Best Insulated Water Bottles

Smart hikers and backpackers know that stylish, reusable, classy metal bottles are where it’s at. With these BPA-free offerings, your water tastes sweet, you can keep your cool drinks cool and hot drinks hot, and you aren’t creating more plastic waste. Plus, a good reusable bottle won’t leak in your pack, stands up on its own without tipping, and can take the dings you’ll inevitably dish out when you accidentally fumble it into the talus on mile 10.

Published Nov 4, 2019

Kristen Bjornsen, Illustrations by Supercorn

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Best High-Capacity Bottle

Hydro Flask 32-Ounce Wide Mouth Bottle

The Hydro Flask 32-ounce Wide Mouth bottle with Flex Cap is a stellar option both for in your pack and toting around town. The cap has a handy carry handle, but you can also reliably pick up and set down the body without slippage thanks to the textured powder coat on the 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel, which worked well even with numb hands on a frigid day in the Colorado mountains. The bottle has double-wall vacuum insulation, and reliably kept tea warm on cool days (and conversely, tap water cool on hot days). Weighing 15.5 ounces (empty), the 32-ounce Wide Mouth is no featherweight, but in return you get a durable, long-lasting container with superb insulation properties. If you prefer a more streamlined option that has a smaller mouth and fits in cupholders better, the Hydro Flask Standard Mouth water bottle has you covered. Buy this here.

Best Bottle With a C

Klean Kanteen TKPro Stainless Steel Double Wall Insulated Water Bottle

Kleen Kanteen has long been a big player in metal bottles, and their 0.5-liter TKPro Stainless Steel Double Wall Insulated Water Bottle with Stainless Steel Cup lives up to the brand’s high standards. This is a great bottle for trekking—the integrated cup, which doubles as the bottle’s lid, makes it a snap to pour out a quick cup of tea, then seal things back up and keep motoring down the trail. The food-grade 18/8 stainless steel is electro-polished on the inside of the bottle, while silicon gaskets (no BPA or phthalates) help with sealing: Your drinks pour out with no residual aftertaste, and hot drinks stay warm up to 20 hours, and cool drinks cool up to 75—great for hot climates. Meanwhile, a powder coating makes the bottle very grippable, even with clammy or chilly hands. Buy this here!

Easiest to Operate Single-Handedly

Contigo AUTOSEAL Chill Vacuum-Insulated bottle

Contigo hits a sweet spot with their 24-ounce AUTOSEAL Chill Vacuum-Insulated bottle, which marries a sleek stainless-steel body with the plastic, single-hand-operable button-activated AUTOSEAL top, which does a great job of eliminating spillage if you’re sipping on the go. The bottle has double-walled vacuum insulation and keeps drinks chilled for up to 28 hours. If one-handed utility is important to you—perhaps you like to carry your bottle while hiking or have it easily accessible in a mesh pocket on your pack—then consider the Contigo. There’s also a handy mini-handle/U-shaped ring on the top lid for easy one- or two-finger carry. Buy this here.