Tips and Tricks for Using Your Vesica
Our Vesica collapsible water bottles have quite a few handy uses thanks to their collapsibility. But if you’re used to using a hard sided bottle, there may be a bit of a learning curve as you switch to something soft sided. Here’s a few tips and tricks to help you avoid that learning curve and use your Vesica correctly right off the bat.
How do I hold this thing?
Let's start with a don’t: don’t pick up the Vesica right from the middle of the bottle where it’s softest! This will result in water shooting everywhere. Instead, pick up your Vesica from the lower part of the hard sided top. To drink from the bottle without the lower part of the bottle drooping over your thumb, just turn your hand slightly so the Vesica rests on your wrist as you drink, as seen above.
How do I clean this thing?
Like all our products, you can clean your Vesica by hand washing it with mild soap and water. But like our VectoXs the Vesica is made of thicker TPU, so it is top shelf dishwasher safe. Just make sure to remove any sports caps - those will need to be hand washed!
How do I slide it into my backpack side pockets?
So long as the Vesica is allowed to refill with air, it will remain upright and sturdy no matter how much water is in it! If you’ve attached a filter to your Vesica and are drinking from that, the bottle will slowly start to collapse as you consume water as there will be no way for it to inflate - for this use case, we recommend putting your Vesica in a shoulder strap holder. Check out this one we designed with our friends over at Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear!
Cap care
Since our products are made of a soft plastic, their threads seal with our caps via friction. This means that, unlike with a hard plastic bottle, it is possible to tighten our caps more than is needed to seal the bottle. This will result in caps splitting over time, so be mindful of overtightening your cap!
Strange taste
Since folks are more likely to consume water straight from our Vesicas than a product like the Vecto, some folks might notice a plastic-y taste when the Vesica is new. This is normal! Every product of ours should be washed with water and a mild soap and allowed to air dry once opened. If the taste persists, soak it in warm water with two denture tabs overnight, empty and wash thoroughly with mild soap, then let air dry.
That’s all you need to know to use your Vesica like a pro straight out of the box! Check out our video here for more tips and tricks. Running into another issue? Reaching out to us at contact@cnocoutdoors.com - we’re always happy to help!
@Shelley denture tablets are our best recommendation for removing flavors from TPU, plastic or otherwise. You can purchase specific cleaners for hydration packs and other TPU products from gear retailers which will be just as effective, but more expensive. We do have a deep clean recipe involving vinegar in our FAQs which may help with flavors but will not be as effective as denture tablets.
Nice article. Since I don’t buy denture tabs — What other method do you recommend for getting out “plastic smell”? Vinegar?
Also: I soaked an older (ie not stinky) bottle with Dawn dish soap for 2 days (not on purpose) then rinsed very well, then soaked with plain water for 24 hours and repeated then let air dry. Prior to next trip I filled with water at home and let set for 2 hours seemed to taste fine. However on trip after sitting in pack couldn’t drink as tasted like dish soap. What do you recommend (besides not letting soak in dish soapy water)?
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