Choosing your first or newest water bottle: Our guide to getting it right.

If you have never owned a nice, durable, long-lasting water bottle or if you are in the market to see if upgrading your water bottle is next on your “things to do” list, you should consider a few things before jumping into water bottle hype. 

There are a few key factors when choosing a water bottle that every consumer should know about. 

What to Look for in a Water Bottle

You have most likely walked inside a Target, a Dick’s Sporting Goods, or did the dreadful Amazon search for “water bottles” and had so many options to choose from that it made you all of a sudden in need of, well, water. The colors, the shapes, the sizes, the replacement lids/caps, the trendy sayings of all the things you will be if you buy “their” bottle. If you never were or will be scaling Everest, than don’t let the brand sell you into believing their Rambler is thing that will change that. All the buzz and hype will change what you came there for: a bottle to hold water.

Consider the following: 

It’s function:

• What are you using it for? Do you hike, camp, sit at a desk all day? If you are like most of us we use it at the office when we don’t forget to take it out of the car. If you are an avid gym goer than you may be looking for a different bottle than someone looking to add a little hydration in their life.

Material:

• Plastic bottles are out. Sorry but they are. Yes, all bottles have some form of BPA free plastic, but we are talking about the totality of the bottle being made of plastic is a thing of the past. Sure plastic is cheaper, durable if dropped, but it also comes with some downsides like plastic tasting water, damage to the environment, ya know things like that. Bottles made of stainless steel and double lined insulation can reduce weird taste additives and can keep liquids colder or hotter for far longer than other materials.

Cap/Straw System:

• Most caps are standard but they also have wide mouth for faster water into mouth effect. If you are looking for a normal gulp ratio, wider mouth is not necessary. If you prefer to guzzle water after a hard workout, than a wider cap is probably best. Some bottles have straws and it boils down to if you mind tilting the bottle up vs keeping it stationary while you sip. Preference here is everything. You can of course add straws on later as accessories if needed.

Size:

• Size may matter to you. If you are able to refill often and don’t want to carry a huge big gulp size bottle to your kids baseball game, than a larger size is not needed. Nobody wants to see you heading to the marketing meeting and you drop a 45lb bottle of water on the table. If you are heading to the gym and plan an intense workout, a bigger bottle may be best. 

Shape:

• The shape of the bottle may not sound very important but it can be a factor. Do you want to fit the bottle in a cup holder, on a bike, in a backpack, or will it be wider and not fit in the various places you would often use the bottle. Most bottles have similar tall and slimmer shape structures, however the variance can be in bottle width. Typically considering the amount of water you want to fill, determines the shape and width of the bottle you may want to grab. Shape also impacts being able to grab the bottle with one hand vs needed 2 hands to hold up for quenching your thirst.

Choosing the next water bottle for your drink game needs can be fun if you know what you want and what you need it for. If money is not a factor, grab a few different styles and brand offerings to mix it up!

You can also take a look at our staff picks for the top 5 water bottles we found worth the money.