Nalgene Craze

     I doubt there are too many people in the outdoor world who haven’t heard of Nalgene.  But for those of you who do not know what Nalgene is or how it started I’ll start with a brief history found on their website. 

     In a laboratory in Rochester, New York, a chemist by the name of Emanuel Goldberg developed the first plastic pipette holder.  This holder obviously has something to do with enabling a person to make plastic bottles because he and two other scientists started creating polyethylene laboratory equipment, storage containers, and bottles for lab use.  The year was 1949 and the company was named Nalge.  These convenient, durable bottles sometimes made there way out of the lab and into the woods as employees took camping and hiking trips.  This caught the eye of President Marsh Hyman in the 1970’s who had a son who was a Boy Scout.  He decided to take some of these bottles out on a backpacking trip and found many uses for them including storing pancake batter, matches, shampoo, and of course drinking water.  With enthusiasm for the new found uses of the lab bottles he proclaimed a new mission,  "Spread the word to outdoorspeople all over! Tell them about this new line of high-quality camping equipment."  

    That is how the Nalgene Craze began and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.  It seems that new Nalgene products, or knock off Nalgene products, are being created on an almost daily basis.  New sizes, shapes, lids, colors and accessories to choose from make this a never-ending enterprise. 

     The innovative thinking of this company constantly amazes me.  They have now come out with a pink or blue Nalgene Sippy Cup for kids!  I sure wish this would have been around when my kids were little; what a great idea.  There are all sorts of neat accessories made by Nalgene and other companies such as lids with compasses, straws and even handles.   Another new item I found was a cap with a solar-powered LED light system that can act as a lantern for up to 8 hours!  

     And so, there it is, the Nalgene Craze, still going strong after over 50 years.  Will it continue for another 50?  There isn’t a doubt in my mind.