Reusable water bottles not fitting your needs? It may be time to switch to a stainless steel bottle. However, choosing the right bottle can be overwhelming. You have to choose between a range of sizes, materials, lid types, and several other factors.
While you want your reusable water bottle to do one thing only, i.e., hold water, there are other factors that you may want to consider. Your perfect water bottle could be dependent on your lifestyle.
Before you buy a water bottle, you’ll want to consider factors like size, material, insulation, design, and other features.
We’ve created this blog to help you find the best stainless steel water bottle for your needs.
Things to Consider While Buying a Water Bottle
There are a lot of things you need to consider before buying a water bottle. Here are the things you should consider before investing in a water bottle.
- Compare materials
Water bottles come in all types of materials, so how would you know which ones are the best for you? Let’s compare:
- Stainless steel - Out of all the options available, stainless steel is the best material. It’s highly durable, easy to carry, easy to clean, and free of toxins. It’s made up of iron and chromium and covered with an inert surface. Stainless stain is rust-proof, and it doesn’t cling to the flavors of drinks. It is also 100% recyclable, so it's environmentally friendly.
- Glass - The use of glass bottles to drink water dates back to the 15th century B.C. Unfortunately, glass can break pretty easily and doesn’t keep your drinks cold/warm. If you’re looking for bottles for your home, look for recycled glass water bottles.
- Plastic - Plastic bottles are the cheapest option out of all. As it's made with fossil fuels, plastic isn’t sustainable for the environment. Moreover, plastic bottles can break and leak pretty easily. Plastic also releases harmful toxins into the water.
- Silicone - These bottles are flexible, lightweight, and easy to clean. But it's not as sustainable as stainless steel bottles. Silicone isn’t biodegradable, but it is recyclable.
- Choose the ideal size
One of the biggest challenges is choosing a stainless steel bottle. Your daily water consumption should determine the bottle size. If you purchase a larger bottle and set a goal of finishing it throughout the day, it could improve your daily hydration habits.
Also, consider your daily routine. If you’re out of your home all day long, then you’d want to choose a larger capacity bottle. On the other hand, if you’re mostly at home and you’re out and about for small intervals, a small bottle will be fine.
- Explore insulation types
If you want your drinks to stay icy cold, then you need to get an insulated bottle. But there are a number of insulation types that you’d want to consider:
- Vaccum insulation - This is the most common type of insulation. Vacuum insulation is when two separate flasks are joined together with air sealed out between them. This prevents the liquid inside the bottle from being affected by outside temperature. Vaccum-insulated bottles are mostly made up of stainless steel bottles.
- Double-walled construction - These bottles feature two layers of insulation, which may or may not be vacuum-sealed. When you have an extra layer of metal between your drink and the outside temperature, your drinks maintain their temperature.
- Copper-lined bottles - These bottles provide insulation for your water and other beverages by conducting and radiating temperature back to the drink inside the bottle.
- Explore Lid Types and Features
Never thought you’d be comparing lid types before buying a bottle, did you? The right lid makes a lot of difference. Here are all the common lid types available -
- Screw-top lids - Screw-on caps are the most common ones available in the market. They stay firmly in place and make sure there’s no leakage. They can be a hassle to open each time.
- Flip lids - Flip lids open up with the press of a button. Sometimes, these bottles have a straw built inside. They are helpful for easy drinking.
- Straw lids - Some lids come equipped with retractable straws, while some lids keep straws in place permanently. Straws make it easy to drink from bottles, but they can be tough to clean. A water bottle that has a straw coming out of the top isn’t highly portable.
- Sports caps - These lids feature pop-able nozzles on the bottle. They are easy to grab and drink from. The straw is often on top of a screw-on lid, making the bottle easy to drink out of.
- Consider cleaning and maintenance efforts
If you use your water bottle for other drinks as well, then you need to consider how easy/hard it will be to clean the bottle. Regardless of the type of drink stored, all bottles need to be cleaned to prevent the growth of bacteria.
If you don’t want to wash the bottle by hand, you’d want to choose a water bottle that is dishwasher safe. Most stainless steel bottles are dishwasher-friendly.
Some bottles have designs that make them easier to clean. Bottles with fixed straws and lids with multiple parts can be tough to clean properly.
- Measure the portability of the bottle
If you want a bottle that you’d be carrying around all day, then consider the portability of the bottle.
You wouldn’t want a bottle that spills or leaks.
Consider how often your bottle will be with you and on the move. Will you be carrying the bottle by hand? Will you attach it somewhere, or will you carry it in your bag?
Considering all these options can make it easy for you to choose the ideal bottle.
- Budget-friendly
You wouldn’t want to spend hundreds on a reusable bottle that won’t last long or a bottle that has a bad customer review.
Make sure to make a list of bottles you like based on all the factors discussed above. Go through the customer reviews of each bottle to determine which bottle offers the best value for money.
Summing Up
Water bottles are not just a random product. A lot of consideration has to go into choosing the right water bottle. Choosing between the right functionality, cleanability, and size has to be on top of your list. When you invest in a stainless steel bottle, you expect it to pay you back for a long time.
Plus, as an added bonus, you’ll be keeping landfills free of plastic bottles.