"Since the esteemed and well liked Mad Mat is such a generous contributor to QJ I have set up a site where contributions can be made:

WWW/MadMat//watercanteen//procurement fund.com"



Oh, that was low - no, cruel!  My feelings are hurt, sniff, but worse, my water bottle's feelings are hurt!

Now I must defend my choice of the Ultimate water bottle - the perfect marriage of form and function.

Function ? Why to hold water, which of course it does.  Form, ah, now we come to its real beauty!
The "flask" shaped 16 oz bottle fits perfectly in the hip pocket of any pair of pants, and even carrying a pack,
it is comfy and so easily available that I don’t need to stop to take a drink - even cross counntry skiing,
I can reach my bottle and take a drink, even while gliding down the hills.  No stopping to dig out a water bottle for me
And that nice flat shape fits nicely in the top flap pockets of all of my packs - much easier than those big mouthed fat ol' round bottles that everyone else buys - you know, those round bottles that,
when knocked over, roll down the hill, or roll down the rock into the lake.
No sir! I wouldn't have such an ill trained water bottle - mine are faithful and stay with me, even if I do knock them over or kick them.

No, I won't give up my Plax bottles! - you'll have to pry them from my cold dead fingers!


The Penultimate bottle, yes, but some of their cousins are nearly as fine.  Two of the 30 oz Viadent
bottles, with thier flat rectangular shape fit oh so perfectly, side by side in the front pocket of the daypack I use for river trips here;  and, laid flat in the bottom of my hunting fanny pack,
leaves enough room on top for raincoat and lunch and hoist.
And they fit nicely along the sides of my climbing pack, fitting into the spaces much better than round bottles do.

So nice, that I retired my old qt plastic vinegar bottle, the one with the duct taped 4 holes from a bear's canine teeth, in favor of the better flat form.

And then there is the perfect little plastic syrup bottle - the 12 oz one with the handle that works so
well when clipped with a biner to my climbing harness!  

And the "old man" gatorade bottle - well, we'll skip that one for now.

So what should I do?  Give up my Plax bottles that have skied thousands of miles with me? that have gone on hundreds of hunts with me? that go climbing with me?  that fit in the side pockets of the truck door?

and replace them with what ? This $30 yuppie water bottle  that weighs nearly a pound!
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Or the "cheap" $10 wide-mouth REI bottle  that weighs  a whopping 6.2 ounces?
when two bottles of mine weigh only 3 ounces!

Nay Masterjester, I won't abandon my faithful companion in favor of a newer, sexier model, even with money contributed - you must have me confused with some politician!