One weekend while ice climbing with his teammates last winter, the canteen fell out of his pack and tumbled down the mountainside until it was out of sight. John was so upset by the prospect of losing his canteen that his teammates had to restrain him from going after it! At the end of the day, someone had found it and placed it by the trail, so John was thrilled to have it back. However, it had really taken a beating; in addition to having numerous dents, it also leaked. John shared his story with us and asked if we could possibly send him a replacement canteen, which we gladly did. Here is a photo of the old canteen and his new replacement one, which is still serving him well. We’re glad that the canteen is such a valuable part of John’s rescue mission gear!

Don’t forget to send your schwag stories to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Remember, the person with the most outrageous photo and story submitted before December 31 will win a 3-day trip for two to Cozumel, Mexico!