I was pretty grossed out to learn that only about 12% of plastic water bottles are recycled. This is particularly awful when it’s so easy and inexpensive to get good-quality reusable water bottles that will last for years or even DECADES before they join their non-recycled disposable brethren in the ground—or even join the 12% of the disposable ones that get recycled. Well, or some would have to be in a different kind of recycling bin because they are metal instead of plastic BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
My son is supposed to have two water bottles for school: one for his desk, and one with his lunch. He is also going to need two to take along on a camping trip in a few months. And I’d like to have two for myself, one for the diaper bag and one for the car. But my experience with water bottles so far has been PITIFUL, mostly because they LEAK. We’ve drenched lunches, backpacks, clothes. I asked my Twitter peeps if they had a water bottle they were happy with.
Devivo, VelocibadgerGRL, Unepetite, and AnnabelleSpeaks recommended Nalgene (photos from Amazon.com). There are lots of sizes, wide-mouth and narrow-mouth and sippie-flip and one-handed flip-top and stainless steel versions, and they come in tons of colors which is handy for family color-coding.
Indigogirls and Meanliving recommended CamelBak (photos from Amazon.com). It has kid bite-valve, bite-valve, classic cap, and stainless steel versions. You can buy replacement caps and replacement bite valves and straws, which pleases me because one of the water bottles I had awhile back got some serious ick going in the straw. And again, lots of sizes, and lots of colors for easy color-coding.
DocMaureen recommends Kleen Kanteen (photos from Amazon.com), and those do sound super-great: totally recyclable, dishwasher-safe, nice wide opening for ice cubes, with replaceable caps and sippees.
Agirlnamedmel and Originalstatia recommended the Intak (photos from Amazon.com). Some of these are on a “four for the price of three” deal.
Indigogirls and SassyBuster recommended Sigg (photos from Amazon.com). I like the protective dome that covers the mouthpiece on the kid versions.
Well! So what have we learned from this research? I have learned that there are VERY MANY OPTIONS. And that I am primarily motivated by cuteness/prettiness. Also: that it’s tiring to do a post with so many links and photos.
What’s your favorite reusable water bottle? Do you prefer plastic or metal?
We use the Contigo BPA Free Auto-Seal water bottles that came in a three pack (there are three of us in my family)
http://www.amazon.com/Contigo-Hydration-AutoSeal-Technology-Charcoal/dp/B00326KNII/ref=pd_sim_k_12
We got ours at Costco for $18.99 I think. There are two other color sets at Costco so that would allow for ease of family color-coding. They don’t spill and have a built in carabiner so they can clip onto a back-pack or belt loop during walks or hiking. I use mine every day but the boys use theirs on the aforementioned hikes or camping trips.
Raven | March 24th, 2010 at 10:15 am
My kids have the little nalgene water bottles that look like sippy cups. They don’t spill, at all, EVER, which is why I love them. They are also dishwasher safe and the lid is just two easy to clean parts instead of a million.
I have the Camelbak one with the bite-valve. I used to use a Kleen Kanteen, but I found that when I was driving or doing something else that requires a lot of attention and at least one hand, it was too much work to unscrew the cap, tilt the bottle up without spilling it, and screw the cap back on. I know that makes me sound totally lazy, but it’s true. I just didn’t drink as much water because it was too hard. The camlelbak’s harder to wash because of the straw, but it doesn’t need to be washed as much because it’s mine and not the kids’. My two year olds have no problem using the bite valve on the camelbak, so I could get them the same kind, but again, I’m lazy and I don’t want to deal with the straws.
I also used to have the traditional wide-mouth nalgene and a narrow-mouth nalgene, and they both leak if you don’t screw the lid on really tight. Also, the wide-mouth is near impossible to drink out of without spilling everywhere.
Sally | March 24th, 2010 at 10:48 am
FYI, you are not supposed to put SIGG bottles in the dishwasher. It’s kind of super annoying. Otherwise I like them.
Dr. Maureen | March 24th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I too have used the metal and the plastic kind and I heartily recommend the plastic. To me, the metal is just kinda icky to drink out of. I know probably 90% of it is in my head but I just can’t help but think I can TASTE the metal in my water. Plus, as the other! Sally said, you do need two hands to screw on the lid. Maybe mine just isn’t broken in well but it makes a really obnoxious noise when I screw and unscrew the lid too.
I’ve got a cheap-o from W*lmart (just looked and I can’t find a brand) with a straw that I like to use in my office b/c it is double walled so it doesn’t have condensation that leaks on my shirt and desk.
CamelBaks are my favorite, though. In an effort to encourage more water drinking by my kids, I got them each a really cute one in their stocking (my son’s has dinosaur skeletons and my daughter’s is pink camo). They have 500mL, 750mL and Liter sizes so you can usualy find one to fit your need. The kids really like them and I do too. *Word of caution - do NOT put anything carbonated in them or they will spew like Mt. Vesuvius!
Sally (another! one) | March 24th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Guess I should have specified that my CamelBak comments are in regard to the bite-valve type. Ooops!
Sally (another! one) | March 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am
The kids have Safe Sippys, which are metal, and I like them a lot. They would leak though, in a back pack or lunch box (Plus, sippy = little kid. obv)
I have a metal Sigg that I like very much. It doesn’t leak and it’s quite large and holds a lot of water. And even if you leave the water in there awhile, say while the bottle gets lost in your car for a week or two, it still tastes OK and not like plastic.
Devan | March 24th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
HATE the Camelback bottles for carrying in lunchboxes, purses, etc. I can’t believe how much they leak and I can’t figure out why. Have both the bite top (which is the worst offender) and the screw on one. I have no idea why the screw on one would leak, but it does sometimes.
I have an aluminum bottle (can’t remember brand) that doesn’t leak but boy does it sweat. I usually wrap it in a cloth napkin before I put it in my purse.
Corey | March 24th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I love our Klean Kanteen bottles! Using the standard loop cap is kind of a pain, so I bought a few of the optional sport tops to use instead. The toddler uses them with the sippy adapter, and when she’s a little older, I can get a couple more sport tops and she’ll still be able to use the same bottles.
Klean Kanteen recently came out with an insulated version of their wide mouth bottle that I’m coveting.
Brenna | March 24th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I’m a big Nalgene fan. I don’t like metal bottles because they sweat, the screw-on lids are a little difficult to manage, and many brands are not recommended for the dishwasher. I love that the Nalgenes have a multitude of sizes and top options, and I’ve NEVER had one leak (we have about 7 of them in our house).
We also have two Camelbaks - not the bottles, but the actual backpacks - and I don’t like the bite valves. They wear out pretty quickly if they’re used every day, and then they start to leak. I’m guessing that the valves on the bottles are the same.
Jen_Ann_W | March 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I just bought the Thermos Funtainers for my girls. They look exactly like the Intak one above with the flowering tree except their’s have kids “trademarked” designs on them. We haven’t used them yet, so I can’t say whether we like them yet or not. I like the push button cap with the straw design. But my reason for purchasing these particular ones was because they claim to keep drinks cold for like 12 hours. My girls need water bottles for summer camp and they don’t have enough refrigeration for all of the water bottles, so they just sit in their cubbies. The fake “siggs” I bought last year at Old Navy did not keep their drinks cold long enough at all. And were too cold to hold when first filled and sweated like crazy. Hopefully these pass the test. They definitely pass the cuteness test!
Tracy H | March 24th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
See, I’m the opposite of a previous commenter: water from plastic bottles tastes all plastic-y, while water from stainless steel tastes like…er…water.
We have six of these: http://www.amazon.com/Foogo-Thermos-Leak-Proof-Straw-Bottle/dp/B000O3I2CQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1269456514&sr=8-1 We have one at daycare for each kid, one in the car for each kid (we got sick of the screaming fits when they were sharing one), and each kid has one in their room in case they’re thirsty at night.
No leaks, no fuss, yummy tasting water, insulated so water stays cold (up to 12 hours in the car in the sun) — it’s all good! Daycare washes them in the dishwasher every day. The only drawback is that they come only in 2 colours (pink, blue) but you could easily solve that with Mabel’s Labels or other similar product. I highly recommend them.
We also have one of the other style that Thermos makes, the Funtainer. It leaks. The Foogo is the better choice, even though it doesn’t come in fun pictures/colours.
Carmen | March 24th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I used to be a total Nalgene girl - the cost and colors were among my favorite things about them. However - and this was a big thing for me - when I filled them with fresh water in the morning, it would taste funny by the afternoon.
I got my Sigg (I actually have the copper-y one on the bottom right) a few months ago and though it was a bit more than I paid for Nalgenes, it’s held up perfectly, not leaked, and not changed the taste of my water even a little, even after a few days. Mine hasn’t sweat, either. I really love it. Note that I tried two or three off-brand (from Target or wherever) aluminum bottles before I got the Sigg, and all of them made the water taste funny. Someone above made the point that they aren’t dishwasher-safe, but the sticker on the bottom of my bottle says it is safe to put in the dishwasher. I haven’t tried it yet, myself - so far I’ve just washed it quickly with soap and water.
amanda | March 26th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I love my Klean Kanteen! I have a 12 oz one and that’s the perfect size for me. I don’t think I could go back to using plastic water bottles now. I dunno, I sort of feel like all those companies that make plastic products keep saying things like okay NOW our plastic is safe, no wait NOW it’s totally safe, no wait….
Superjules | March 30th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Besides being ridiculously expensive, the Sigg bottles my kids have are nice, and easy to clean, but the domes broke off immediately.
I got a five dollar screw top bottle from Old Navy, and it is beautiful and I love it, and it doesn’t leak.
Lindsay | May 3rd, 2010 at 6:51 pm