Please help me find the perfect water bottle.
April 21, 2022 7:54 AM Subscribe
You helped me find the perfect shaker bottle: now can you help me find the perfect water bottle? I am picky about the lid.
Necessary:
- metal or glass interior
- at least somewhat insulated, to keep cool drinks cool on a hot day
- available in the US
- a straw that can be accessed with one hand
- the straw must somehow not be exposed when closed. This is the tricky part, and essential. Imagine you put the water bottle down on a day when pollen was blowing around in drifts, and then when you went to go drink from the straw you realized half of it had pollen all over it. That is what I want to avoid.
Nice:
- made under at least not-too-awful working conditions
- spill resistant
- lid and straw are dishwasher-safe
Meh:
- lightweight
- spill proof
Necessary:
- metal or glass interior
- at least somewhat insulated, to keep cool drinks cool on a hot day
- available in the US
- a straw that can be accessed with one hand
- the straw must somehow not be exposed when closed. This is the tricky part, and essential. Imagine you put the water bottle down on a day when pollen was blowing around in drifts, and then when you went to go drink from the straw you realized half of it had pollen all over it. That is what I want to avoid.
Nice:
- made under at least not-too-awful working conditions
- spill resistant
- lid and straw are dishwasher-safe
Meh:
- lightweight
- spill proof
These are the features of my favorite water bottle, the Klean Kanteen Insulated TKWide with Twist Cap. They come in several colors and sizes.
posted by All Might Be Well at 8:08 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by All Might Be Well at 8:08 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I love the Takeya insulated water bottles and have a bunch of colors/sizes, which you can find on Amazon or at Target. They seem to meet all of your criteria.
posted by anotheraccount at 8:13 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by anotheraccount at 8:13 AM on April 21, 2022
I second the recc for any of the Klean Kanteen bottles.
posted by Faintdreams at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2022
posted by Faintdreams at 8:20 AM on April 21, 2022
Response by poster: It looks like the Takeya bottles have the straws that fold down, so half of the sipping part is still out in the open. Am I missing a style that doesn't do that?
Context for why I'm being particular about how the straw tucks away: I work at a COVID testing site and people cough and sneeze all day, every day, all over the place, and I don't want to imagine their cooties on my straw when I take a sip of water. (This is entirely about my happiness, and absolutely not about how disease is spread.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:21 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Context for why I'm being particular about how the straw tucks away: I work at a COVID testing site and people cough and sneeze all day, every day, all over the place, and I don't want to imagine their cooties on my straw when I take a sip of water. (This is entirely about my happiness, and absolutely not about how disease is spread.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:21 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Contigo is my favorite brand and I believe that their stainless steel autospout bottle meets your criteria.
posted by mezzanayne at 8:22 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mezzanayne at 8:22 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
So this is an unconventional idea, but a lot of toddler cups completely hide the straw (because well... toddlers are just as likely to drop their cup in a puddle or have it packed in a diaper bag). The downside it the cups are smaller, but perhaps you could pair one of the lids with another type of cup.
This stainless cup with lid is basically what you're looking for but only comes in 8 ounce.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:31 AM on April 21, 2022
This stainless cup with lid is basically what you're looking for but only comes in 8 ounce.
posted by DoubleLune at 8:31 AM on April 21, 2022
My kid has a Contigo autospout; the straw folds down and is covered. It all flips up with a button.
We have a Zulu brand bottle that is also covered when closed, with a single-button open, but it’s not as good.
posted by vunder at 8:35 AM on April 21, 2022
We have a Zulu brand bottle that is also covered when closed, with a single-button open, but it’s not as good.
posted by vunder at 8:35 AM on April 21, 2022
Thermos Funtainers are fantastic - designed for toddlers so they're super durable and easy to use.
Easy to open the lid one handed, so the straw stays clean. AND there's no need to touch the straw or anything even NEAR the straw when you want to drink. The lid opens with a button press, then the straw is flexible so it pops up into place automatically and then squooshes down automatically when you close the lid.
Dishwasher safe, very durable. The little silicone straw mouthpieces are slightly fiddly to wash so I bought 6 of them and just rotate out a new one each day and wash them all at once with a skinny brush meant for washing reuseable straws.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:45 PM on April 21, 2022
Easy to open the lid one handed, so the straw stays clean. AND there's no need to touch the straw or anything even NEAR the straw when you want to drink. The lid opens with a button press, then the straw is flexible so it pops up into place automatically and then squooshes down automatically when you close the lid.
Dishwasher safe, very durable. The little silicone straw mouthpieces are slightly fiddly to wash so I bought 6 of them and just rotate out a new one each day and wash them all at once with a skinny brush meant for washing reuseable straws.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:45 PM on April 21, 2022
Response by poster: Update, because I know you're curious! I went to REI and poked at various bottles. The Kleen Kanteen ones seem great, but my eye was caught by the Owala Free Sip and that's what I ended up with.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:38 PM on April 27, 2022
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:38 PM on April 27, 2022
Response by poster: Update update: I still like the Owala, but the straw cracked into pieces after a few months of use.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:58 PM on September 25, 2022
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:58 PM on September 25, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:59 AM on April 21, 2022