American Water Bottle.

[Zodiak]

I have just bought an "US ARMY WATER BOTTLE/CANTEEN" on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8832114340&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1, unfortunately it was damaged in the post but the seller is going to swap it so no problems there. (In fact I have bought quite a bit of stuff from him over the past few months for my Explorer Scout Unit and it is extremely good value for money)

The only thing about this is that compared to 58 Pattern water bottles and covers it sems a bit well.. flimsy!

Are these truly US army issue? From what I have seen of your average grunt these wouldn't last 5 minutes, especially the catch.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

fear not they are ment to be flimsy!

they are an upgrade of the standard waterbottle of the 1960's throught the vietnam period and through the cold war!

it's a 2 quart waterbottle,
often carried as well as standard bottles on the outside of an ALICE (all purpose load carrying equipment)rucksack/pack, 2 or more were carried!

i've seen photo's of 2, 2 quart water bottles on 1 set of webbing!
you'll probably see the same in the 1st gulf war photos though camel backs are the done thing today!

by the catch you must mean the front black clip,
this is the standard clip found on Alice webbing ammo pouches, and on a lesser known webbing known as MLCE(modernised load carrying equipment) or M1967.
MLCEis a Nylon version of the vietnam M1956 webbing or LCE(load carrying equipment)
the webbing was only used for a short time, and made of Nylon to help guard against the tropical rain and constant humidity that rotted canvas, as i say these black clips were on all of the parts of the webbing!
MLCE is the forrunner of ALICE and parts are still used today.
i used Alice webbing for several years in and out of the TA and the clips never even came close to breaking!

you should also have 2 metle sliding belt clips on the rear of the pouch called "Keepers".

the bottle is colapsible, thus saving space in your rucksack!
other uses i have heard of if empty are, a floatation device, and a pillow!

you may not know this but there is a metal mug that you can buy that will fit in the carrier with the bottle! a sort of wierd square shaped one!

the idea of the fleece in the carrier is that in cold conditions it stops the water freezing and in hot conditions you're ment to soak the carrier and the water will evaporate keeping the bottle cool!
also there is a shoulders strap to carry it to/from a water source if filling up many at a time!

a neat idea, shame there isn't a crusader cup version of the cover!

without seeing it with my own eyes i can't tell you if it's fake, chances are it is a copy but if it does the job i woulden't worry to much!

hope that's not too much info, i just used to collect various kit so i have a fair knowledge about kit!

 

[spamel]

They are brilliant bottles, but I know what you mean when you say they seem a bit flimsy!! Saying that, if you need to start hard targetting around your woods whilst bushcrafting, you probably haven't asked permission to be there and you need to get out of there quick!!

 

[pumbaa]

I have a couple of these , and have to say dont tighten the lid too much . I did and it caused a crack round the lid that lets the water out !
Pumbaa

 

[Cairodel]

Rappleby is obviously a bit more knowledgable than me, but I have two U.S. issue canteens, pouches, s/s cups and a belt, courtesy of a U.S. Marine friend, and the whole kit seems pretty "bomb-proof" to me.
Having said that, we also have two look-alikes bought from Millets on a trip home, and they ARE flimsy..!!
German Shepherd muzzles - what US cups were made for....!!!

 

[Jon Mawer]

Be very careful when ordering something with "style" or "type" in the product description. It normally indidcates that it is an inferior civilian imititation. I don't mean to be rude, but it pays to spend a little more time and money getting the genuine item, 99% of the time it will be far superior to any civilian made counterfeit. I know, I speak from experience. Lets face it, when you are going to be abusing your kit, it makes all the difference to have gear that you can trust and will last you....

Thats just my 2 cents, if anyone has any comments, I'd be glad to consider them!

 

[wizard]

That certainly looks like my issued 2qt US canteens. I used them throughout my Army years and they held up very well. I used to parachute with them filled with water and never broke one on a bad PLF either. The only bad thing about them is the taste of the water after being in that plastic. I will not try to use descriptive terms, use your imagination I didn't mind the taste after hauling a heavy rucksack all day or night. I have not used mine since leaving the military, prefer the Camelbak and Nalgene bottles. Cheers!

 

[Graham_S]

i've got one, i don't use it much though. i prefer my MSR dromedary.
that said,it's a good quality bottle.

 

[Zodiak]

Thanks for the comments guys, at that price I didn't really expect much but I want to buy a dozen bottles for my Explorer Scout Unit and at that price I really had to try one.

When members join us they will need several hundred quids worth of kit so I keep a reasonable stock of basic items that they can borrow while they buy their own and I want to reaplace our crappy old sigg clones.

My original idea was to buy 58 pattern bottles (my personal favourite) but by the time you have added up the cost and the pouches these "US" ones could save us quite a bit of money. I will be trialling one this weekend and will let you know how I get on.