Life on the Road

In my recent Product Review catch-up post, I talked about the family’s Klean Kanteens, and our challenges with the Sport Tops.

I sent that feedback to Klean Kanteen, as well, and was delighted by their response.

Due to the (known) issues with the Sport Top, the company has come out with Sport Top 2.0!  Here’s the company’s explanation of the challenges and improvements.  My review is below…

The new sports cap 2.0 was released on 04/15/09.  It combines the function of our loop and sports cap. 

We expect that by having the sturdy loop as part of the cap, it will remedy some of the nozzle issues that you have experienced.  Here’s why:

The little plastic cover of the sports cap, is a sanitary cover.   It is not intended to bear the weight of a full kanteen, it is just to keep the nozzle klean and safe to drink from.  We realize that many people carry their kanteens this way, so we had to make the spout sturdy enough so if held by the cover, it would be secure enough to support the weight. (this is why the drinking nozzle and sanitary cap can be difficult to pull up and down, but tend to loosen over time). 

Though the sports cap 1.0 is not intended to be carried this way, many people do.  The weight of the full kanteen and holding it by the sanitary cover puts stress on the pull nozzle.  I suspect that the drinking nozzles of your son’s sports caps had been weakened.  When dropped, cap first on the ground, the nozzle came off.

We hope that by having the solid loop function, it will help to keep the nozzle safe from dropping and from being weakened over time by carrying the kanteen by the sanitary cover.

One reality that we could not avoid, is that the new sports cap 2.0 still has an air vent and here’s why…

The sports caps were originally designed and used with plastic drinking bottles, and with those, we have the ability to squeeze and change the pressure coming in and out.  

Because you cannot squeeze stainless steel, air has a more difficult time getting inside and making the water flow out.  We had to alter the design to include an air vent in the cap to allow the pressure to escape.  This air vent does have a silicone plug and valve, it helps to keep the water in, but it is not 100% leak proof because of the pull-top and air vent.  

When closed properly most sports caps do not leak, but there is naturally some variation in the silicone plugs for the air vent, or if your plug gets damaged or deformed, your cap can leak from the air vent.

The silicone white piece in the top of the cap is the air vent, if you take it out it will leak.  Some people who use the bottle specifically for sports and working out will actually take out the silicone stopper and find that they don’t mind the drip as a trade off for the increased flow.

One more great function of the new sports cap 2.0, is the increased water flow.  The vent is now larger, and allows more air to pass, releasing the vacuum and improving the water flow!

I hope that this explanation helps you to understand some of the use and design issues that we have encountered.  We are doing our best to use customer concerns and suggestions to guide us in improving the Klean Kanteen.

We would be happy to send you a few of our new and improved sports caps 2.0 to try out in hopes that they will suit you and your family better.  Thank you for the service that you provide on your blog and for sharing it with me.

Here’s to Healthy Drinking..

So, we’ve tried the new Sport Cap 2.0.  And?

Mixed.

The new valve is wonderful!  Increased water flow, as she mentioned, and also a quieter air exchange. 

Leakage was a problem, but not from the air vent.  And in that area…  *sigh*

I’m not sure, exactly, having no real quantifiable measure, but I think these new tops actually have a worse leakage problem.

Let me say right off that I do understand that different users will have different experiences.  I’m sure if the bottle sat on my desk in an office, or was clipped on my bike, some of this would not be an issue.  BUT…

Our Kanteens get stuffed in the diaper bag, dragged around in the car, and rolled across the floor.

The “kleanliness” cap the goes over the spout it HARD to get on and off – even after uising it for a while.  So:

1. It’s very easy to close it, hear and feel it click into place…  and find out later that your bottle is leaking because of #2.
2. The cap can get pulled up just a bit – say, by a baby, or by rolling around on the floor.  Because it fits so tight, this also pulls up the spout.  Now the Kanteen is no longer closed, and the next time it rolls aross the floor (or the baby upends it in my lap!) water leaks out.

I don’t know why in the world they made that little cap fit so tightly on the spout/closure seal.  It would have been far better if it snapped that snugly onto the base of the cap below the spout, but was big enough not to mess with the spout when opened.

Although the loop is sturdy and great, and the increased water flow is great, I think that under our usage conditions these tops actually leak more than the 1.0, making them a dubious sort of “progress.”

Sorry, Klean Kanteen, but we’re eagerly awaiting 3.0.