Mazama M!GO Bottle

Best new thru-hiking water bottle! No more Smart Water Bottles needed! This is what I have been waiting for! Thanks to "Miranda Goes Outside" for designing it!

Capacity: Holds 38 ounces

Ease of Use: Easy to use, easy to clean, two ways to open bottle and multiple cap options. 

Features: Weight 132 grams, Large Cap for effortless filling and cleaning, Small Cap for everyday use and compatible with Sawyer filters and most water bottle flip-caps. Measurements lines on bottle for ease of making different drinks. 

Construction & Durability: Crafted from high quality LDPE, can withstand boiling water (212° F/100° C)

Dimensions: 11.5" tall by 3" diameter

Material: Durable LDPE,  BPA FREE. PFAS & PVC FREE

Purchase at:  garagegrowngear.com; packgeargo.co.nz; geartrade.ca; and at Mazamadesigns.com 

Conditions: Use anywhere! I used this new water bottle for the past 10 days out in the High Sierras in Yosemite. We hiked 50 miles total. We love them! They are easy to use, lightweight, squeezable, hold hot water, easy to clean and fit in my water bottle sleeve from Zpacks. No need for Smart Water plastic bottles anymore!

I heard about this bottle while watching "Miranda Goes Outside" on YouTube. I have watched all of her videos. She and her friend designed this new thru-hiking water bottle in an effort to ditch the Smart Water plastic bottles that most of us thru-hikers carry on the trail as a lightweight water bottle option. They collaborated with MAZAMA to design and sell the bottle. They can be purchased on the MAZAMA website and through Garage Grown Gear website. 

They were SOLD OUT for a while and then finally replenished before our trip. I bought three. My husband and I brought them on our High Sierra Camps Loop in the Sierras. We put them to the test.  We use the Platypus 4 liter GravityWorks system while on trail. These water bottles were easy to fill and easy to clean. I used the flip caps that came with our water filtration system, but you can also use mostly any flip-cap from other water bottles such as Smart Water bottles. 

I love the design of the bottles, and all the colors they come in. We brought the LAVA Smoke design bottles with a TOPO map design on them. I gave a Desert Haze one to my son who loves to hike as well. 

Background

I have 10 years of backpacking experience using multiple different water bottle options. This is a new bottle for me and will be my last. This is the only bottle I need on the trail. I may bring two with me the next time for those areas that have a longer hike with no water sources in between.

It may seem a good product, but it's not after thorough verifications.

Not sure it's a good product when you look at some important facts:

First, the weight:
M!GO: 132g
Smart Water: 38g
Dasani 1L WITH Sport Cap: 28.25g (also compatible with the Sawyer Squeeze)

The M!GO is 3.5x heavier than a SM bottle and 4.7x heavier than a Dasani.

Second, the price:
Not even comparable! And the SW are so durable that it'd take you years before you reach the $19 asked by this new bottle.

Third, SAFETY:
As stated, you can't put stickers on that bottle, and this is a safety concern. Although it may seem that stickers are for the look only, it's also for a safety reason allowing to know if it's YOUR bottle or not. Thus, to potentially avoid being infected by a disease (and God knows how COVID was a wake-up call).

Fourth, recycling:
And this is a VERY important concern for all of the outdoors lovers here. You'll notice there's NO mention of recycling on their website. This bottle is made of LDPE plastic, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only 5.7% of LDPE is recycled. The reason is that it is way harder to recycle (it's class 4, where PT is class 1, and high density is class 2).

Fifth, more safety:
They say it can withstand boiling water (212F/100C), however, LDPE is known to withstand temperatures of 65 °C (149 °F) continuously, and 90 °C (194 °F) for a short time.

BEWARE!
When exposed to sunlight, the plastic produces significant amounts of two greenhouse gases: methane and ethylene. Because of its lower density (high branching), it breaks down more easily than other plastics; as this happens, the surface area increases. Production of these trace gases from virgin plastics increases with surface area and with time, so that LDPE emits greenhouse gases at a more unsustainable rate than other plastics. In a test at the end of 212 days' incubation, emissions recorded were 5.8 nmol g−1 d−1 of methane, 14.5 nmol g−1 d−1 of ethylene, 3.9 nmol g−1 d−1 of ethane, and 9.7 nmol g−1 d−1 of propylene. When incubated in air, LDPE emits methane and ethylene at rates about 2 times and about 76 times, respectively, more than in water.

So go ahead and spend $19 if you want to:
- Carry 4x the weight
- Spend 9x more
- And pollute our planet.

Background

40+ years of loving our planet while hiking, climbing, canoeing, fishing, biking, camping, or just sitting there looking at the beautiful sky and rainbows.