After I got the unpleasant TPU taste out (with multiple denture cleaner tablet soakings) I was really loving my Vesica bottles - until I put them in the dishwasher. They are labelled as dishwasher safe but that doesn't mean dishwasher friendly. The rigid top section is now deformed and the soft mid section has a number of new creases so it doesn't stay up very well when the bottle is less than completely full. I am regretting running both of my Vesica bottles through the dishwasher - don't make the same mistake.
After seeing other hikers using a CNOC hanging bag on the trail in 2020 I purchased a 2L bag and used it last summer (2021) extensively. Occasionally for shorter solo trips I still put my HydroBlue filter on a Smartwater bottle to shave a few ounces. Those of you that have put a Sawyer filter on a Smartwater bottle know the way the bottle will buckle when you squeeze the water out. The Vesica collapsible water bottle is the perfect solution for this problem. At less than 2 oz it is half the weight of my hanging bag and fits nicely inside my cook cup/pot. My complaint is it doesn’t hold a full liter of water. When full to the very top it holds a bit less than 28 oz.
My suggestion is to make the bottle a bit taller so that it holds a full liter. If you offered this product in a 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 liter version I would happily purchase another. I think a 2 liter would be too big.
I filter my water into 500 ml Smartwater style bottles for drinking.
I like most everything about these except they fit about 850ml tops, not 1L. Hey, that means they're lighter than a Kg full right? Maybe I got a bad batch? Anyway, seems something worth disclosing.
Hi Todd, thanks for your review! You are correct - the Vesica's capacity is ~1 fl oz less than a true liter. When filled to nearly full, the Vesica will hold slightly more than 32 oz, stopping about a centimeter below the base of the neck/threads.
Cheers,
Emily
Customer Support
CNOC Outdoors
Just received two bottles today. They arrived in only 3 days from ordering. Have not tried take out with water yet, but I did screw on both a Sawyer Mini and Sawyer Squeeze filter and squeezed the bottle as hard as I could and didn't experience any air escaping around the threads, so I'm assuming there should be no issues with water, like one person reported in their review. Maybe the other person needs to replace the washer on their filter, my filters are brand new. As far as needing both hands to drink from the bottle, I can see where that would be required. In my case, I plan on using them as a small dirty bags for filtering water, instead of using the Sawyer filter bags. I'll filter from CNOC into one of my either Camelbak or Nalgene bottles for actually drinking.
I like this bottle. It took my slow brain a couple of tries to figure out how to pour water out without the container folding in half and spilling all over. Aha I said, as I started holding the bottle by the bottom with one hand and the string at the top with the other. Problem solved.
It loses a star from me because even though it says the Sawyer fits it, I am getting leaks. It seems as if the threaded portion is too short to reach the gasket in the Sawyer (open to suggestions if it is user error). They fold away nicely. Another plus on this bottle is the force you can generate when squishing the bottom towards the top. That makes for good washing mud off or what I used it for on my dog if you know what I mean (note: don’t feed a lab corned beef drippings). But it worked really well, and probably would even generate more pressure with a sport top on it. I would say buy these. So far so good.