Choosing a Water Bottle

Fill it up, screw on the cap, and you’re good to go. Right? Not so fast.

A water bottle is an essential piece of kit for any outdoor adventure. It’s important to stay hydrated in general, and critical in athletic pursuits. Even in normal life, I hardly leave the house without a water bottle. You might call me a water bottle person. In this article, I’m going to go over the main differentiating factors you might want to consider when choosing a water bottle.

Mouth Size

Mouth size refers to the diameter of the water bottle opening. Water bottles will often be categorized as wide-mouth or narrow-mouth. Wide-mouth water bottles are easier to clean, fill in a stream, and use with drink mixes. Narrow-mouth water bottles won’t splash you in the face. Depending on your adventure, here are two things to keep in mind: 1) The mouth of your water bottle needs to be compatible with your water purification system. Check to make sure your water filter or UV sterilizer will fit on or into the mouth of your water bottle appropriately. 2) If you are going to be in the cold and will need to melt snow or pour hot liquids into your water bottle, opt for a wide mouth.

Lid Type

A screw-on lid or cap is the most versatile and dependable option. It’s easy to clean and shouldn’t leak. Some water bottles come with a plastic tether that helps to prevent you from losing the lid. This is handy, especially on long trips. I don’t recommend mechanical flip-top water bottles or anything with straws. In my experience, they break easily and are a pain to wash. Finally, there’s the classic sports cap you might see on a squeeze bottle at an NFL game. These are good for quick access and day hikes. However, they leak easily. Therefore, they’re not ideal for situations where water may be scarce. (Side note: for outdoor adventure purposes, that Hydroflask handle is basically irrelevant…)

Material

The three main materials are plastic, metal, and glass. Glass is fragile and heavy, so let’s rule it out. Metal is also heavy. I would only recommend metal water bottles if you specifically need an insulated container for hot or cold liquids. Otherwise, go with plastic. A great plastic water bottle is the classic 32oz Nalgene. Modern Nalgenes are BPA-free and are often made from recycled materials. They are even able to withstand boiling temperatures without warping or cracking. Some plastic water bottles are designed to be exceptionally lightweight, while others are squishable. You should be able to find a plastic vessel to suit your specific needs at any given outdoor store.

What About Hydration Bladders?

You’ll often hear people refer to hydration bladder systems as “CamelBaks.” CamelBak is the most renown hydration bladder brand, but there are many others. I’ve had good experiences with Platypus brand reservoirs in the past. There are a few inherent struggles (cleaning, filling, leakage, purification), but they make hydration exceptionally convenient. That’s half the battle in the backcountry. For anything longer than a day, I wouldn’t recommend a bladder as your only method of carrying water. You could go all your life without a hydration bladder, but if it interests you and you already have a reliable water bottle, knock yourself out.

Recommendations

You can’t go wrong with a wide-mouth, 32oz Nalgene water bottle. In Boy Scouts, we’d commonly carry two of these on a backpacking trip. With two water bottles, you can drink from one while purifying water in the other, or flavor one while saving the other for cooking. Thick Nalgene water bottles also offer a bit of insulation, making them a better choice for very cold environments where your water might freeze.

Recently, on short excursions, I’ve been carrying these cheap 1-liter plastic water bottles I bought for 60 cents a piece (they had some gross fake-sugar carbonated beverage in them that I poured out). I reuse them over and over. I like them because they’re lightweight, but they don’t work for every application. If I took them snow camping overnight, for example, they’d probably freeze.

Is there a specific water bottle you like? Comment below!