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Singapore, for the most part, is hot and humid. On an ordinary day, even urbanites in the city center flock to find reprieve in air-conditioned spaces.
The heat is more oppressive for nature-lovers looking for adventure. Trekking is a physically demanding activity, and active hikers are recommended to consume at least a liter of water every hour. Cool, ice-cold water can spell the difference between a nice trek through the wilderness, and a miserable three-hour hike that feels more like punishment than recreational activity.
An air-tight, insulated liquid container is invaluable to hikers and campers looking to beat the heat as they scamper through nature’s playground. Generic, department store-bought plastic bottles won’t cut it. This isn’t a walk in the park we’re talking about; rather treks across miles of Singapore’s mudflats and reservoirs. Adventurers should look for containers that can support their body’s needs.
Vacuum bottles keep your drink cold...
Afternoon temperatures can climb to unbearable levels, especially around April and May, where the temperature can climb to a sweltering 36 degrees Celsius--just a degree away from the temperature a human body would need to be to register as feverish. While the heat can be an inconvenience in the city, it can be downright dangerous in the wilderness.
Hydration is critical. High humidity means your body loses water faster than it would in more moderate climates. Dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke are very real risks to trekkers and hikers.
Vacuum bottles keep you cool by keeping your drinks cold, even hours into your hike. The best bottles, like Stanley’s Adventure Vacuum Bottle, can keep liquids cold for nearly 24 hours, and ice unmelted for as long as five days.
...and your soup hot.
Singapore’s climate may be hot and humid, but at night temperatures can dip, especially if you get caught in the rain or a sudden downpour. This year, the country experienced its longest cold spell in a decade, with restaurants even reporting a drop in traffic as customers opt to avoid the chill.
Vacuum bottles help campers and other intrepid explorers stay warm by keeping their soup toasty for up to 24 hours. Some vacuum bottles retain heat so well that campers use them to cook simple meals such as oatmeal and dried beans.
With vacuum bottles, you never have to worry about spills…
Stainless-steel vacuum bottles are often leak-proof, you can confidently pack your bottle away without worrying about spills as you blaze through different terrains.
...or dents and rust.
Steel vacuum bottles are leagues more durable than plastic. Being made of stainless steel also which means the bottles won’t rust and contaminate your liquids in the process. Some models may even be sturdy enough to outlast their owners.
Most importantly, quality vacuum bottles are BPA-free
BPA stands for Bisphenol A. The material was synthesized by chemists for the first time in the 1800’s, though it only gained widespread popularity as a material for containers in the 60’s. Chemists Hermann Schell from Bayer and Daniel Fox from GE discovered the toughness of the material at roughly the same time, and shortly put in patents for the new kind of plastic. BPA has since been used for making a variety of items, from baby bottles, food containers, and the internal casing for tin cans.
The compound has even been found in some salt and freshwater organisms like algae, some species of shrimp, and fish. Researchers have found trace amounts in seafood sampled from markets around Singapore, largely due to contamination from plastic debris in the ocean.
But nearly half a century later, research discovered that BPA may have adverse health effects. In 1992, Stanford researcher David Feldman discovered that BPA produced a potentially harmful substance. “We realized that we had identified a molecule that was leaching out of the plastic that, due to its estrogenic hormone-like properties, was potentially dangerous to people eating out of containers made of this type of plastic," says Feldman.
Since then, a variety of studies have linked BPA to obesity,prostate cancer,diabetes, andhormonal imbalances in infants and developing fetuses.
Many countries have heavily regulated and even banned the use of BPA outright in manufacturing. Baby bottles in Europe and Canada have been BPA-free since the EU and the Canadian government banned its use in baby products in 2008. Japan has taken BPA resin liners out of the canning industry.
In Singapore, the permissible amount of BPA that may transfer to food from the container is at a strict 0.6mg per kilogram of food, and the substance has also been banned in baby bottles by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore. Dr Abel Soh, a specialist in endocrinology at the Raffles Diabetes and Endocrine Centre, advises vigilance even when it’s absolutely impossible to avoid plastics: "As far as possible, we should (also) use plastic products that are BPA-free.”
Checking if your bottle is truly BPA-free
Hot food can cause BPA from plastic jugs and containers to leach through, so if you were looking to have hot coffee the morning after an overnight camping trip in the woods, you may be exposing yourself to dangerous chemicals.
Make sure your vacuum bottles are tested and approved by regulating bodies. This means that every component of the bottle, from the body to the bottle stopper is made of BPA-free materials. Look for brands that are very clear about their manufacturing process, and can guarantee that no surface of the bottle that comes into contact with liquids or food contains BPA.
Stanley, who has been manufacturing vacuum bottles and insulated beverage containers for more than a hundred years, uses grade 304 steel, otherwise known as food-grade steel. Food-grade steel has passed through many compliance tests to guarantee the material’s safety for the consumer market.
Check out Stanley’s catalogue now for some of the best, insulated, leak-proof, durable, and absolutely BPA-free water bottles on the market. Gearaholic carries several sizes for all your hydration needs.
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