add up) and easy to install.
on 29 Apr 2008 at 4:42 pm
Carrie said …
Thanks, Cetta! That first one looks perfect!
Gwen: the nearest REI is about an hour away, but since the design Sam likes is out of stock at ReusableBags anyway, we have time. I might go check it out.
Whitney: yes, you can get sports tops!
Jay, Amy, Erica, Kelly: we actually went out and got a new faucet Pur this week. We had one before, but the combination of the previous model and our older plumbing meant that it was just dripping out of the faucet instead of running, and it took about three minutes to fill one bottle. Much better now!
Cheri: Good idea! I thought about getting Sam’s for his birthday, but I don’t want to wait.
on 01 May 2008 at 11:15 am
Kelly said …
Carrie, try Built NY for totes - there are insulated ones and a harness one for over the shoulder