The Best Water Bottle Brands for Every Type of Water Bottle

Water — the source of life — has been carried in portable vessels for years and years and years, going all the way back to goatskins and ceramic pots. But it wasn’t until hikers and outdoorsmen started to use Nalgene’s lightweight and durable scientific containers to carry consumables that water bottles caught on as an everyday and outdoor item.

The Rochester, New York-based company’s own scientists used its products for camping in the Adirondacks in the 1960s, and as the conservationist movement caught on in the 1970s, Nalgene started branding its products with the label Nalgene Outdoor — the modern-day water bottle had arrived. As the fight against single-use plastics continues, water bottles have expanded from the realm of camping and backpacking into everyday life.

No longer relegated to reusable plastic, water bottles now come in insulated, soft, aluminum and glass options. As the types of water bottles have proliferated, so too have the number of brands making high-quality, reliable drinkware for outdoor and everyday use.

What to Look For in a Water Bottle

Which bottle you’ll end up picking depends on a few key factors: capacity, shape and materials. (There are, of course, other factors like colors and accessories like different caps, but these are largely subjective and dependent on the individual.) Price is always a consideration, but because many bottles are made with similar materials, prices stay within a reasonable range.

Capacity

Most water bottles fall within a range of 16 to 64 ounces — anything smaller than 16 is probably intended for coffee, tea or other beverages that come in smaller amounts, while anything above 64 would typically be considered a growler. If you’re using a water bottle for anything outdoors and want decent hydration, 24–40 ounces is a safe bet.

Shape

Many water bottles, insulated or not, follow a distinct design language: cylindrical, with a screw-on lid. Some water bottles are either slim enough to fit into standard cup holders, or are designed to fit into a cup holder while retaining volume — like the Stanley Quencher. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the car, make sure you research whether a bottle will fit in the cup holder, or get used to it rolling around on the floor.

Materials

Many insulated water bottles are made with food grade, stainless steel and feature double (or sometimes triple) walled construction. Plastic water bottles are made with — you guessed it — plastic, which can be virgin, recycled, or a blend of the two. Reusable water bottles can also be made with aluminum, but this is less common that stainless steel.

Today, no everyday carry kit is complete without a reusable, durable, leak-proof water bottle. With so many brands to choose from, it’s important to figure out which type best suits your needs. Our guide to the best water bottles of 2023 provides everything you need to know before buying a water bottle, highlighting the best brands and models based on volume, insulation, durability, extra features and more.

Amazon

Best Overall Bottle

MiiR Insulated Narrow Mouth Bottle

• $35.00 at Amazon

• Materials: 18/8 Medical grade stainless steel; BPA free
• Capacity: 23 fluid ounces
• Weight: 0.77 pounds

Miir’s 23-ounce insulated bottle brings a design-forward approach to the simplest type of water bottle without using gimmicks or a fancy paint job. The bottle is made from 18/8 medical-grade stainless steel and doesn’t retain flavors; there’s no metal aftertaste either. The bottle’s cap is leak-proof and uses a unique handle design that makes it easy to grab and clip to bags, unlike those of many other small-mouth bottles. The less-bulky body size means it’ll fit in a cup holder too.

REI

Best Lid Design

Purist Mover Vacuum Bottle

• $46.00 at REI

• Materials: 18/8 stainless steel/surgical grade stainless steel
• Capacity: 18 fluid ounces
• Weight: 13.4 ounces

Purist’s stainless steel, vacuum-insulated water bottles make a case for taste. It lined the inside of each vessel with an imperceptible and unbreakable layer of glass that neutralizes the steely flavor you might experience drinking from other bottles. The company recently created the Scope lid, which swivels open to allow you to drink from any angle. The action is oh so smooth, making for a bottle design that’s satisfyingly sleek and somewhat futuristic.

Backcountry

Best Premium Water Bottle

Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Trail Series Bottle

• $50.00 at Backcountry

• Materials: Stainless steel 18/8
• Capacity: 32 ounces
• Weight: 11.8 ounces

Insulation makes drinking from a water bottle better — returning to a hot car to find cold water is all it takes to prove it. It comes at the expense of bottle size and weight, but in creating its newest line of water bottles, Hydro Flask figured out how to reduce the load by 25 percent. The result is a water bottle, available in 24- and 32-ounce sizes, that offers the best of both worlds. It’s the only water bottle we found that strikes such a balance, making it worth the higher price tag.

Stanley

Best Bottle For Road Trips

Stanley Quencher 40 Ounce

• $45.00 at stanley1913.com

• Materials: 90% recycled 18/8 stainless steel, BPA-free
• Capacity: 40 ounces
• Weight: 22.4 ounces

The Quencher has plenty of positive attributes, and a few drawbacks. It’s designed to fit 40 ounces of your favorite beverage, while still being able to fit in a standard cupholder. The handle is oversized and easy to grip, and the integrated straw makes it easy to stay hydrated throughout the day — it’s fun to drink out of. But with that extra volume and skinny base, comes some balance issues. The Quencher is top-heavy, and while that’s not an issue if it’s sitting snugly in your cupholder, it is out in the wild. This isn’t the bottle we’d bring out on hikes or backpacking trips; it’s too bulky. But for staying hydrated at camp or in the car, it really can’t be beat.

Amazon

Best Insulated Narrow Mouth Bottle

MIZU V8 Water Bottle

• $34.00 at Amazon

• Materials: Stainless steel
• Capacity: 26 ounces
• Weight: 15.3 ounces

Insulated water bottles are preferable for their ability to keep contents cold or hot, but adding double-walled technology can quickly make a bottle bulky, even at lower volumes. Mizu’s V8 gives the best of both worlds, with a 26-ounce capacity that betrays its size and insulating capabilities. The V8 also earns points for the availability of different lid styles, even though its standard gives the bottle a beautiful and clean aesthetic.

Snow Peak

Best Anodized Water Bottle

Snow Peak Titanium Aurora Bottle

• $150.00 at snowpeak.com

• Materials: 1mm titanium
• Capacity: 27 fluid ounces
• Weight: 5.2 ounces

Snow Peak is known for its functional and aesthetically pleasing products (and its price). While this water bottle may not be the cheapest on this list, it certainly is the most stylish and is durable and lightweight to boot. The Titanium Aruora Bottle comes in five eye-catching colorways, is made from 1mm thick titanium and weighs in at 5.2 ounces. It holds 27 ounces and is durable enough for everyday use.

Courtesy

Most Affordable Water Bottle

Nalgene 32oz Wide Mouth Sustain Water Bottle

• $16.00 at nalgene.com

• Materials: Blend of 50% recycled plastic, 50% virgin plastic
• Capacity: 32 ounces
• Weight: 6.25 ounces

Nalgene products were first developed for use in science labs, but the company may very well be responsible for bringing everyday water bottles into modern life and helping to reduce the use of throw-away plastics. Its water bottles have been widely used for years and remained popular even as insulated vessels carve out their space. The Tritan is Nalgene’s no-frills classic; it’s a hard-sided plastic bottle with a wide mouth, plastic screw-top lid and easily-legible measurements in milliliters and ounces.

Klean Kanteen

Best Non-Insulated Wide Mouth Bottle

Klean Kanteen Wide 40 oz

• $33.00 at kleankanteen.com

• Materials: 90% post-consumer recycled 18/8 stainless steel
• Capacity: 40 ounces
• Weight: 8.6 ounces

Klean Kanteen’s Wide Mouth Water Bottle is as fundamental as a non-plastic water bottle gets. Its body is made of stainless steel, which is flavor- and odor-resistant, easy to clean and BPA-free. Its lid is molded plastic, leak-proof, and nearly indestructible (meaning you can trust a carabiner won’t rip through it). The wide mouth can accommodate backcountry water filters too. Put a dent in it? Hammer it out and keep on drinking.

More volumes: 27 ounces ($18.22), 64 ounces ($29.30)

Yeti

Best Insulated Wide Mouth Bottle

Yeti Rambler 36 Oz

• $50.00 at Yeti

• Materials: 18/8 stainless steel
• Capacity: 36 ounces
• Weight: 1.5 pounds

Like Yeti’s coolers, its everyday water bottle, the Rambler, is an ultra-durable vessel that’ll keep a beverage cold or hot for longer than it’ll take to finish. Yeti’s double-walled insulation is constructed of high-quality 18/8 stainless steel. The leak-proof cap features a sturdy and simple handle design that has room enough for more than just a single finger, and its wide mouth means your nose won’t get in the way when your thirst calls for a chug. The Rambler comes in a variety of sizes and there’s a full collection of lids to suit your preferred drinking style, all of which are interchangeable.

Amazon

Best Collapsible Bottle

Hydrapak Stash Bottle 1L

• $26.00 at Amazon

• Materials: TPU, PP (BPA and PVC-free)
• Capacity: 1 liter
• Weight: 3.7 ounces

Collapsible water bottles border on gimmicky, but a good one can stand up to the titanium-walled and insulated heavyweights with its unique utility. Hydrapak’s Stash is a good one. The main body of the Stash is made of soft and flexible BPA- and PVC-free thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), but its top and bottom are rigid plastic, which allows for easy drinking (despite the bottle’s unsupportive body material) and locks into each other when collapsed. It can also remain standing on its own when filled, which is the downfall of other collapsible bottles. Full, the Stash is as big as any other liter-sized water bottle; empty and collapsed, the Stash is less than a fourth of its original size, freeing up all the space in your bag that other bottles will continue to occupy even when empty.

More volumes: 25 ounces ($19.95)

Courtesy

Best Bottle for Running

Osprey Hydraulics 360ml Soft Flask

• $18.00 at osprey.com
  $23.00 (22% off)

• Materials: TPU
• Capacity: 12 ounces
• Weight: 5 ounces

This lightweight 360-milliliter soft flask stows easily when empty and integrates into Osprey’s Dur0 and Dyna series trail running vest packs and handhelds. With just enough capacity to get you from point A to point B, this BPA-free handheld bottle is perfect for quick hikes, runs and bike rides.

Amazon

Best Bottle for Cycling

Specialized Purist 26 Oz

• $14.00 at Amazon
  $15.00 (6% off)

• Materials: Plastic w/ amorphous silicon dioxide coating
• Capacity: 26 fluid ounces
• Weight: 4 ounces

Specialized’s bicycle manufacturing eclipses the fact that it’s been making sport water bottles since 1978. There’s a good chance you’ve quenched your thirst with one of its bottles too, as much of its business involves customization. The Purist is constructed with a glass-like non-permeable barrier fused to its interior, which prevents the malleable material from retaining tastes and getting moldy as other soft plastic bottles are prone to do. It’s also available with one of three different types of active valve lids.

Growlers

Best Growler

Hydro Flask Beer Growler – 64 Oz

• $65.00 at avantlink.com

• Materials: Pro-grade 18/8 stainless steel
• Capacity: 64 fluid ounces
• Weight: 28 ounces

Hydro Flask’s 64-ounce Beer Growler is a major upgrade from the glass jugs you’ll ordinarily find at breweries. Hydro Flask’s growler is equipped with double-wall vacuum insulation and lined with stainless steel, which doesn’t retain flavor and is easy to clean. Its lid is equipped with a rigid, easy-pour handle and is designed specifically to maintain carbonation, too. That helps if you aim to transport beer up a mountain or even just in the car to a casual gathering, and if your drinking destination is hours away, no worries — the insulated construction will keep whatever’s inside cold for hours and hours.

Camelbak

Best Modular Water Bottle

Camelbak MultiBev Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated 22oz/16oz Cup

• $37.00 at Backcountry
  $50.00 (26% off)

• Materials: Stainless steel
• Capacity: 22 fluid ounces [bottle, 16 fluid ounces [cup]
• Weight: 16.8 ounces

CamelBak calls the MultiBev a two-in-one water bottle, but it has more uses than that. It’s an insulated water bottle with a non-slip base, and its lower half includes a removable cup for portioning and sharing. The removable cup even gets its own lid, which is made of flexible, food-grade silicone. That stores inside the MultiBev’s main cap, which offers up a third use: the compartment is large enough to hold snacks, tea or a small wad of cash.

More volumes: 17 ounces ($47.95)

Amazon

Best Filter Bottle

Grayl GeoPress 24 oz Water Purifier Bottle

• $100.00 at Amazon

• Materials: Polypropylene
• Capacity: 24 fluid ounces
• Weight: 15.9 ounces

If you want to avoid relying on plastic water bottles while traveling or camping, you’ll need a filter and purifier. Grayl combines both into its 24-ounce Geopress bottle. It works like a French press, with a purifier cartridge that uses ion exchange and activated carbon to remove bacteria, protozoa, viruses, chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants from your bottle. The whole process takes about eight seconds — and just a little bit of muscle — and each cartridge lasts for roughly 350 uses (that’s almost 250 liters of water).

Amazon

Best Soft Flask

Platypus PlatyPreserve

• $13.00 at Amazon

Materials: BPA-, BPS-, and phthalate-free plastic

Capacity: 27 fluid ounces

Weight: 0.8 ounces

Platypus’ soft flask-style wine bottle saves weight and preserves flavor on the trail. Whether you’re backpacking or traveling, the PlatyPreserve’s food grade lining, screw-on lid and ergonomic shape make it easy to have a quality glass of vino on the trail.

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