I live in a hot part of the world and make sure that my family has plentiful water available, at school, in the car, when we got out. I mostly use tap water, it is completely safe and cheap. So the water is fine, but the water bottles are a bit annoying. I find myself having to replace them much more often than I would like. I suppose they take a bit of a battering, but many of them end up leaking. The best I have found are probably the SIGG aluminium bottles, but even they are a bit annoying because if they get dented on the side, then the bottom of the bottle seems to change shape, causing a standing bottle to easily lose balance and crash. I wonder if any members have any highly recommendable bottles. I sort of resent the waste of time and money in replacing them.
can anyone recommend a durable and practical water bottle & insulated lunch bag
(17 posts) (14 voices)
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Posted 1 year ago #
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kleen kanteen don't seem to dent too readily.
we've been thrashing ours for almost three years and they are like new.
maybe they are stainless steel?Posted 1 year ago # -
These look great, I am going to give them a go. I also have the same problem with insulated lunch bags. They hardly make it through the year. Are the Landsend bags any good?
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm currently without a water bottle at work and thinking of replacing the last one with a military-surplus canteen. I've yet to see a cycling-style bottle with a plastic hinge that didn't wear out within a year. Yet, when I was a youngster in the Boy Scouts I used a Korean War-era canteen (much older than yours truly) that belonged to my grandfather for years until I eventually passed it on in more or less the same condition it was in when I first got it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm in a quandary about the bottles myself. I currently use a Rubbermaid plastic one with a wide enough fir ice cubes mouth and a screw-on lid that has a drinking " hole" which has a snap cover. It's quite sturdy and easy to clean. Biggest problem is that with ice it sweats and gets whatever is next to it wet - usually the car cup holder, dripping onto me when I take a drink.
Never found a decent soft sided insulated bag... My DH has a small hard side Playmate insulated lunchbox that has held up well.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Sigg are the best I've found, the small sizes don't seem to suffer from the deformation so much, even though the kids give them lots of abuse.
My son has the licquorice allsorts lunchbag near the bottom of this page, not sure if they sell them in the US (you could google the brand) but he's had it a couple of years now and it's still going strong. I just spotted the marshmallows one, he'd love that!
http://www.squeakybee.co.uk/acatalog/lunch-pic-n-mix.htmlPosted 1 year ago # -
We have Tupperware insulated lunch 'bags'. They hold a Tupperware Sandwich Keeper and one of their 600 ml containers that can be used to store leftovers in the freezer and microwave it later (the container is microwavable). The bag has a zip to close it and a pocket on top to put a small freezer brick (not included in the set) inside f you want your stuff to stay colder for longer.
I normally take mine to work with the microwavable container (as I want to reheat this at lunch, I don't mind if it does a slow thaw in the meantime so I don't use an extra freezer brick in the top pouch. In the space left in the bag (because I don't need to take the Sandwich Keeper as well) I'll often take a small yoghurt and / or some fruit or some other small snack for morning tea.
Mine didn't come with the matching water bottle but they can be bought separately (there was a children's lunch pack that came with a matching bottle). The Tupperware water bottles come in two sizes - the large holds about 750 ml and has a large mouth for easy filling and room for ice cubes. The drink spout is one of the pop-up variety. The base is a removable cup. Because the cup is opaque you can conceivably put your keys in it at the gym or on a picnic (for instance) without worrying that they are on view to the rest of the world. They also come in a smaller size that is suitable for small children.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I love my lunchbag, from reusable. I've used it almost daily for at least year and it's in good shape. Sorry; reusable has changed its name to reuseit (dot com). Some of their stuff is overpriced but the quality is mostly very good.
The lunchbag I have is taller than it is wide, and has a pocket on the inside to hold a small icebag.
I believe they have multiple sizes and colors.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Mine stainless steel water bottle is called H20Zone and I love it! I have been using it for about a year now and it has remained in excellent shape.
Posted 1 year ago # -
thank you for the further suggestions. I am going to look into it a bit further. I think it is getting harder and harder to buy durable stuff.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have an Aquasteel bottle. It's stainless steel and so far seems durable and keeps the water cool.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Here's an idea for the bottles: I have had a few SIGG bottles in my life, and the one that has an insulation cover (neoprene; not quite like a thermos but keeps cold water colder a little longer) has suffered the least damage from scratches or dents. Maybe that could be a solution for you? You could even sew a fabric cover yourself; it won't have to be neoprene to cushion anything, just maybe a thin foam layer inside, or simply thicker fabric. Also, if my bottles leaked it was always a worn-out lid, and SIGG lets you order them separately.
Posted 1 year ago # -
just got myself a .6l SIGG, and it is too new (2 weeks) to see how it will wear. It actually fits in my purses (except tiny clutches, of course) and holds the perfect amount. It did leak in my purse yesterday but I discovered I hadn't actually screwed the lid on tightly. As Trillie said, extra lids can be ordered or purchased in-store too.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I just bought a cover for my refillable plastic bottle. In Hawaii I keep water with lots of ice in it, and it sweats. A problem I never have in Alaska! LOL
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have the SIGG style water bottles, BPA-free Nalgene type bottles, and others, but I end up using my cycling bottles most.
I like the Camelback Podium bottle best because they actually have a lock on the top that prevents water from leaking out the nozzle if the bottle tips over. They also come in an insulated version for the hot days.
They are wide mouth and easy to clean, by hand or in the dishwasher.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My DH and I cannot live without our camelbak water bottles. We each have one at work and at home. They are in use daily due to the amount of water that we drink.
And the REI website has an excellent article about choosing a water bottle that is right for you. The article discusses the types of material and then later in the article is a chart with durability, odor resistance, etc. http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/water+bottles.html
Happy water bottle hunting!
Posted 1 year ago # -
We have these water bottles & love, love, love them:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-18-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Hydration-Charcoal/dp/B001EGIKDS/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1296705965&sr=8-13I love the idea of this lunch box (but don't have one):
http://www.planetbox.com/index.htmlPosted 1 year ago #
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