PSA: Please Don't Clip Your Nalgene Via The Plastic Lid Retaining Loop

Getting water bottles dropped on you is not exactly a good time fun party. Plastic usually fails without any warning; it won't look old or cracked or brittle. It's just totally fine all the way up until it isn't. Plastic makes Eeyore's wisdom even more true today: “They're funny things, accidents. You never have them till you're having them.” 

So if you don't want to clip the water bottle by the plastic lid retaining thingy, what is one to do?

Take some cord and tie it to itself with a double fisherman's / barrel knot which will form a noose that cinches down around the neck of the water bottle. Paracord would work fine if you don't have any small cord on hand. It looks like so:

2nd PSA: when your plastic inevitably fails and you drop your bottle down the route, please yell "rock" and not "water bottle." "Rock" is the universal word for "oh shit watch out there's a thing that will hurt very much coming down the route" regardless of whether or not it's a rock.

Cheers!

"Rock" is the universal word for "oh shit watch out there's a thing that will hurt very much coming down the route" regardless of whether or not it's a rock.”

Not anymore. There’s a climbing lingo ‘revolution’ underway that is reassigning new meanings to all kinds of words and phrases that have had longstanding, standard meaning to them.

apogee wrote:

"Rock" is the universal word for "oh shit watch out there's a thing that will hurt very much coming down the route" regardless of whether or not it's a rock.”

Not anymore. There’s a climbing lingo ‘revolution’ underway that is reassigning new meanings to all kinds of words and phrases that have had longstanding, standard meaning to them.

Rock is one syllable, but water bottle is four syllables. Thus, we must scream water bottle, lest we anger our ancestors by using words in ways they weren’t intended ;) 

Better yet, don't clip a big honkin' water bottle to your harness.  Just wear a pack if you want your water & snacks with you at all times.

Oh, and either way, learn how to yell "rock"!

While the paracord is a lot better than the plastic keeper, the cord and/or the lip of the water bottle can still fail during a whip. If you do not have a rated water bottle, you should put it in a pack.

Israel R wrote:

While the paracord is a lot better than the plastic keeper, the cord and/or the lip of the water bottle can still fail during a whip. If you do not have a rated water bottle, you should put it in a pack.

Have we ever seen photos of this happen in real life though? I've fallen with water bottles on my harness (cloved just like in the video) a lot and never had one break.

Luke Lalor wrote:

Have we ever seen photos of this happen in real life though? I've fallen with water bottles on my harness (cloved just like in the video) a lot and never had one break.

I have never seen it in the wild, no. However, that doesn't mean that it isn't possible. You can take your chances but just know that your bottle can still become a missile.

ubu wrote:

Better yet, don't clip a big honkin' water bottle to your harness.  Just wear a pack if you want your water & snacks with you at all times.

Oh, and either way, learn how to yell "rock"!

Wear a backpack? Oh boy, here we go...

Luke Lalor wrote:

Have we ever seen photos of this happen in real life though? I've fallen with water bottles on my harness (cloved just like in the video) a lot and never had one break.

Happened to me at Seneca last month.  32oz nalgene landed 10 feet away from me with a broken cap leash.

apogee wrote:

"Rock" is the universal word for "oh shit watch out there's a thing that will hurt very much coming down the route" regardless of whether or not it's a rock.”

Not anymore. There’s a climbing lingo ‘revolution’ underway that is reassigning new meanings to all kinds of words and phrases that have had longstanding, standard meaning to them.

Can you enlighten as to what the lingo is now-a-days for a Nalgene falling out of the sky? Also, what does yelling “rock” mean in this new revolution????

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

Can you enlighten as to what the lingo is now-a-days for a Nalgene falling out of the sky? Also, what does yelling “rock” mean in this new revolution????

Haven’t you heard the good news? Lingo is not allowed! You must only use words the way God created and intended them! No vernacular, slang, or neoligisms allowed! If you see something falling, don’t you think for a second that the most important thing is to alert others in a minimal amount of syllables. The most important thing is to identify exactly what brand is the water bottle, and don’t you dare misname it, and also scream out and read out all the stickers on it without a stutter or misread, for otherwise, you are destined for gumby hell!

Seems like an elaborate method to steal a water bottle.

Redacted Redactberg wrote:

Haven’t you heard the good news? Lingo is not allowed! You must only use words the way God created and intended them! No vernacular, slang, or neoligisms allowed! If you see something falling, don’t you think for a second that the most important thing is to alert others in a minimal amount of syllables. The most important thing is to identify exactly what brand is the water bottle, and don’t you dare misname it, and also scream out and read out all the stickers on it without a stutter or misread, for otherwise, you are destined for gumby hell!

You're still reeling from the "backstepping" beating you took?

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/125821094/how-do-you-avoid-backstepping-in-this-situation

djkyote wrote:

Nalgene = microplastics

Use steel

Yes, in addition to being eco-friendly you will also likely just take the climbers below you out of their misery whereas a Nalgene will just concuss the fuck outta them. 

FrankPS wrote:

You're still reeling from the "backstepping" beating you took?

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/125821094/how-do-you-avoid-backstepping-in-this-situation

Indeed ;) But I am reformed. Now I know from the wise teachings of ye olde Mountain Project School, we must yell “water bottle with gym sticker reading ‘on belay’ and a sticker reading ‘eco friendly’ and number 1 black diamond cam.”

No neoligisms allowed!

Linguistic accuracy First!

Brevity Second!

Safety Third!

Israel R wrote:

While the paracord is a lot better than the plastic keeper, the cord and/or the lip of the water bottle can still fail during a whip. If you do not have a rated water bottle, you should put it in a pack.

If the lip fails, the water will empty out and it's certainly less dangerous. An empty water bottle is lighter than a lot of camps at a larger surface area so will fall slower. 

The real concern is full bottle are like missiles. 

There's also no such thing as a rated water bottle.

Israel R wrote:

If you do not have a rated water bottle

Where can I find one of these? How many kilonewtons? Does rated mean I can use it as a big bro in a pinch? 

Pat Marrinan wrote:

Where can I find one of these? How many kilonewtons? Does rated mean I can use it as a big bro in a pinch? 

Someone whipped on a tin of beans once. It held.

Redacted Redactberg wrote:

Indeed ;) But I am reformed. Now I know from the wise teachings of ye olde Mountain Project School, we must yell “water bottle with gym sticker reading ‘on belay’ and a sticker reading ‘eco friendly’ and number 1 black diamond cam.”

No neoligisms allowed!

Linguistic accuracy First!

Brevity Second!

Safety Third!

So you learned nothing from the other thread then...

ubu wrote:

So you learned nothing from the other thread then...

He’s competing for the longest butthurt on MP.  

apogee wrote:

"Rock" is the universal word for "oh shit watch out there's a thing that will hurt very much coming down the route" regardless of whether or not it's a rock.”

Not anymore. There’s a climbing lingo ‘revolution’ underway that is reassigning new meanings to all kinds of words and phrases that have had longstanding, standard meaning to them.

It’s true, we call falling water bottles “off belay!” now.