The Great Water Bottle Hunt

 

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Lately I have been feeling extremely dissatisfied by the water bottle options available in stores and online. There are so many brands ~ Yeti, Zulu, Simple Modern, Hydro Flask, Ninja, ThermoFlask, Starbucks and on and on. There are so many lid styles ~ flip, twist, slide button and more. Handle or no handle. So many different colors, designs and sizes. It's enough to make your head spin, am I right?

One would think, with all the various options out there, that it would be fairly easy to pick a cup and love it. That's what I thought too but over the years I've become dissatisfied to the point where I am left wondering what to do. I am tired of spending money on disappointing reusable cups. Cups where the ice doesn't last as long as I want or need it to. Cups where parts get moldy no matter how often I wash and sanitize. Cups that don't last as long as I think they will or I can't find replacement parts so it feels like money wasted. I'm so over it!

Here's what I'd love to see in a reusable water bottle:

- Slim design to put in a car cupholder easily or the side pocket of a backpack

- no handle is my preference

- cute designs and colors

- having a straw is maybe not a deal-breaker but I'd prefer no straw

- a quick flip lid for easy open access, especially when I don't have 2 hands free

- keeps ice cold for a long time. I love super cold water

- easy to take apart and clean thoroughly

- a cover that locks to protect the area where my mouth will be drinking

- absolutely must be leakproof. 

- a mouthpiece that lets smaller bits of ice through so I can crunch them

Here's what I've tried over the years and my thoughts about them.

Starbucks cups. So far I have only tried this style ~

While they are fine for around the house I suppose, they are not great for traveling with. A roadtrip, may be alright because likely there will be a cupholder that will keep the cup upright. I'd add a cover to the straw so no creepy crawlies get inside. They also do not keep ice cold for long at all. I am looking for a design that can be tipped over and not spill.

While Starbucks cups can be so darn cute, they just don't function for me as I need them to. I was almost sold on getting that one with the yellow lid and think I could probably make it work with using just 1 hand to open it, then I talked myself out of it. The other deal breaker for that cup was that it says on it it keeps ice cold for up to 9 hours. Say what? I need my ice to stick around longer than that!

I wanted to love these water bottles, specifically the one on the right, which is the style I own and have used for a long time. They have a quick flip lid that locks and are fairly slim (I'm talking about the light blue one). I have used my Zulu for a couple of years and recently saw it has developed some mold spots inside and outside the silicone mouthpiece that I have been unable to remove. I checked the Zulu website and all over the internet and there are no replacement options for that removeable mouthpiece available. Am I blind? Why would this not be a thing? In my search, I saw someone else had had the same mold issue and Zulu told them to reach out for a new one. I used the email address to do the same thing and was told,

My thoughts are that since they are aware the silicone mouthpiece can get moldy, why the heck do they not offer easy replacement mouthpieces on their website? Or Amazon? I spent around $15 for this water bottle and I don't expect it to last forever but I do expect that easy to replace parts for it should not be hard to come by.  Even just being able to buy a new lid on the website should be an option.

Their part about washing and thoroughly drying the bottle after each use...um..I use this water bottle all day. Every single day. There is simply not a time I store it away. I will have to try the ice and salt tip although I'm not sure it would reach the silicone mouth spout unless I left the bottle upside down for awhile to let it soak.

So, needless to say this will be the last Zulu water bottle of this style that I try. Which is super sad because it worked perfectly for me until I saw the mold and then I was like, peace out. I will hunt for something else. 

One thing to note, the pink Zulu water bottle to the left of the light blue one could be a winner although it's not as slim as I need it to be. The mouth piece is just hard plastic and not silicone. I'd be willing to test this out and see how it holds up at a future time. It is still appalling to me how this Zulu brand does not offer simple replacement pieces on their website or anywhere else online so that is a huge drawback and fail on their part because when I invest in a water bottle, even if its less than $20, I want it to last me for a good long time. That being said, I do see that they offer a few replacement lids on their website. However, all I need is the mouth piece which easily pops out of my lid. By the time I add shipping for the new lid, I'm at a total of $11.98. I may as well just buy a new water bottle at that point for a few dollars more and that defeats the purpose here for me.

 

This TAL Rowan water bottle was intriguing. The top unscrews some to let the water be released through the straw. But it was a no go for me buying this one because 2 hands are needed to open it and I need something fast. A button that pops the lid open with just using 1 hand and then I can drink my water. So while it was a clever design, I opted not to get this.

This beautiful teal colored Cirkul water bottle caught my eye. I liked the push button for the cap to fly back instantly. I can't remember if there was a lock on it or not. I just was unsure if I could use it for water or if I would be forced to put a flavor inside. I prefer not to have flavors I guess. Just plain straight ice cold water is my jam.

Here are some of the spout options I despise because they just seem cumbersome to me and not easy to clean. I'm not interested, no matter how cute the print on the water bottle is. 

A quick pop up cap is my go-to.

This bottle seen at Albertsons was perfect except for the glass. I can see the glass part just not lasting me long as I'd likely find some way to shatter it and make a mess.

The print on this Ello was very cutesy and had the flip lid that I prefer. However, the mouth on it is a no go. I have 2 other water bottles with this style of mouth and when you pinch the ends to form a circle, you can really see down inside, if its clean or not. 1 of mine got gunky on the inside and even with my slim brush to clean it, I could never completely get the gunk out and have stopped using that water bottle. Plus, this mouth does not provide a way to crunch my ice through it. 

 

This Ninja Thirsti bottle caught my eye because I've not seen Ninja come out with a water bottle before but the opening at the top was an instant turn off. I needed 2 hands to hold the bottle and unscrew the lid. I'm out.

I did recently purchase an Owala water bottle but have not used it yet and I am pretty sure I am going to end up returning it. While I love the fun color combos and they have been such a popular water bottle recently, the thought of trying to keep it clean has me not feeling like a fan once I saw the inside setup. Am I stressing and thinking too much about this?

You can see that the mouth spigots in the colors of Owala's I found look a little tricky to clean. You would need the slim bristle brush for sure but since that brush didn't work well for me on my other water bottle, I don't have a lot of faith in it. At least with the lighter color Owala, you can see down inside the drinking area but with the darker color lid, it's not as easy to see. 

Do I really want to be shining my flashlight down inside there every couple of weeks or every month to make sure its gunk/mold free? Are the ways I am washing it enough to deter grime? And how is grime coming if the only thing I ever drink through the spout is water?

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I am feeling at my wits end and like I wish I could design the perfect water bottle to suit my needs.
Are you feeling that way too? Leave me a comment and vent about it, I'd love to hear.
Have you found the perfect water bottle for you? Leave a comment and share, I'd be interested to know what you are using.

And is the fact that these reusable water bottles can be tricky to clean in all the areas to keep mold away, something that bothers you too?