capCap by Human Gear

Posted: 03/02/2009 In Category(s): Reviews :: Product Reviews

We’ve all been there – tipping our head back to take a drink from a wide-mouth bottle only to miscalculate or be bumped or jostled so you get most of it down your shirt. That’s fine if you’re out hiking or if it’s just water, but not so great if you’re in an office, a car, a health club or on a piece of equipment, especially if you’re indulging in something sugary or something that could stain.

Yet a wide-mouth bottle is extremely handy because you can fill it with fluids easily, fit ice cubes of any size into it, and you can stir and mix drinks without trouble.

Enter the simple, inexpensive piece of gear called a “capCap” by a new little company called Human Gear, which was started by Stanford University design graduate Chris Miksovsky.

The capCap (stick with us and you’ll get why it’s named that) is basically a replacement cap that fits most wide-mouth bottles. It has a regular large screw-on cap, but – here’s the coup – on top of it is a smaller screw-on cap. Unscrew the large one for filling, mixing or even pouring, but only unscrew the top one for drinking.

It’s not just a smaller opening either, but is slightly concave so it directs the fluids the right way (i.e. into your mouth!). Plus, it’s sized just right so you can tip your head and guzzle without many worries of splashing all over the place.

We were skeptical at first, but once we got it on the bottle we were hooked (at least those of us concerned about the splash syndrome). Miksovsky has put a lot of thought into this seemingly simple piece of gear. It even has a neck strap connecting the bottle to the small lid for a great finger hold.

There is only one drawback: If you don’t screw the large lid to the bottle really, really tightly, the large lid can be dislodged when you try to unscrew just the small lid to drink. Even if you screw it on really well, it can loosen with use.  We wonder why the threads can’t go in the opposite direction.

One other drawback for those fashion mavens: So far it’s only available in dark gray and lime green. Oh woe, that may clash with your chosen bottle.

SNEWS® Rating: 4.5 hands clapping (1 to 5 hands clapping possible, with 5 clapping hands representing functional and design perfection)

Suggested Retail: $5.95

For more information: www.humangear.com

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