Canteens and Water Bottles

A water bottle is something everyone should own. In the simplest form, an old soda bottle will do, but it's probably better to purchase a good durable canteen, designed for outdoor use.

Plastic or metal?

Plastic canteen

Your standard plastic canteen is a solid choice: cheap, won't weigh much, and has a long service life. Its only weakness is its poor resistance to fire, so if you manage to freeze the water, keep it some distance away from the campfire. Naturally, you probably shouldn't pour boiling water in a plastic canteen.

Aluminum bottles

Aluminum canteens were the standard before plastic became common, and they are still quite popular. Your water will stay odor-free and fresh in an aluminum bottle. Although you can warm these up near the flame in case the water freezes, you shouldn't expose them to direct flame.

At some point, aluminum canteens received flak as they allegedly caused Alzheimer's disease due to aluminum mixing with the water. True, aluminum can't be good for your health if digested, but if you don't misuse the bottle, there's no risk either.

Stainless steel bottles

A steel canteen is an expensive type of container but arguably the best—it can be heated on flame, is very durable, and is odor-free. These are very randomly available from Varusteleka, so when we have them, attack right away. As a nice drop of information, the Finnish army once developed a stainless steel canteen and manufactured it in reasonably large numbers. It must have been expensive.

How about a military surplus canteen?

A used army canteen can be a great hydration option. If you’d like a used canteen, military surplus is the way to go. An army surplus canteen is affordable, durable, and it also looks cool. We sometimes have military surplus canteens from several countries. The US military canteen, for example, is quite popular, and there are several versions. The collapsible US Army canteen is quite clever and folds into quite small when empty. A military canteen kit contains a pouch and or the military canteen cup.

Military canteens are usually used. The product description of the military canteen mentions this, so don’t worry—you’ll know what you get.