Remember back in November when I confessed my love for this guy?
Well, I’m sad to report that we have fallen out of love. Our relationship was great while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end, right? And in the end, the Bobble just couldn’t stand up to my lifestyle.
When I first got the Bobble, I was thrilled with the built in filter and funky design. Ironically, those two things were the features that made me turn away from using it. First, the filter…
I was drawn to the filtered style water bottle because the only drinking fountain on my floor at work had crappy water. Drinkable, but with a definite funk. And I’ll admit- the Bobble did the job perfectly. The funky taste was gone, and I was drinking to my heart’s content. But filters can get expensive. Granted, they are only about $6-7 a pop, but it still adds up. And buying filters becomes especially irritating when one cracks after only using it for about a week. Could I have contacted the company and pressed them to replace the filter for free? Probably, but with everything else I’ve got going on I just don’t have the time. So, the filter went in the garbage and another one was installed.
Another problem with the filter involves the actual process of drinking- this one is twofold. First, I noticed after a few months that the Bobble was becoming increasingly difficult to drink out of. I don’t know if it was because the plastic was wearing out so I had to squeeze more, or some other reason, but it was becoming a challenge to get a decent sip of water. Not only that, but the Bobble is LOUD! I’ll admit, I knew that going before buying it since I read reviews, but I did not realize how much it would bug me. How can a water bottle be loud, you ask? Again, because of the filter. When you take a sip of water and then put the bottle down, the air goes back through the filter into the bottle with a pretty audible ‘whoosh’ sound. Not a big deal when sitting at home, in the car, or out and about. But when I’m sitting in a professional meeting or riding the quiet car on the train, it got pretty embarrassing.
The final tipping point in this over-long water bottle saga is a matter of leaks. While I never experienced a huge leak with the Bobble, it was always in the back of my mind. Since I commute by train, with a mile walk to and from my office once I get to the city, making sure my bag stays dry is a big deal. At first I’d just put my Bobble carefully in my bag, making sure that it was always facing up and the lid was tightly shut. But after a while, it got really annoying trying to make sure that nothing was squeezing against my bag, or that my bag was always upright, not jostling around, etc. Even though it never had leaked, I knew it wasn’t leak-proof, and the constant worrying about soaking my Kindle or Filofax in water was a bit irksome.
On top of all of the above, the drinking fountain on my floor STOPPED WORKING! So now I have to go down one level for water anyway, and the fountain there has a built in, filtered water bottle filling station. Seriously?
What was this water-loving girl to do? I went back to my roots, that’s what I did!
Granted, the Nalgene isn’t as curvy as the Bobble, and he doesn’t have the colorful filter, but this guy is tried and true to me since high school (kinda like Brian, hehe). Since I’m not sure where my original Nalgene is these days (probably packed away in an attic somewhere… I’ll post a pic if I ever find him), Brian and I headed to REI on Saturday for a replacement. He thinks I’m crazy for wanting a new one, since we he has a half dozen Nalgenes at home. But he has all of his in rotation for use with water or tea, they’re all covered in his stickers and, well, their all his. I’m all for sharing, but if I was going to pull away from the fun Bobble, I was going to need some reward for doing it. I thought about going with a pretty, colorful model, but I just love how simple and industrial the classic Nalgene is. I was also going to go with the more handbag-friendly 16 ounce bottle, but just couldn’t get over how tiny it looked- I could already imagine going to the drinking fountain a billion times a day. So, I’ve settled for only filling my new 32 ounce bottle halfway during my walk to and from the train- problem solved!
In addition to nabbing a new Nalgene (say that five times fast) I got this nice little addition:
I love the wide mouth Nalgene bottles for their easy cleaning/filling, but love the narrow mouthed ones since you are way less likely to slosh water all the way down your front. Thanks to a company called Humangear, I get to have both! This handy little lid replaces the normal wide mouth Nalgene lid and features both a wide and narrow mouth- yay for easy filling and dry clothes! And since my current handbag is huge, there is no problem fitting my new Nalgene in with all of my other daily items.
Holy bajeezus, that was an insanely long post about a darn water bottle. But, since it is probably the second most used item during my day (other than my Filofax, of course), it is something that is absolutely essential. I’m just happy that I’ve (re)found a reliable, simple, leak-proof solution to my problem!
Readers, what do you use daily that you just couldn’t imagine living without?
I can't imagine not using my ipod touch each day. I use it not only as an ipod (music and podcasts) but I also snap pictures that I then email to my Evernote account, for example my monthly and weekly work schedules. I also use the alarm and timer functions pretty often.
I too am a water fiend. I will fill up my container several times a day. I have an LLBean canteen, roughly the same size and shape of your container. I don't go anywhere (even a trip to the supermarket) without my water bottle. I don't keep it in my bag though – I keep it in my car when I'm out and about and take it into work when I'm there. I don't have any kind of walking to my commute, so it's not necessary. This makes it easy for choosing a water container – if I did have to walk and therefore keep it in my bag, I would have to get something else, as the container has a flip-top lid, which opens fairly easily.
Like Amy, I too cannot live without my iPod touch – it's how I stay in contact with all things Filo!
Oooh, that's a good one! My iPod usually stays at home since I use it as an alarm clock. My Kindle is definitely the piece of technology I need daily!
I'm jealous! I spend so much of my day out and about that something leak-proof was necessary!