Help me stay hydrated!

July 23, 2024 10:33 AM

I have a silly question as well: where do you find good water bottles, and (separately) for cheap water bottles? My collection of cheapies is running low, and now the one nice water bottle has gone astray.

I no longer go to the places that sold cheap bottles to kayakers who were destined to lose them, and the one nice bottle was a freebie.

Preferred criteria for both:
- Few small parts (I cannot be trusted with straws)
- Watertight (this has not historically been a strict requirement, but it would be real nice)
- Fits in a car cup holder?

Fundraiser options that are not actually cheap but deliver cheap bottles are fine too!

posted by mersen to Shopping (17 answers total)

Walmart is where I get mine. They have these for $1 that are also extremely good for dry goods storage (they are hard plastic, not squeezy), plus an array of chug- and sip-top cheap bottles, and the Ozark Trail and Tal brand stainless steel are as good as the fancy brands.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:44 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

Nice: Camelbak Mag Chute insulated my beloved

Cheap: reused Smartwater bottles are the thru-hiker’s friend. But also the Camelbak mag chute if you get the non-insulated version.
posted by supercres at 10:46 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

for nice: whatever Contigo that Costco is carrying at the moment. I guess most people use 'em for hot drinks but mine keeps water cool, has relatively little plastic, takes a beating, and has never leaked. Fits nicely into a drink holder, bottle pocket on my backpack, etc.
posted by wintersweet at 10:49 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

My Goodwill has approximately 5 shelves of water bottles, all priced at $3.99 or less. Some are banged up, but many are in shockingly good condition.
posted by moosetracks at 10:52 AM on July 23 [10 favorites]

I love the IKEA plastic bottles
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:11 AM on July 23

I have had a Lifefactory glass bottle with silicon sleeve for almost 20 years. This year, I replaced the lid because it had finally started to leak. I like the 16 oz. size with the wide-mouth lid. No parts to lose, other than the lid, and it does fit in my car's cup holder. With the new lid, it is once again watertight. Highly recommend!
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:12 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

Cheap: reused Gatorade bottles. They come in a variety of sizes and are darn sturdy.
posted by metasarah at 11:44 AM on July 23 [2 favorites]

Nice bottles: I suspect that same as the European TK Maxx, your TJ Maxx may have a shelf of fancy water bottles at half price or less. This is how I discovered both Contigo and Ion8, my current favourites.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:59 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

I found these water pouches hanging in a random spot in my supermarket once. The nice thing about them for kayaking specifically is that they lay flat, and stay put under the bungees. If you’re really feeling like they might get loose, they have a clip that you can clip into a bungee. One on the deck, one behind the seat.
posted by jimfl at 12:15 PM on July 23

Cheap: go to the grocery store, buy a bottle of water, drink it, don't throw it away. Ta dah! Water bottle!
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:34 PM on July 23 [2 favorites]

I buy really nice travel mugs and water bottles at thrift shops in more expensive towns. I buy them when I see them so that when I lose several, I have a few in reserve. They're also handy in winter as hot water bottles to keep my toes unfrozen.
posted by theora55 at 3:47 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]

Marshalls/TJ Maxx really do have a nice selection of random bottles and I've gotten a nice one or two from there that I'll keep forever.
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:51 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]

If you can find a store that sells fancy water, Voss and other brands have nice glass bottles with caps that lend themselves to reuse. They’re a little too expensive for water, but cheap for water bottles.
posted by chainringtattoo at 5:05 PM on July 23

Nice water bottle: I really love my contigo Jackson stainless steel water bottle. I in fact have several of them (so I can run them through dishwasher, have one as a water bottle and the other for my electrolyte drinks, etc).

They've held up well, no small parts, they keep water cool, I've found them to be very leak proof and I like that I can lock the lid so it doesn't open up. Lid is easy to open up one handed.
posted by litera scripta manet at 5:08 PM on July 23

I've gotten all my water bottles and travel cups at a thrift store.
posted by kathrynm at 7:33 AM on July 24 [2 favorites]

My rec for nicest bottle ever is the "Coldest Stainless" it keeps water so cold, it's unbreakable (I've dropped it innumerable times) it fits in a car cup holder, leakproof, and has a handle. I love it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FMU65WY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?pd_rd_i=B07GTV1CSX&pd_rd_w=EwyAv&content-id=amzn1.sym.386c274b-4bfe-4421-9052-a1a56db557ab&pf_rd_p=386c274b-4bfe-4421-9052-a1a56db557ab&pf_rd_r=0GZRPMQ6EQH3SX9VC7W7&pd_rd_wg=T0xft&pd_rd_r=561cbe98-1767-4bfd-9125-5425ed74735c&s=kitchen&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1
posted by mmf at 10:01 AM on July 25

Cheap: reused Gatorade bottles.

Oh damn yeah, this is definitely my go-to and it makes me a little sad that the 28oz bottles (my preferred size) don't fit in my car cupholders.

Propel bottles do fit, but the tops of the bottles crumple really easily.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:48 AM on July 25