The best water bottles we tested:
Best water bottle: Yeti Rambler 26-Ounce
Best straw water bottle: Owala FreeSip 32-Ounce
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An insulated water bottle can keep you hydrated and help you cut down on plastic and paper waste, so?why buy bottled water when you can bring your own from home? But with an endless stream of water bottles making numerous claims about technological innovations and insulating properties flowing into the market, it’s easy to get lost in all the options.
To determine which bottles are truly worth their price tag, we culled thousands of insulated water bottles down to 25 contenders after reading reviews and browsing bestselling bottles across the internet. We then put them through a litany of tests to determine which is the absolute best. After two months of testing and drinking a whole lotta water, we narrowed it down to two bottles that stood out from the rest.
The Yeti Rambler came out on top during our testing, thanks to its amazing durability and unique chug cap that gives you a comfortable and quick drinking experience while maintaining easy access to the super-wide mouth.
If you like drinking out of a straw, you’ll love drinking out of Owala’s FreeSip. It was the best straw bottle we tested and had the best drinkability of everything we tried.
Best overall water bottle: Yeti Rambler 26-Ounce Water Bottle
From $40 at Amazon or $40 at Yeti
While the Yeti Rambler is on the pricier side, this water bottle is easily the best we tested. It keeps your water cold enough, but what makes it stand out is its amazing durability and drinkability. Plus, the Rambler is customizable, available in 14 colors and five sizes (12 ounce, 18 ounce, 26 ounce, 36 ounce and 46 ounce), and it’s even dishwasher-safe.
The bottle won our durability test — in which we dropped each bottle filled with water onto concrete from 4 feet high — by a mile. Nearly every other bottle we dropped in our latest round of testing had some component break or took some serious damage, whether it was a plastic cap snapping or the bottom of the bottle completely warping. The Rambler, however, barely had a scratch. This alone made it one of our top contenders, as it’s a real shame to invest in an expensive water bottle only for it to break after a few accidental drops.
The Rambler also has one of the best lids we tested. It’s made of two components: one that screws into the bottle and contains a spout, and another that twists on top of that to keep it protected. This two-tiered system means that you can unscrew the top and chug away from the spout whenever you want to take a swig of water. But when it’s time to refill your bottle with water and ice, you can take the entire contraption off, revealing the Yeti’s ultrawide mouth.
The Yeti’s massive mouth is another pro. It makes it super easy to dump clumps of ice in and fill it with water, not to mention it’s a lot easier to stick a bottle brush into a bottle with a large mouth. Even though it is easier to clean by hand, you won’t ever have to if you don’t want to, since the Rambler is one of only four total bottles in our latest round of testing that’s completely dishwasher safe.
In prior testing, the Yeti Rambler was the only bottle with such a good cap right out of the box, but since then, other brands have caught up and started including similarly great lids from the get-go. Hydro Flask has a standard Flex Chug Cap and Stanley’s Fast-Flow Lid has a two-part design.
The only downside we’ve experienced from this lid after years of testing is its inability to be opened easily with one hand. If you’re a commuter, or like to go on road trips, and want to drink water without having to brace a bottle between your thighs to get the lid off, consider the Rambler’s Straw Cap or our pick for the best straw water bottle, the Owala FreeSip.
While the Yeti Rambler is our best tested, its biggest downside is its temperature retention. It ranked dead last in our most recent hot- and cold-water tests. However, our cold-water tests lasted 48 hours, which is likely longer than you’d want to keep water in a bottle anyway. At the 12-hour mark, which is closer to a real-life scenario, every bottle we tested this round was still at its starting temperature. So, even though the Rambler finished last over 48 hours, the thermoregulation of all these bottles — including the Rambler — should be more than enough for most people.
While it might not be as important to some, we also love that the Rambler has great aesthetics. It comes in several bold, stylish colors, including a light blue, an olive green and even an eye-catching pink. You can also customize your bottle with plain text designs and monograms, state emblems and even uploaded logos for an extra $6.
Is the Yeti Rambler the most thermally efficient bottle on the market? No. But is it still the best one? We think so. It is far and away the most durable bottle we’ve tested while being extremely easy to fill and drink from. Its customizability, ease of cleaning and clever chug cap are all reasons why, no matter where you go, we think you’ll love having a Yeti Rambler at your side.
Best straw water bottle: Owala FreeSip 32-Ounce Water Bottle
$33 at Amazon, Owala and Target
If you love drinking water out of a straw, there’s no question the Owala FreeSip is the bottle for you. Of every bottle we tested, it was the easiest to drink out of and all-around the best straw water bottle we tried. It lacks the extreme durability of the Yeti but makes up for it with its lid and undeniable cuteness.
When talking about the Owala, you have to mention its lid; it’s what makes an Owala an Owala. We truly loved drinking from this cap because it functions as both a straw lid and a chug lid. This means that whether you’re casually sipping at your desk through the straw or want to take a huge swig during a workout, the Owala has you covered. In day-to-day testing, this made it our favorite water bottle to drink out of by far.
What’s ingenious about the Owala, though, is that this lid solves all three pain points of traditional straw lids. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I think about with straws is how much of a pain they are to clean. This isn’t the case with the Owala since the entire cap is dishwasher-safe. Another issue is how thin some straws tend to be and how you can’t drink from them fast enough. The Owala’s chug opening solves this problem, and the straw itself is also quite wide, meaning you can drink as fast as you want in most cases through the straw anyway.
Lastly, while this is niche and doesn’t happen all the time, one of my least favorite attributes about straw water bottles is how water shoots out of them whenever you go up in altitude, whether that’s on a weekend camping trip or an airplane. However, since the Owala has a separate opening, it’s much better at equalizing air pressure than other straw bottles I’ve tried. I can’t promise the dreaded water eruption will never happen to you, but it is much less likely. When I brought the bottle over 3,000 feet up into the mountains, it didn’t explode.
While the Owala’s lid is the star of the show, it wasn’t a slouch in our other testing categories. Its water temperature didn’t rise a single degree in our cold-water tests after 12 hours, and after 48 hours, it finished in the top ten with an increase of just 6.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
It wasn’t the most durable bottle, however, and after being dropped on its lid, the spout actually broke and the bottle wasn’t leakproof anymore. The 4-foot drops were quite extreme, though, so most day-to-day accidental drops shouldn’t be too much of a problem. (We did drop the Owala several times by accident during testing, which only created small, barely noticeable dents.)
Another nitpick I had is that the metal bottle itself isn’t dishwasher-safe. Its ultrawide opening makes sticking a bottle brush inside easy but you won’t have the convenience of just throwing it in the dishwasher like you do with the Yeti Rambler.
And it’d be a shame to sing the praises about the Owala without highlighting just how darn cute it is. The color schemes can be whimsical and flashy for people trying to make a statement, but the bottle also comes in solid black for those who don’t need their water bottle to stand out. We tested a green bottle and a blue one and loved the look of both.
There’s no question the Owala FreeSip is the best straw water bottle we tested. It’s easy to drink out of, versatile and easy to clean, not to mention it looks good too. If you need a bottle you can drink out of with one hand and you aren’t too clumsy, the Owala is the one for you.
How we tested
For our most recent update, we retested our previous winners, the Yeti Rambler and Healthy Human Curve, against a brand-new pool to see if they still held up.
We slightly adjusted our thermoregulation tests to more heavily weight performance after 12 hours to mimic everyday behavior. We measured the bottles’ temperature after 12, 24 and 48 hours in our cold-water tests, and after six hours in our hot-water tests. While most of these bottles can perform double duty as a coffee mug (some don’t recommend adding hot liquids because pressure can build up inside), dedicated travel mugs — which we’ve also tested — are a better option in most cases.
Since every bottle we tested this round had similar thermoregulation abilities after 12 hours, we paid more attention to things that affect your experience on a day-to-day basis like durability and drinkability.
We spent several hours testing all 15 water bottles to ensure they met the demands of everyday use. That meant testing how long they keep water cold, how long they keep water hot, how they fare during a drop, how easy they are to drink from and more. Here’s a breakdown of what we tested and how we did it.
Performance
- Hot-water test: We poured water just after it had finished boiling into each of the bottles and measured the temperature with a liquid thermometer immediately after the pour, then after six hours and 12 hours. For our third round of testing, we only measured again after six hours.
- Cold-water test: During our third round of testing, we filled each bottle all the way up with ice, then poured cold water and measured the temperature after one, three, six, 12, 24 and 48 hours. We wanted to see how well the insulation of each bottle performed, but we more heavily weighted temperature changes after 12 hours.
- Drinkability: We drank from the bottles’ standard caps both while standing still and walking, noting how prone each bottle was to spilling and splashing.
- Leak test: We shook the bottles, held them upside down and threw them in a backpack for a commute to see if any water leaked.
- Coffee test: In previous rounds of testing, we poured freshly brewed coffee into each bottle and laid it on its side for several hours. Then we washed the bottle and lid and conducted a taste test to see if either component retained any flavor from the coffee. In our third round of testing, we did not perform a coffee test, since we think travel mugs are better for coffee.
Durability
- Drop test: We dropped each bottle three times from 4 feet above concrete on its lid and three times from 4 feet above concrete on its body. We noted if the bottle was still usable (if the insulation or lid broke), then assessed the number of dents and other damage.
- Cleanliness: We tried to clean each bottle with a normal sponge, then with a bottle brush. We also researched to see which bottles and lids were dishwasher-safe, then threw them in for a cycle.
Portability and design
- Weight: We weighed each empty bottle in pounds on a food scale.
- Carrying options: We noted any loops on the bottles, how many average-size fingers fit inside and how comfortable it was to hold.
- Grip: We felt the paint on each of the bottles and ranked them from least grippy to most.
- Mouth size: We compared the mouths of each water bottle to judge which would be easiest to add ice to.
Other bottles we tested
Healthy Human Curve Water Bottle
$30 $20 at Amazon
The Healthy Human Curve was our previous pick as the best budget water bottle and is the only option, besides the Yeti Rambler, that could still be adequately used after our drop tests. However, its lid options leave a lot to be desired. Its standard lid makes you drink directly from the mouth, which becomes difficult while walking or driving. A sports cap is available, but the opening is too small to comfortably drink out of and the brand’s lid cap leaks. It is a decent bottle and incredibly durable, especially for the price, but we think you’d be happier investing the money in one of our current winners.
S’well 25-Ounce Water Bottle
$45 $29 at Amazon or $45 at S’well
We previously named the S’well bottle the best bottle for holding temperature. After reconsidering how people typically use a water bottle, we figured that a bottle’s temperature retention for longer than 24 hours isn’t as important as durability and drinkability. Because of that, the S’well bottle dropped in our rankings this round due to its accumulation of dents in our drop tests. Plus, its small mouth makes it hard to clean, and filling it up with normal ice is nearly impossible.
Stanley IceFlow
$45 at Stanley
It’s no secret Stanley is having a moment right now. And even though this bottle didn’t earn a top spot, it’s still a solid option. It has a great cap that’s easy to drink out of, but it just wasn’t as durable as the Yeti Rambler in our tests. But if you love the Stanley brand, you won’t be disappointed with the IceFlow.
Klean Kanteen 32-Ounce TKWide Insulated Water Bottle With Chug Cap
$45 at Klean Kanteen
We retested the Klean Kanteen TKWide in our most recent round because the brand started making the bottles with recycled stainless steel. While we love this initiative for its sustainability, the bottle still wasn’t up to par compared to our winners. It has good temperature regulation and is completely dishwasher-safe, but drinking out of it wasn’t as easy as with our winners and it got seriously battered in our durability test.
Owala FreeSip Twist
$28 at Owala
The FreeSip Twist is a cute little bottle that still has the clever lid that makes its bigger sibling so great. However, the Twist can’t be opened with one hand, which was a big pro for the standard Owala FreeSip. The mouth is also much smaller, making it harder to clean and add ice.
Air Up Stainless Steel Set
$65 at Air Up
You’ve probably seen or heard a bunch of ads for the AirUp, a bottle that adds flavor to normal water with scent pods. While the scent pods do weirdly work, we didn’t like how artificial the flavors tasted (smelled?) and think they’d be too much for anyone with a sensitive sense of smell. And since the water has to be infused with the scent, there’s a hole in the side of the straw that adds air to the water you’re drinking. This was a very unpleasant sensation, and it felt like we were drinking more air than water. This is why we ranked it as the bottle with the worst drinkability.
Simple Modern Water Bottle
$28 at Amazon
The Simple Modern bottle performed remarkably well in our thermoregulation tests, and it was the only bottle that still had ice after 48 hours. Its chug cap’s opening is too small for comfortable drinking, but it does come with an extra straw lid. What ultimately kicked it out of the running was how much damage it took during our drop tests. The lid broke, and the body was severely warped.
Hydro Flask Wide-Mouth Water Bottle With Flex Chug Cap
$45 at Hydro Flask
Hydro Flasks have the name recognition everyone wants. Unfortunately, this bottle just couldn’t keep pace with our winners. The new Flex Chug Cap made the race close, but it still performed poorly in our durability tests, taking it out of the top tier of bottles. If you want a Hydro Flask for the name or the aesthetics, we get it. If you’re set on one, we’d recommend this one with the chug cap, as it makes drinking while walking and driving much easier.
Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide-Mouth Trail Series Water Bottle
$50 at Hydro Flask
The Trail Series was the lightest water bottle we tested and, surprisingly, had better durability than the standard Hydro Flask. Where it fell short, though, was its drinkability. With a large mouth, it was hard to drink out of when walking or in the car, which ultimately led to its demise. If this bottle had a cap like the Flex Chug Cap and was a bit cheaper, it’d be a serious contender.
Igloo Stainless Steel Twist ’N’ Chug Bottle
$30 From $21 at Amazon
This bottle is quite unwieldy and feels more like a jug than a bottle. It’s too large for most to comfortably hold, and its handle broke on the first drop.
Thermoflask Bottle With Chug and Straw Lid
$29 $27 at Amazon
The Thermoflask also broke during our durability tests, isn’t dishwasher-safe and has a chug cap that’s opening is too small to drink quickly out of.
Contigo Cortland Chill 2.0 Stainless Steel Vacuum-Insulated Water Bottle
$31 at Amazon
This bottle is more of a travel mug and didn’t have the same drinkability as some of the better bottles. Plus, it completely broke during our durability tests, so we can’t recommend it.
Coleman FreeFlow Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle
From $24 at Amazon
Similar to the Contigo, the Coleman is better as a travel mug than a true water bottle. Its drinkability suffered, and its lid broke on the first drop.
Hydro Flask Wide-Mouth Water Bottle
$45 Hydro Flask
The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth is a great bottle but has the same durability shortcomings as the Flex Chug Cap bottle, albeit with a worse lid. Unless you’re dead set on drinking straight out of its wide mouth, we’d recommend getting the wide-mouth bottle with the Flex Chug Cap.
Hydro Flask Standard-Mouth Water Bottle
$35 Hydro Flask
The Standard-Mouth bottle performed as well as, if not better than, the Wide Mouth. Plus, it’s smaller, which means less weight to carry around. You can’t pour ice in as fast but the smaller opening means it’s easier to drink from. Just be careful about drops. After our tests, it got so damaged it lost its insulation abilities.
Klean Kanteen Insulated Classic
$35 Klean Kanteen
This Klean Kanteen had stellar performances with thermoregulation. The biggest downsides were the small mouth (with a weirdly tiny lid) and the fact the body got so damaged it caused the insulation technology to fail.
CamelBak Chute Mag
$35 at CamelBak
This bottle performed quite well, especially with thermoregulation. The lid has a little magnet so it doesn’t hit you in the face while you drink. Its biggest downside: The cap broke off when we dropped it.
CamelBak Carry Cap
$30 $23 at CamelBak
If you’re considering CamelBak, go with the Chute Mag over the Carry Cap. The lid on the Carry Cap has a big loop, which is nice to hold, but it snapped off pretty easily during the drops.
Miir Bottle
$35 at Miir
The Miir also did well in thermoregulation, outdoing both the Yeti Rambler and the Sigg model below. However, it lost favor during the drop test, when the lid broke on the first drop. We didn’t test wide-mouth Miir bottles, only the standard. If you’re careful, Miir is a great option for a smaller, portable bottle.
Sigg Hot and Cold One Thermo Flask
$23 at Amazon
This bottle performed well during the temperature tests, just about matching the Yeti Rambler. It’s a good-looking bottle featuring a lid with a locking mechanism and a built-in tea filter. Where it really fell apart was when we dropped it on that lid. It broke on the first drop. You can normally order replacement lids (though they’re out of stock now), but compared to the other bottles it just wasn’t sturdy enough.
Snow Peak Kanpai Bottle
$98 at Amazon
This bottle is beautiful, scoring the highest in pure design. But it’s also expensive and scored the lowest in our testing, especially in thermoregulation, where it had the third-worst score after the Takeyas. The lid shattered on the drop test.
Takeya Standard
$31 at Amazon
The Takeya bottle underperformed with thermoregulation. The cap features a nifty little spout for fast drinking that unscrews to reveal a wide mouth, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the poor insulation.
Takeya Active
$33 From $25 at Amazon
The Active is basically the same as the Takeya Standard, with a few nice improvements. Most notable is the rubber boot on the bottom, which is well worth the extra money if you want to buy a Takeya. While it didn’t completely eradicate dents, it made a big difference and prevented any paint chipping on the bottom.
