10 Best Water Bottles – the Best Running Companion You Can Have

If you’re not staying properly hydrated while running, you are bound to run out of steam too soon and have a less productive workout. One of the best ways to stay hydrated is to carry a bottle of water with you but plastic bottles have their own problems and glass is just dangerous.

Because of that, a reusable water bottle should be a mandatory part of your arsenal, especially if you’re a long-distance runner. Here’s everything you need to know about them and how to find the best one for you.

Best Water Bottles on the Market

Reviews of The 5 Best Water Bottles on the Market

1. Polar Bottle Insulated Water Bottle

If you’re looking for a lightweight bottle that can be used for almost activity, this is one of the best out there. It comes at an affordable price, and it’s easy to drink water from – you can squeeze out plenty of water at once. You can hold it easily, and it also fits well on a bike. The insulation it provides is decent, and it will keep your water cold.

Be careful not to spill any water on yourself though, since the spout can leak easily. Also, don’t leave water sitting in it for too long since it will start to smell of plastic.

Best suited for: People looking for an affordable ergonomic bottle with decent insulation. If you’re running or cycling in hot areas, this will be your best friend.

PROS

• You can squeeze a lot of water out of it at once
• Well-insulated
• Easy to hold while you’re running
• Fits well on a bike-mounted bottle holder
• The price is affordable

CONS

• They tend to leak
• The water can smell like plastic after a while

2. GO Active Insulated Water Bottle with Straw

The look of this bottle is great, and it comes in many different colors. Besides looking stylish, it is also functional with great insulation and a shape that can fit in almost any cup holder. It’s good for both running and cycling, and it doesn’t sweat so it won’t slip from your hands.

It’s affordable, but that’s because it’s made out of poor materials. The straw is especially flimsy and can fall out easily, and the mouthpiece is prone to breaking.

Best suited for: If you want an affordable water bottle that will keep the insides cool or hot for a long time, this is the right one for you.

PROS

• Good insulation
• It looks great
• Fits well in any cup holder
• Easy to hold and doesn’t ‘sweat.’
• Comes at a decent price

CONS

• The straw keeps falling out
• Made out of flimsy materials

3. Takeya Originals Vacuum-Insulated Stainless-Steel Water Bottle

This is an astoundingly durable water bottle that is made out of stainless steel. That makes it heavy as well but if you want something that will last it’s not a big deal. It also has a positively huge capacity of 40oz, so it’s great for people who need a lot of hydration. It fits on bicycles quite well.

You do need to uncap it for drinking, though, and the insulation is poorer than advertised. However, the price is more than decent for the quality, and it seems worth it.

Best suited for: People who want a long-lasting bottle that will hold a ton of water and won’t break their wallet in half.

PROS

• Incredibly sturdy
• Easy to clean
• The taste of the water stays intact
• Huge capacity
• Doesn’t leak

CONS

• The insulation is not up to snuff
• You need to uncap it for drinking
• Heavy

4. Embrava Best Sports Water Bottle

For the price, this is a great water bottle. It’s made out of plastic, sure, but it is incredibly durable and easy to use. You can drink large quantities of water at once, and it’s not prone to leaking or spilling water. You can open the lid one-handed, but it might obstruct your vision while drinking so watch out.

Due to the large mouth, you can easily clean it or put ice inside as well. The bottle is not insulated, though, so don’t’ expect it to stay cold. It’s also too slippery even when dry.

Best suited for: People who want a large bottle that’s both lightweight and durable, but don’t mind that it’s made out of plastic.

PROS

• Large capacity
• The cap is easy to open
• Huge water flow
• It’s easy to put stuff in it or clean it
• Made out of sturdy plastic

CONS

• The bottle is too slippery
• When drinking, the lid obstructs your vision

5. Nathan SpeedDraw Plus Insulated Flask

This bottle billed as a hydration pack, is made to fit in your hand and easily attach to it with an adjustable strap, so it never falls out. It even has an added pocket that can fit an iPhone inside it. The bottle is also insulated so it can keep water cold for quite a while.

You don’t need to fiddle around with it to drink, just squeeze it, and water comes out. This can lead to a lot of accidental leaks, though, so watch out. The only major downside is the small capacity of the bottle, only 18oz.

Best suited for: Runners who want a bottle that’s easy to hold and easy to drink from at a moment’s notice but doesn’t need a lot of water.

PROS

• It’s easy to wear it on your belt
• It has a case for your phone
• Adjustable strap so it doesn’t fall out of your hand
• Adequate insulation
• You can drink from it just by squeezing it

CONS

• Tends to leak a lot
• Small capacity, only 18oz

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Are Plastic Water Bottles Safe?

Recently there has been a lot of talk about the safety of water bottles due to chemicals leaking out of the plastic and causing different health problems, including cancer. The main chemical blamed for this is called BPA which is short for bisphenol A. It is a chemical used to create polycarbonates for use in plastic.

Polycarbonates that don’t contain BPA exist but BPA was used because it made plastic more durable than most other compounds used in its place. These days, BPA is not used as much, and most manufacturers have stopped using it completely in products intended for children.

Currently, substances like BPS and BPF are both used as substitutes for BPA due to the fear of it leaking and poisoning someone. These substances are often the most vital part of BPA-free plastic containers.

Due to this, the EFSA (European Food and Safety Authority) conducted a large-scale risk assessment study on plastic containing BPA and found it to pose practically no threat whatsoever – even to children.

Moreover, even if you don’t believe the assessment of the EFSA, independent research has found that the common BPA replacements, BPS and BPF are no less dangerous to lab animals than BPA.

The other potential problem is that most other BPA substitutes used in BPA-free containers haven’t even been properly tested and it’s unsure if they cause the same or even worse problems than BPA might cause.

There are concerns about other substances leaking from the plastic as well, including plasticizers, the compounds used to make plastic strong, yet flexible. Again, studies conducted have found no leaking that is dangerous enough, even after the equivalent of 5 to 6 years of use.

Overall – are plastic bottles safe? Well, most current evidence points to the fact that they are, but there’s no reliable way to know for sure, and some more info might pop up in the future. If you’re still scared of using them, just in case, use steel or glass bottles instead.

How to Properly Maintain Your Water Bottle?

Even if you only drink the purest water you can get from your bottle; it won’t stay perfectly clean after weeks or months of use. If you happen to drink something else from it, as smoothies or protein shakes, you will need to clean it often and thoroughly.
Here’s what you’ll need to clean your bottle properly:

1. White vinegar or baking soda and hot water
2. Bottle brushes, pipe cleaners or a soft bristle toothbrush
3. Kitchen gloves

White vinegar is the best choice, but baking soda in hot water will do a similarly good job. You could also use some mild dish soap if you don’t have either of these two substances.

As far as the cleaning tools go, a soft bristle toothbrush will allow you to be through while not scratching your water bottle. If you use a bottle brush or a pipe cleaner, look for a non-abrasive one.

If you’re cleaning out a plastic bottle, leave it to soak overnight before you clean it to eliminate any smells that it might have absorbed.
Here’s how to wash your water bottle:

1. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinegar into a cup of water and mix it until it dilutes (if you’re using baking soda, mix it with water until it’s similar to paste)
2. Pour the resulting solution into your reusable water bottle
3. Leave it to sit for 15 minutes
4. Put on your cleaning gloves and use the cleaning tool you chose to scrub it completely
5. Wash it out with hot water until the water you are pouring out of it is clear
6. You’re done – your water bottle is clean now

You can also wash most reusable water bottles in the dishwasher, on the top shelf, but it’s better to clean them by hand to make sure they’re as clean as possible. They might also lose their colors and imprints if washed in a dishwasher. Also, don’t use bleach for cleaning – I know it’s a popular thing to do, but it’s also highly dangerous if done improperly.

How to Find the Right Water Bottle for You?

If you’ve never bought a reusable water bottle before, here are a few tips for you that you can use to buy the best water bottle for you.

Consider the Materials Used

Reusable water bottles can be made out of many different materials, and each one has some upsides and some downsides. You need to consider what you require out of your water bottle and pick the material that fits you the best.

Plastic is not a singular material, but it is used to describe many different types of plastic that a bottle could be made of. What most of these bottles have in common is that they’re lightweight and reasonably durable. LDPE is the type of plastic used to make lighter and softer bottles while HDPE, polypropylene, and copolyester are used for harder bottles.

Stainless steel is a great material for water bottles because it’s durable, non-toxic and helps with insulation. The main downside is the weight – even when empty, these bottles are quite heavy so you might have trouble taking them on a run with you. Your water can also start tasting metallic if they’re not well-coated.

Aluminum presents itself as a good alternative to steel since it’s lighter but has similar thermal properties to it. However, it is also less durable and more prone to scratches and dents than steel, while being heavier than plastic.

Glass bottles are still made since it’s a reliable, popular and safe material that’s easy to clean. It’s also among the more expensive materials out there, and it’s not good for isolation. Also, if you drop a bottle like this during running, it might cause extreme injuries. Due to that, most glass bottles made for running have an outer layer made out of rubber or other similar material, to prevent them from breaking when dropped.

Check the Capacity

This is all about the amount of liquid you need on your runs versus the weight you’re able and willing to carry.

The larger the bottle, the more cumbersome and heavier it is and if you don’t think you’ll be comfortable with bringing it on a run, just get a smaller one. Specialized belts can help you efficiently carry even larger bottles, but that’s extra money spent.

On the other hand, if you’re going for long runs where you’ll need plenty of water, and there’s no place where you can fill up, you’ll need a larger bottle. In that case, you should pick the lightest material possible to minimize the weight you have to carry.

The standard small bottle can hold up to 16oz (500ml) while a standard large one can hold 25oz (750ml), but there are even larger bottles available out there. You can wear larger bottles or hydration packs on your back connected to your mouth with a straw.

If you’re cycling, however, using a larger water bottle is less of a problem as long as it can fit on your bike.

Think About the Shape

The shapes of the body, the gape, and the spout are important things you need to think about since they will impact how you use the bottle.

If you’re using your bottle for running, you want the shape of the body to be something you can easily hold in your hand, and that won’t slip out of it. Bottles used for cycling should be shaped so they fit snugly into a bottle cage and won’t slip out when you hit a bump in the road.

Bottles with wide gapes are useful if you want to put stuff in them without needing to fiddle around too much – this includes protein shakes, ice cubes and more. This also makes them easier to clean out since you can reach in more easily. However, if you want to drink out of the gape directly, a smaller gape is more beneficial.

As far as the spout goes, there are many different types available. Having a bite-valve or a valve with one-way flow is great for running or cycling since they’re self-sealing and you don’t have to worry too much about them. You should also consider how quickly you can get the water out of the spout for quick hydration.

Is it insulated?

An insulated bottle is meant to keep liquids in it hot or cold for an extended period. They usually have double walls with a layer of foam, vacuum or some other substance in-between. It makes them heavier, but they are incredibly useful if you want a cold drink in the middle of a summer run.

Additional Features

These days, water bottles can have some wild additional features that you might find useful. Some water bottles have separate compartments so you can carry two different drinks in one bottle. Others can function as music players, so you don’t have to carry extra stuff while you run.

There’s more, and it’s up to you to decide what you find the most useful and what features are superfluous accessories.

Which Water Bottle is the Best?

With water bottles, it all depends on what you need from it and what your primary activity is. If you’re only going to the gym, you can take a large bottle with you, but if you’re running, it can be a hindrance.

For me, the best water bottle out of all of these is the Takeya Originals bottle. It’s incredibly durable and has a huge capacity, which is just what I need out of a water bottle like this. It might not be the right for you, but there are a lot of options here, and you can’t go wrong with any one of them!