Best lightweight, reusable water bottle
August 11, 2024 5:09 PM Subscribe
Looking for the best *lightweight* reusable water bottle for daily portable use.
Hi! I live in a city where walking/public transit is how I get around. I carry a tote bag. I need a good reusable bottle that won't weigh me down. In order of priority, I want:
Lightweight. I don't care what material so long as it's SUPER light and compact. I don't want a giant Nalgene bottle to carry around with me everywhere, or heavy Yeti or any of that.
Closes very tightly and securely. See again: carrying around in tote bag with other precious items such as books and phones and a occasionally laptop, that I can't risk getting wet.
Has a mouth wide enough to sick a bottle cleaner into, I have one that looks like this that I'll need to use to clean. I do not have a dishwasher, so easy hand-cleaning is important.
Not as much of a priority as above, but I'd love a sport squirting mechanism or straw option if possible for when I'm in the car so I don't have to use two hands to unscrew, but I have other bottles in my possession I can use for this, so that's more of a unicorn ask.
Please share your recommendations! Thanks!
Hi! I live in a city where walking/public transit is how I get around. I carry a tote bag. I need a good reusable bottle that won't weigh me down. In order of priority, I want:
Lightweight. I don't care what material so long as it's SUPER light and compact. I don't want a giant Nalgene bottle to carry around with me everywhere, or heavy Yeti or any of that.
Closes very tightly and securely. See again: carrying around in tote bag with other precious items such as books and phones and a occasionally laptop, that I can't risk getting wet.
Has a mouth wide enough to sick a bottle cleaner into, I have one that looks like this that I'll need to use to clean. I do not have a dishwasher, so easy hand-cleaning is important.
Not as much of a priority as above, but I'd love a sport squirting mechanism or straw option if possible for when I'm in the car so I don't have to use two hands to unscrew, but I have other bottles in my possession I can use for this, so that's more of a unicorn ask.
Please share your recommendations! Thanks!
My best water bottle is a $8 one I picked up at a supermarket - plastic with a screw top lid. Once the lid is a different design eg straw it becomes leakable. The simpler the design the lighter and better the bottle. If you must have features, anything by zujiroshi the Japanese brand is impeccable. I have their lightest weight thermos and it’s perfect.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:21 PM on August 11
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:21 PM on August 11
Response by poster: I should probably have specified that I'm looking for a firm, not collapsible, bottle. I'll keep that roll-up one in mind to add to my hikes though!
posted by greta simone at 5:26 PM on August 11
posted by greta simone at 5:26 PM on August 11
how much water do you need? For me a smaller bottle that I refill more regularly gets the job done quite well for most city travel, as I'm never too far away from a refill. I started using an original 16oz Nalgene lately, and love how compact it is compared to the larger vacuum insulated steel bottles I had been using for the past several years. I forgot how solid the wide-mouth Nalgene design really is. It's never going to leak, its easy to fill and clean even without a bottle brush, and it weighs maybe 50g empty. They come in all kinds of colors, and you can use a neoprene sleeve designed for 16oz beer/soda cans to keep it insulated if you really need that as a feature.
posted by cubby at 5:27 PM on August 11 [4 favorites]
posted by cubby at 5:27 PM on August 11 [4 favorites]
I love the basic 20 oz wide mouth Hydroflask with the screw lid. It's lightweight, and the lid screws on tight. The double walled insulation and the handle are nice, too. I have never used the squirting or straw top that's available for Hydroflask because I'm concerned that they are not as leakproof as the basic screw top.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:27 PM on August 11
posted by hydropsyche at 5:27 PM on August 11
I love and use Hydroflasks, but I wouldn't especially recommend them on weight grounds: they're not super light, that 20oz one is just over 3/4lb. Your average Nalgene is going to weigh maybe half as much, but of course you give up the vacuum insulation.
Hydroflask also sell a more-expensive vacuum bottle range that is a bit lighter, but I haven't owned one of those so I can't vouch for them. Their flippy straw caps are very reliable and haven't leaked on me.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:43 PM on August 11
Hydroflask also sell a more-expensive vacuum bottle range that is a bit lighter, but I haven't owned one of those so I can't vouch for them. Their flippy straw caps are very reliable and haven't leaked on me.
posted by BungaDunga at 5:43 PM on August 11
Seconding the 16-oz Nalgene: inexpensive, never had it leak on me, dirt-simple design, bulletproof, and dishwasher-safe (or you can easily fit a bottle brush in).
posted by spamloaf at 5:44 PM on August 11 [2 favorites]
posted by spamloaf at 5:44 PM on August 11 [2 favorites]
I have a Mira 17 oz bottle that I don't even notice in my bag. I think that's basically what you are looking for.
posted by General Malaise at 6:04 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]
posted by General Malaise at 6:04 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]
Prioritizing low weight you're definitely going to want a smaller size bottle. Most of the weight in any water bottle is the water itself. The difference between a 16 oz nalgene and a huge 48 ozer is only around 4 oz, but the additional 32 oz of water adds 2 pounds to the total weight.
Nalgene is a well known and trusted brand, very durable and easy to clean, but not insulated obviously. For lightweight insulated stainless, I highly recommend the Zojirushi flip lid mugs. They're much lighter than other insulated bottles, heat retention is superb, and the lid disassembles for cleaning. (They can't go in a dishwasher, but that's not a problem for you.)
The flip open lid is very easy to open one handed and does lock, but I wouldn't leave it loose in a tote bag anyway, not because I don't trust the lock necessarily, but because filled with water it's going to be a pound or more of metal just jumbling around in there. Whichever bottle you get, maybe consider also getting a bag with a water bottle pocket just to be on the safe side.
posted by radiogreentea at 6:13 PM on August 11
Nalgene is a well known and trusted brand, very durable and easy to clean, but not insulated obviously. For lightweight insulated stainless, I highly recommend the Zojirushi flip lid mugs. They're much lighter than other insulated bottles, heat retention is superb, and the lid disassembles for cleaning. (They can't go in a dishwasher, but that's not a problem for you.)
The flip open lid is very easy to open one handed and does lock, but I wouldn't leave it loose in a tote bag anyway, not because I don't trust the lock necessarily, but because filled with water it's going to be a pound or more of metal just jumbling around in there. Whichever bottle you get, maybe consider also getting a bag with a water bottle pocket just to be on the safe side.
posted by radiogreentea at 6:13 PM on August 11
I have a non insulated kleen kanteen. I've been using it for literally 10 years as my "full after security" bottle when traveling. It weighs almost nothing and seals perfectly. It's never leaked a drop even with airplane pressures etc. I have the one with like a loop for your finger as a lid.
posted by chasles at 6:24 PM on August 11 [4 favorites]
posted by chasles at 6:24 PM on August 11 [4 favorites]
I have been using the same 2-3 repurposed Gatorade bottles for this for five years or so. Not a single leak, which is more than I can say for bottles I spent real money on.
posted by metasarah at 6:52 PM on August 11 [7 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 6:52 PM on August 11 [7 favorites]
I’d definitely say the 16oz Nalgene is great for day to day around a city.
That being said, the lightest (say, touring a city and wanting to throw something in my purse) is definitely just a “nicer” water bottle like a smart water, or Fiji and reusing that until I feel like it would be time to wash it
posted by raccoon409 at 7:22 PM on August 11
That being said, the lightest (say, touring a city and wanting to throw something in my purse) is definitely just a “nicer” water bottle like a smart water, or Fiji and reusing that until I feel like it would be time to wash it
posted by raccoon409 at 7:22 PM on August 11
I have a kinto water bottle that is wonderfully light and has been surprisingly durable. The pieces come apart well for cleaning. It never leaks. And it’s pretty too! I recommend it.
posted by marlys at 7:38 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]
posted by marlys at 7:38 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]
Oh and re: that lightness, weight-wise the kinto bottle is almost like carrying a water bottle from the store. (Quality-wise though it is far better.)
posted by marlys at 7:48 PM on August 11
posted by marlys at 7:48 PM on August 11
I also have a Kinto bottle (I use the 300ml version which fits well in my bag) and it's super light, compact, easy to clean and never leaks. The lid is really convenient and comfortable but does need two hands to unscrew.
posted by tavegyl at 8:19 PM on August 11
posted by tavegyl at 8:19 PM on August 11
The IKEA 365+ bottle meets all requirements.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:34 PM on August 11 [3 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:34 PM on August 11 [3 favorites]
Similar to the Gatorade bottle suggestion above, I pretty much gave up on travel bottles because I would inevitably lose the.. I pick up a 1L bottle when I need one. Use it until it I lose it or it's just been a couple of weeks. Move on to the next one.
posted by jander03 at 9:06 PM on August 11
posted by jander03 at 9:06 PM on August 11
i bought this camelback based on the wirecutter recommendation and i'm very happy with it
posted by onya at 5:17 AM on August 12
posted by onya at 5:17 AM on August 12
I reuse those aluminum bottled-water bottles from the convenience store - they are incredibly lightweight and quite rigid. I keep the bottles around specifically for hiking because they are 1) very light, and 2) not plastic. I used to reuse those "smartwater" plastic bottles because they are slim (fit in backpack pockets) and strong, but switched to repurposing aluminum ones because they are extremely light. Leaking has not been an issue - I carry one to and from work in a totebag fwiw.
posted by niicholas at 10:06 AM on August 12
posted by niicholas at 10:06 AM on August 12
I concur that bike water bottles (like the Camelback mentioned above) will meet your criteria… provided that you actually shut the cap. Also keep in mind that condensation may impact a non or less insulated bottle.
posted by oceano at 12:02 AM on August 13
posted by oceano at 12:02 AM on August 13
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by mdonley at 5:16 PM on August 11