OTF Cap

Easy to drink from with a wide mouth bottle, snap works well.
But the silicone seal gets moldy.
***Please sell the seal as a spare part!!!***

My wife’s bottle is in great condition for being as old as it is with years old weekly use at the gym and carrying outside, yet she has stopped using it due to severe mold inside the rubber stopper. It’s only been used for water. I’ve tried almost everything outside of bleach to no avail. It seems like the rubber is porous and allows mold to grow inside. I wanted to replace the stopper but come to find out you have to replace the entire cap. This seems like a waste. Especially if the issue comes from a poor material design in the first place.

We have 3 OTF bottles (out of 6 total Nalgene bottles)
2 of the OTF bottles have moldy lid seals even though they are washed frequently. Unfortunately you can’t buy a new seal and will therefore have to replace the entire lid. That is not very sustainable is it….

Love the design except the silicone seal. Even run through the dishwasher regularly, it gets moldy! Yuck,! I end up relaxing the whole lid because I can’t find just the silicone seal to purchase separately!

We’ve been using this style bottle for 13? Years. We’ve lost a few and had to replace lids but only 1 lid actually broke on all that time and all the bottoms are fine if not a bit scratched and scuffed. I love that I can put them in the dishwasher!

I cannot keep this bloody thing closed. The metal bit can be really hard to snap into place, and without it, the top can’t stay closed on its own and drenches my stuff multiple times a day. This is an over-designed fail, rare and surprising considering Nalgene’s classic and successful simplicity. I’ll be replacing it with a screw-top lid.

I have a few Nalgene water bottles various sizes and I got two 650 ml bottles with this type lid at REI over 5 years ago. They have been great. They don’t leak in my backpack, tent, anywhere at any time. I’m very happy with them. Recently, I noticed the rubber inside the flip up part on one lid did get discolored -after using for 5 years- but I think it was because I didn’t clean it well enough. Nalgene replaced the lid – I emailed asking for the inner rubber part but they sent the whole lid.
I was happy with Nalgene customer service so I got more bottles and some extra lids for my 32 oz Nalgene bottles. Now I wash the lids & bottles with dish soap after each use and let them dry before using. Happy customer.

Like the concept, but if anything gets under the the seal of the lid, it ends up moldy and you can’t get to it to clean it.

Hi Nalgene, is the mold safe to leave on and continue using the bottle cap? the caps are very durable but I hope I can buy the silicon stopper for replacement which molds easily. I tried to buy other ones in the market I can find but they don’t fit.

Hope Nalgene can consider selling the silicon replacement just like the sip silicon. It is more sustainable and will definitely reduce the throw away of plastic unnecessarily.

I hate to throw the whole bottle cap which is working so fine just because of the moldy silicon stopper. our kids use it daily, hard for it to be washed n dried between use.

I love Nalgene bottles because it is so durable and use it for warm or hot water ad had my first one for 20 years! and now we use it to reduce single use plastic from bubble tea which our family loves so much. it would be ironic that we reduce thinner single use plastic to throw more Nalgene sturdy plastic away. Please help save the earth!

The less moving parts there are in anything then the better it is. The original design classic screw top with loop to prevent cap loss is a simpler design and therefore more reliable as to purpose and function. If NALGENE would offer a simple wide mouth to narrow mouth, double cap loop screw on/off adapter it would not only be simpler to manufacture but more reliable for the consumer in real world use.

It is disappointing to see that Nalgene addresses some complaints about the cap and its design, but there is no comment about the biggest complaint – the silicone seal piece that gets moldy and is impossible to clean. Why can’t you sell packs of them separately? We have four bottles and all function great, but the moldy silicone pieces makes them unusable. Such customer and product support doesn’t make me inclined to purchase more Nalgene products .

I love the cap and the bottle. I have 4 of these and have had them for at least 5 years. It’s a great coffee travel mug that I use as a water bottle after I drink my coffee. Reviews say the seal gets moldy. I suggest washing and drying them in between use. I put my bottle and cap in the dish washer. I did have a cap get moldy but that was because the bottle rolled under my car seat and the coffee and milk got moldy. Mold grows in wet damp environments. Air dry your lids and remove the stopper occasionally to clean under it in case moisture gets trapped. You are still helping the environment by using the same bottle even if you buy a new lid.

There has to be something you can do about the mold issue under the valve. It is so wasteful to have to replace the whole cap because of one moldy valve.

Success of US mftr. The old caps were easy to clean easy to use 1 finger hard to break so in Nalgenes world that makes it disposable. No reason just sent to the “new and improved” cap. Bah. Read the reviews. So now off to different product. Don’t yall ever listen to customers?

I don’t know what this reviews are about. I’ve had a lid for years. Like scratched to hell, don’t even know what color it used to be. Still works like brand new.

Fits 32 & 48oz Wide Mouth Bottles.

Good information, but you should ALSO put how many LITERS that is. I had to go look at my bottles to figure out oz.

Great lid, locks in place plus it’s like it’s own handle. Very nice.

I have five of those bottles and caps and on three of them the little metal clip popped off and went missing while hiking. It’s a bummer cause the bottles are now unusable as they don’t close securely.

+ Very well washed
+ Nicely fitting to the mouth

– does not last lifetime – original one broke after 4 Years (perfect), but the replacement lasted only two months of office use (only in office, very light usage) – the tiny closing square on the front broke in the middle

I’m surprised by these negative reviews. We have 2 of these and they have been used daily in all environments from home to work to outdoors and taken quite a bit of knocking about. Yet they are fully functional and look brand new.
The only hitch is if you don’t spot the metal catch isn’t engaged and you knock the bottle over, it then opens and contents pour out.
But otherwise they are great

Dear Nalgene, this review is in reaponse to Nalgene’s response to the MarkVS by employee Alicia Klesseck:

“Hi Mark,
Nothing has changed about the design of this particular cap. We invite you to explore our other cap options if you are unhappy with this particular design.”

This is an unhelpful customer service response. I am physically holding in my hands the Nalgene lid that Mark describes. It has a “finger loop” ring around which the lid rotates and can be held with one hand even when the cap is open. The fact that it predated the “OFT” line is irrelevant. Please remove Alicia Klesseck’s patronizing response from this review page.

These lids fail. We have had five of them over the course of a year and a half of school. The plastic catch has broken on three of them, and the metal lock has ripped off of one other. One lid broke in just one week of use. The only lid that hasn’t broken was purchased about three weeks ago, and I am certain that it will also break in time, just as the others have.
Though we do love our classic wide-mouth Nalgenes, our family’s impression of the on-the-fly lids is that they are not built to last.

These new caps eliminated one of the most valuable features of the old cap – the finger loop.
With the old cap you aren’t forced to close the cap before you try to carry the bottle because you could loop one of your fingers into the loop and carry it. This is a major advantage when you are carrying other items.
Also, with the new cap, the bottle is prone to tipping over if the lid is open and the bottle is near empty.
Please bring back the loop, or whatever the heck it’s called. The only advantage to the new cap is the metal lock feature.
But, what would I know, I’m just a customer.

Well I’m in the same boat as other with the inserts on OTF product. I’ve ordered around 15 of these over about 4 years. Some were lost by kids but mostly it’s been the MOLD issue. In the past Nalgene has taken my photos of mold issues and then sent me brand new lids (7 of them I think) even though the lids were fine and I was only looking for the silicone inserts. It seems very strange that Nalgene or other entity hasn’t picked up manufacturing just inserts… what’s the deal there ? It makes no sense to me. C’mon Nalgene!!!

Just after a week it broke! the plastic place where metalic latch is secured

otherwise good but it didn’t last even a WEEK!

These are my favorite water bottle caps. I have 6 of them that we use all the time. I would love to give it 5 stars but I have the same issue with the mold at the silicon cap. I wash the lid everyday but eventually they all get moldy. I tried soaking in vinegar but it did nothing. I have been looking for replacements but found that you need to buy the whole cap again. Which I have done a few times already. If there is a way to remove the mold or a place to buy the stoppers please let me know.

I have bought and continue to use seven OTF bottle/cap combinations and each member of my family has picked the one(s) they like best as their own for work and daily hydration — I try to keep at least one on each floor of our three-level townhouse, and one in my bag for PT. We love our Nalgene bottles but have not found a way of getting the mold off the silicone seal which is a real problem for someone who is allergic to mold We haven’t had a problem with breakage of the caps or bottles, but sure would appreciate a few replacement caps for the blackened moldy ones, so pretty-please could you comp a few to a long-time customer with loads of bottles and intact caps with mold issues. We have virtually every color combo so whatever you might send would work ok from a design/style perspective.
All best,
Joseph – Reston, VA

I like the bottle, have it since several years. It´s solid and very comfortable and practical for hiking!

What really bothers me is the fact, that the inner seal is not available as spare-part!

It is not very sustainable, if customers are forced to buy the entire cap, if only a new seal is needed!

bought this as a replacement but actually what i need is the small innerpiece for this… would be very pleased if the sustainable words are practiced and these become available in stores in europe. thx!

On the fly bottles are great but the silicone seal consistently gets moldy. I have tried scrubbing and letting it soak for days in bleach to no avail. I have contacted Nalgene customer service about this and making the seals available and hear from them simply that they are not available. I see other similar comments but no replies from Nalgene. Care to respond with something more helpful then they are not available Nalgene? It would make this a perfect item and I could stop throwing away otherwise good caps.

This cap is too hard to close. The clasp doesn’t line up easily. For a kid it is really frustrating.

I understand people’s frustration with cleaning the cap. After coming up with my own solution of keeping it clean I soak the cap for 8 hours and it is completely clean and sanitized. My big question and concern is the push button release stopped working on my cap shortly after I got it but luckily there’s that metal ring that keeps the cap locked down other than that it’s an awesome cap and glad I have it

Love the OTF cap, hate having to replace it. Leaving Nalgene as their environmental credentials don’t stack up on this one. If only they sold replacement silicone insert only…

Love this lid! Please sell replacement silicone seals!! The mold and discoloration is a problem!!

The OTF cap collects mold under the silicone seal ever since we have had this lid.
I hope that you can remedy this problem.

I, too, had a problem with mold. Someone here posted about using bleach. I pulled the seal out and placed it in a small container with 50/50 Chlorox/water. A few days later, most of the mold was gone. 2nd attempt was a stronger solution. I forget the exact mixture. Put to the side and forgot about it. Two weeks later, mold was completely gone.

I would love to see an improvement on the silicone seal of the cap. This is my favorite one, but the mold is definitely an issue. I tried all sorts of ways to clean it, but to no avail. Replacement silicone pieces, please!

Best bottle cap ever! Fits on my Hydroflask perfectly making for the best water bottle combo!

Great bottle and agree with other users, silicone seal in the cap should be available as spare part.

I’ve had the accompanying water bottle for this type of cap for over a decade and it’s my favorite. I once had a friend drop my Nalgene water bottle down some cement stairs and it only had a couple of scratches. It’s easy for me to carry around, seals very well so no spills, and is easy to clean. EXCEPT, I’ve had mold growing in my silicon seal for the last year. I’d been trying to clean it out with any method I could try. Eventually I contacted customer service with a photo and they swiftly replaced my cap. I really appreciate it, since that means I don’t have to find a whole new water bottle. But I agree with other reviewers that the silicone seal should be sold separately because I hated having to throw away a whole water bottle cap. That’s a lot of plastic that will sit in the landfill.

Another vote for selling replacement silicone seals. Same mold issues, same annoyance at having to replace the entire cap when it’s just this small part that’s the problem.

Otherwise, five stars — the design is the best I’ve seen, in that it both seals securely and can be washed thoroughly because it doesn’t have nooks and crannies.

I bought 4 bottles for my kiddos with this cap. Within a couple months, the caps on all four bottles were broken. In their cases, the latching mechanism in the front broke, making it hard to open with two hands instead of easy to open with one. The silicon rings fell out really quickly on them, so I’m not sure we ever got to the mold issue. That being said, my kids really enjoyed the lids while they had them and asked for them to be replaced.

My daughter has been using these bottles for school for the past 8 or 9 years and we think they are awesome. I have never had to replace one until now (finally managed to lose a silicone seal down the drain). As for the silicone seal getting moldy – they can be popped out with a small teaspoon and thrown in the silverware basket in the dishwasher. I wash them after each use along with the bottle itself & have never had a problem with mold.

The OTF is one of the best bottle caps in existence. Can be opened and closed with one hand only. However, the silicone seal inside the cap stars molding after like a year. Happened already the 2nd time. I use my bottle with pure water only and let it dry every 2nd day.

For environmental reasons I don’t want to replace the whole cap, would love to buy replacement seals instead.

This is not really a rating, but did not see a place to submit questions.
You know what would be helpful? A picture of this top (and all the others) in the OPEN position.

Love love love these lids. I have had one for YEARS until the BIG puppy got hold of it when he was teething. I see that people have had trouble with mold; anytime I did, I just sprayed it with Clorox cleaner and let it sit a bit. Presto!!!!! Clean clean!!!!

Please just sell silicone stopper aa replacements. My cap is still good but the silicone has gone moldy and impossible to remove. I’ve had my OTF bottle for 6 years now and plan to keep on using it.

This by far is my favorite cap but it needs to be redesigned so that the silicone seal doesn’t mold. I’ve had one replaced 2 times.

We love these caps! I’ve had my OTF water bottle for years now and haven’t had any issues with leaking or mold. I use a butter knife to pry out the silicone piece inside the lid to ensure it’s cleaned properly and only reinsert once I know it’s completely dry. We recently got these lids for our kids that transitioned from the Grip & Gulp style lids and they’re working great for them as well. We had some issues when we first got them that they were extremely hard to close, but we just loosened them up a bit by continuously opening and closing for a bit and my kids have no problems now. If the lid is closed and metal clasp on, we’ve never had an issue with any bottles leaking at all. We’ve tried so many different brands of water bottles, and these are the only ones tough enough to stand up to my toddlers. Planning on buying more of these lids to replace the Grip & Gulp lids on the other water bottles we have.

I really love the design of this top, but the plastic locking piece breaks easily, and unfortunately the silicone piece inside keeps molding. I’m allergic to mold so I keep getting sinus infections. Going to have to try to recycle this and buy another cap. Super bummed.

Overall bad caps- can Nalgene find a new company to make their non basic caps? We’ve tried several OTG and OTF and they just don’t last long and leak often. The basic caps are great but we need caps for kids that last. It’s also environmentally poor advocacy to keep making caps that get tossed so often. Please make caps that last as long as the bottles.

The little plastic lock clasp broke & water spilled out. Very disappointed. With it broken the metal clasp is difficult to close.

Nalgene does not explain what this lid does nor do the have a picture of it open

Heavy lid can cause water bottle to tip over and spill when the water level is low. Best to use this lid on the wide bottles. Silicone seal eventually stains and won’t come clean. Can’t find replacement. Apart from those problems, this lid is great for drinking from the bottle!

These caps are fantastic, I enjoy using them so much more than the typical wide mouth cap. I don’t even have a problem with mold on the silicone seal. I think perhaps regular, daily or even weekly washing would take care of that.

The silicone seal molds up very fast and is impossible to clean. Once it goes black, it stays black. The cap was a nice idea, it’s easy to drink from, especially compared to drinking from the wide mouth, but the mold issue needs to be addressed. I already received free replacements for my 2 caps, but these have gone moldy again. Nalgene needs to make a wide mouth cap that has the narrow mouth cap on top. This way you get both options, large for easy pouring and filling, and narrow for easy drinking.

Love my OTF bottle and lid. I’ve had mine almost 3 years and have never had a problem with mold inside the lid and my bottle takes a beating! My husband’s bottle which is newer than mine does have mold issues, however. Maybe something has changed with the materials used?

Impossible to clean the silicone seal on the inside of the lid. That’s a deal breaker. Gets moldy fast. After replacing it once I switched to a different brand that’s easy to clean.

I personally love these caps rather than the screw on caps. It is so nice to be able to have a little spout than a wide-mouth lid. I have had the inserts for the wide-mouth but another things to clean.

This OTF cap works well for me. I use it all day every day. It cleans well in the dishwasher and does not have nor need a silicone seal. My water bottle has tipped over many times with no leaks. I’ve gotten another OTF cap to go with my second bottle. Very happy with purchase.

Liked this better than a screw top for accessibility, but the silicone cap is IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean even with regular washing. Additionally, it tips over and if the lock isn’t in place water goes everywhere every time (wrecked my laptop!). Wanted to like this product, but since I’m allergic to mold and can’t get the mold off, cannot recommend.

These caps are fantastic if you can afford to buy new ones every two or three months! The little silicon seal in the cap gets so moldy it scares one! I’ve used bleach, vinegar, baking soda and knifes and still can’t get it off! They won’t even sell us just the silicon seal and it’s not an expensive part!

awful cap for kids. If the lid is screwed on too tight the latch won’t close without a lot of force. My 3.5 yo can’t use it – I barely can. Also, wish it was spill proof or at least fit the spill proof piece to customize for toddlers.

no material details.
no spareparts like silicon sealing

The OTF cap ROCKS! It is the best cap that Nalgene has produced. I love my cap! My well-meaning 89-yr old mother decided to wash my 32-oz Nalgene and broke my OTF. I was so sad but I just found out, today, that it has a life-time replacement warranty! If you never tried the OTF, you must give it a try! 🙂 RF

Nice design, but not perfect. It’s only a matter of time before the metal clip breaks-free from the plastic at its pivot point. Once broken, this prevents the metal band from keeping the top handle securely locked. My bottle’s spilled open several times inside my bag now. This lid has a lot of potential, but still needs improved.

Cheap plastic snap that doesn’t stay closed, have spilled water numerous times, very annoying to use while biking

Love these kids. I wish they were offered as an option with all of the nalgene, in all of the colors and all of the sizes.. I’m surprised I cant custom order a normal 32oz with an O.t.f. lid in the colors I want. I would definitely order one.

Very disappointed in the fragile construction. Thin plastic latch mechanism snapped after two weeks of use, and the top will no longer stay closed. A horrible design by a seemingly reputable brand.

Pretty sturdy lids that take a lot of abuse. I drop my bottles a lot, and hang them from clips by these lids. They open and close quick, too, which helps me make sure I’m hydrating enough in my warehouse job.

The silicone trim on the underside of the flip top does collect grime a bit, but a little scrubbing gets that off easily. The inner seal in the flip top also seems to collect a more permanent grime if you don’t clean it often enough, so clean your bottles often! It’s better for your health anyway.