Gear Review

Sigg Traveler 1.0L Bottle

best taste!
safe (?)
light - 5.1 oz
easy to ding

Who would have thought that coated aluminum would be the answer to the safety-versus-weight water bottle dilemma?

Swiss company Sigg's handsome one-liter Classic/Traveler/Lifestyle water bottles are as light as a Nalgene HDPE, making these effectively the lightest rigid container available. Better yet, the Sigg does not leach BPA or other chemicals inherent to plastic bottles, thanks to a proprietary baked-in liner (more on this in a moment).

Getting Siggy With It

SierraDescents confesses we're not immune to the allure of style.

In this regard the Sigg bottles are a masterpiece of Alpine cool: choose your colors and prints from virtually hundreds of designs.

You may not climb faster when you're carrying these sleek bottles, but you'll certainly look better doing it.

But how will my water taste, you ask?

Absolutely, positively fantastic. Drinking water from a Sigg Bottle is like drinking Pellegrino from a glass—water tastes crisp, odorless, and perfect, just the way nature intended.

If you're tired of filtering pure, sparkling Sierra stream water into a container that makes it taste like ground-up greasy plastic, you'll love Sigg's Swiss-made water-neutrality.

And just in case you're worried, Sigg bottles don't add a single iota of metallic flavor or scent to your water either.

Buy one of these, and you'll never want to use a plastic bottle again.

That said, there are a few situations in which Sigg bottles are probably not a good choice. The big one is winter camping. Your insulating sleeve probably won't fit over the Sigg's extended length (compared to a Nalgene bottle). In the event that you do take your Sigg with you in winter, be aware that if water freezes inside it, it could crack the aluminum casing, ruining the bottle permanently. So let's call these 3-season bottles when an overnight is involved.

Sigg's aluminum also cannot compete with polycarbonate, HDPE, or stainless steel when it comes to durability. If you drop a Sigg off a cliff, I wouldn't bet on its chances of survival. You'll also notice that knocks and dings start appearing on your Sigg as it suffers the usual indignities of aging and use. Sigg says these add character to the bottle's appearance. In any case, the bottle's liner is said to be flexible enough to cope with dings without being damaged.

Which brings us to the most important question: how safe is Sigg's liner? Sigg won't disclose the exact composition of the liner, other than calling it a 'water-based, non-toxic polymer perfected over decades of Swiss craftsmanship.' Sigg does cite several studies on its website indicating that the liner is stable even when the bottle is filled with citrus juices or alcohol, and has not been found to leach any harmful chemicals into water, including BPA.

Additionally, Sigg does include a lead-free paint statement, citing recent concerns over Chinese-made paints on cheaper products. Does that mean Sigg bottles are not made in China? I'm not sure. The best I can say is that you'll have to trust Sigg when they say their liners are safe. Given that they are a European company, I'm inclined to believe them. The only other potentially safer alternative would be the Chinese-made Klean Kanteen, which is (allegedly) stainless steel.

Of course, we were told things about Lexan bottles which are clearly not true, but even given my natural skepticism, I tend to think that the known issues of plastic make the Sigg an easy choice for today's safety-conscious mountaineer. And there's no question you'll love the way your water tastes!