The CNOC Thrubottle is a one-liter reusable bottle designed to replace the one-liter Smartwater bottles that many backpackers and thruhikers use today. It shares the same thin shape and 1 liter (33 oz) capacity as a Smartwater bottle, and it's compatible with Sawyer water filters and other bottles with a 28mm thread. It also has a tethered cap, pull lanyard, and exterior fluid markings.

• Weight: 2.2 oz
• Capacity: 1000 ml (33 oz)
• Material: HDPE
• BPA Free: Yes
• Screw-cap: Yes (28mm compatible)
• Dimensions: 2.9 x 12 inches
• Heat-Tolerance: Safe up to 212°F, but keep exposure short to limit material fatigue

One-liter Smartwater bottles are popular with backpackers and thruhikers because they're easy to pull out and replace in backpack side pockets; they're squeezable and thread-compatible with Sawyer water filters and other filters with 28mm threading. Smartwater water bottles are technically recyclable, but many end up in landfills when discarded.

Fits with all popular 28mm water filters.

The CNOC Thrubottle is an alternative to Smartwater bottles that shares their benefits but goes beyond them in ways that backpackers and thruhikers can appreciate.

• Graduated liquid markings along the side in both ounces and mL for rehydrating freeze-dried and dehydrated meals.
• Has a tethered cap so you can't lose it.
• Has a pull cord, which makes it easy to pull the bottle out of a pocket
• Safe up to 212°F (100C), but keep exposure short to limit material fatigue.
• Curbside recyclable
• Constructed from durable materials, including long periods of sun exposure

The ThruBottle is squeezable making it compatible with squeeze-style water filters

While the ThruBottle is reusable and could keep a lot of Smartwater bottles out of landfills (even though they're technically recyclable and returnable in many states), are any of these added features and capabilities must-haves? Not really.

• The liquid measurements are useful, but you can slap a $5 sticker with the measurements onto a Smartwater bottle and still stay ahead pricewise since a 1L Smartwater bottle costs $3 and the Thrubottle costs $14.
• The tethered cap is a win if you take your Sawyer filter off the bottle, although that's rare for some people. In any event, 28 mm caps are pretty easy to come by since other water and soft drink companies use them widely.
• The pull cord is just nice to have, but not essential. No one is going to stop to use it to re-attach the Thrubottle to a backpack
• The hot water capability isn't all that useful because the bottle doesn't have a wide mouth, which makes it difficult to put things like tea bags in or get them out

Final Verdict

While all of these features are nice-to-have, none of them will prevent you from losing the CNOC Thrubottle if it falls out of your backpack. But if you can avoid losing it, it's an excellent alternative to a Smartwater bottle or other commercial 28mm-compatible water bottles.

Disclosure: CNOC provided a bottle for review.

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