27-When I can still help myself with a drink

NALGENE 16OZ NARROW MOUTH BOTTLE, 90S

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想起那些曾經屬於我的最久遠的物件,很多已沒有留下來了,也許是因為沒甚麼值得保留,多是一些玩具、漫畫,平凡的男生童年不過是圍繞著這些生活。

再數下去,就只得一個Nalgene水瓶。

Growing up, I have gradually lost most of my possessions to the immensity of time. Perhaps there isn’t a lot worth keeping, except for a few toys and comics around which my boyhood revolved.

Then there’s my Nalgene water bottle.

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記得Nalgene水瓶開始在我家出現,是家母替我安排在某個暑假參加游泳班之後,那是我人生中的第一個課外活動。游泳初哥在池裡被教練吆喝,喝了一肚子充滿氯氣的水,上岸後一邊被母親大力擦乾身體,一邊接過水瓶喝回幾口正常的清水。自那夏天,家裡接二連三出現了很多Nalgene水瓶,不同尺寸的,窄口寬口的都有。不難想到,我們一家大小每逢到離島或郊外遊玩,各人背包裡總有一個Nalgene水瓶。

90年代,美國Nalgene水瓶開始在香港銷售是以一隻山豹作標誌,我從來覺得那很莫名其妙,看上去山豹是山豹,跟水瓶毫無關係。家母曾經替它辯護,說它很堅固又耐高溫,不喝熱水的我只想是多餘。水瓶嘛,只要能盛水,又好看,就可以了。

Nalgene water bottles emerged in my house not long after my mother signed me up for summer swimming lessons – my very first extra-curricular activity. These swimming lessons were vignettes of me being yelled at by my coach, me accidentally drinking chlorinated water, as well as being dried by my mother with a towel after class and downing regular water. That summer equipped our household with Nalgene water bottles of different volumes, both wide mouth and narrow mouth. Needless to say, Nalgene became a staple of our family’s backpacking trips to Lantau and the countryside.

Founded in the United States, Nalgene water bottles caught on with Hong Kong in the 90’s. Back then, its logo featured a mountain lion, which I never quite understood. My mother reasoned that the bottles were impact- and heat-resistant – sturdy like the big cat. I never drank hot water, so all that functionality seemed nonsense to me. I just needed a nice-looking bottle to carry some water.

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豈料它真的很堅固,堅固到我無法更換它,就算使用時我沒有特別把它放在心上。現在我習慣登山時帶一個Nalgene水瓶和另一個塑膠水袋,分別放在背包兩旁平衡重量。那新的水袋僅僅買了三五年,已敵不過老化的毛病,有次破了一個小洞把我的背包浸濕了。這時我才慶幸自己沒有一早隨手把Nalgene水瓶扔掉,雖然我有嫌過它土氣,但已不相干了。

To my surprise, our Nalgene water bottles were sturdy as they were marketed, to the extent that I found them impossible to replace – even if I tried. Now when I go hiking, I always bring a Nalgene bottle and a soft flask to balance my backpack. The much newer soft flask only lasted three to five years before it wore out and eventually soaked my bag. That’s when I felt lucky for having kept my Nalgene all these years. I used to look down on its old-school design, but it didn’t matter anymore.

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總之,已經存在的塑料產品,最好還是用到最後。我不是一個合資格的環保主義者,但當我看到隨便在便利店買到的水瓶,那些塞滿垃圾桶,山上、海洋裡隨處可見的塑膠空瓶,不由得會有「塑膠物品用一次便丟棄,真是愚蠢極了」的想法。這並不是塑膠本身的問題,而是我們如何去使用它,可以的話我們應該想辦法杜絕一次性的塑膠產品。

有些諷刺又意想不到,通過時間考驗留下來的竟是這個塑膠Nalgene水瓶,它上面的容量刻度消失了,可標誌圖案並未完全褪去,我可以說它現在有點美嗎?大概不。但我想試試把它用到最後,到那個我還能喝水的時候。

The bottom-line is: it’s best to make the most out of existing plastic. I’m not a qualified environmentalist, still it repels me whenever I see bins, hills and seas littered with store-bought, one-off plastic bottles. The problem is not so much the material itself as our use of it. If possible, we should try to get rid of one-off plastic products in the market.

Ironically, this Nalgene water bottle is the last one standing. Its markings have faded, its classic logo barely visible. I can’t say it’s a beautiful bottle, but I’m going to try and use it until the very end – when I can still help myself with a drink.

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