A water bottle may seem like a basic accessory, but today there are different varieties of reusable water bottles based on what you’re looking for. Some may prefer something that’s less harsh on the environment, while others may want something trendier and more unique. In the past few years, stainless steel and glass bottles have become more common.
To help you purchase your ideal water bottle we’ve put together a list of the best reusable bottles down below. Each pick is well designed, BPA-free, leakproof and looks so snazzy that you’ll actually want to use it even when you’re at home, meaning you’ll probably drink more water without even noticing.
If you’re unsure where to start when picking a reusable water bottle, we’ve put together a helpful buying guide below, which will run you through everything you need to consider before making your selection.
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Reusable water bottles can vary in price from a couple of pounds up to just short of £50. While it may be tempting to reach for the cheapest one or the first bottle you see, you may end up regretting it. Shop around, and you can pick up a decent bottle for around a tenner, which will be robust enough to survive being carried around everywhere you go.
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As with most things, you can generally expect to get what you pay for, so spending a little more cash can get you some useful features, such as leak-proof or insulated designs, or even built-in water filters to remove impurities from your tap water.
Should I get a water bottle with a filter?
While water direct from the tap is obviously the cheapest choice, a lot of us crave cleaner-tasting water – especially those living in cities. To fix this issue some water bottles come with their own built-in filtration system, meaning you don’t get all the nasties along with your H2O. Alternatively, you can always get a filter jug for your home and refill your bottle from there before heading out.
Your budget and lifestyle will likely dictate the kind of bottle you buy. If you enjoy cycling or hiking, spending a little more for a bottle that keeps water cool and is designed to clip onto a backpack will be well worth the extra pennies. On the other hand, if you’ll only be using your water bottle at your desk or around the house, a basic bottle will do the job fine – and save you some cash, too.
Price: £42 | Buy now from Cotswold Outdoor
Hydro Flask’s pro-grade stainless steel water bottle does away almost completely with your need to buy plastic bottles, reusable or disposable. And you can wave goodbye to plastic-favoured drinks. OK, it’s not completely plastic-free – the wide mouth flex cap is made from BPA-free insulating plastic (and you can buy replacements from Amazon, plus alternative style lids). But the flask itself is lightweight steel that keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours. As a bonus, you can stick it in the dishwasher for a thorough clean.
As you’d expect from a specialist company like Hydro Flask, the design details are spot on. The strong but flexible carry handle is really easy to tether to your backpack if you’re short on space and want to keep your hands free. And when you do want to handle the bottle, its powder coating helps you keep your grip, even when you’ve worked up a sweat. The wide mouth is as easy to drink from as a mug, so you won’t spill water all over your face. Some users have found the lid a bit tricky to screw on if it’s not aligned correctly but, that minor quibble aside, this is one of the best-reviewed water bottles you can buy. It comes in a fab range of colours, too.
Key specs – Capacity: 946ml; Material: 18/8 Pro Grade Stainless Steel with BPA-free lid (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: 10
Buy now from Cotswold Outdoor
Price: £17 |Buy now from Amazon
CamelBak is one of the longest-established names in water bottles. Its founder originally evolved a way to use IV drop bottles to carry water in for expeditions, but the company’s bottles have come a long way since then. The BPA-free plastic Chute Mag features an innovative magnetic flip top that gets around the problem of trying to screw a threaded lid shut when you’re tired and sweaty. CamelBak says the lid is “leak-proof when closed”, but users report that it’s worth giving it a quick tighten as well, especially when the bottle is full. It may take a little bit of getting used to, but the lid is permanently attached, so there’s no worry about losing it.
Key specs – Capacity: 750ml; Material: BPA/BPS/BPF-free plastic (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: 5+
Price: £10 | Buy now from Cotswold Outdoor
Ronhill’s H20 Bottle is particularly easy to hold, thanks to its ergonomic shape, soft-touch finish (which won’t slip out of sweaty hands) and secure wrist strap. It’s also one of only a few reusable water bottles to contain a filter, which many find distinctly improves the taste of water. This bright pink bottle certainly won’t get lost in the undergrowth while you're half-way through your trek. But if you’d like something more subtle, Cotswold Outdoor also has the Ronhill H20 bottle in grey.
Key specs – Capacity: 600ml; Material: BPA-free polyamide; Colours available: 2
Buy now from Cotswold Outdoor
Price: From £10 | Buy now from Amazon
The Nalgene Tritan Narrow Mouth is such a great-value drinks bottle that we’d happily recommend it above any other product in this list. In many ways, it’s the simplicity of the design that makes it so good: its narrow mouth makes it easy to sip water whatever activity you might be doing, while the leak-proof lid ensures you’ll never accidentally soak your other belongings when you sling it in your bag. Thanks to the markings on the side, it’s also easy to keep tabs on how much you’ve drunk.
The lid’s plastic loop makes for an easy way to carry the bottle or clip it to your bag and, as with its more famous wide-mouth counterpart, the Tritan Narrow Mouth is durable, so you can be confident it won’t buckle or crack when it gets dropped. Best of all, there’s no plastic taste to the water and it’s dishwasher-safe, so there’s no excuse for not keeping your Nalgene fresh at all times. Our only gripe is the larger of the two sizes it comes in (500ml and 1,000ml are available) is too chunky to fit in the side pockets of many backpacks.
Key specs – Capacity: 500ml; Material: BPA/BPS-free Tritan plastic (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: Many colours and sizes available
Price: From £15 | Buy now from Amazon
If keeping your water cold is a priority, look no further than the Chilly’s insulated water bottle. It keeps water nice and cool for up to 24 hours, even if you leave it in a sunny spot, making it perfect for long walks, car journeys and summer picnics. It can also be used for milk, wine or any other liquid you wish to keep cold, so it’s great for camping trips, commutes and days at the beach, too.
It comes in some attractive colourways, including pastels, metallics and matte shades, although the paint may begin to wear off after a couple of months of regular use. That said, the impressive insulation still makes it a winner if you care more about function than aesthetics. Plus, at around £20, you’ll still save money on reusable bottles even if you choose to replace it after a few months.
Key specs – Capacity: 260ml-750ml; Material: Food-grade stainless steel; Colours available: 30+
Price: £13 | Buy now from Amazon
One of the biggest fears about using glass water bottles is what happens if it accidentally slips and falls because of its delicate nature. Thankfully, this Be-Active Glass Water Bottle comes with soft silicon for additional grip, making it a great option to use indoors, at home or even at the gym. The bottle also has a leakproof lid with a carry strap and a convenient flip-top lid for easy one-handed access.
The body is made of eco-friendly borosilicate glass for extra durability, and we love the fact that it’s completely dishwasher-safe, making it a doddle to clean. The flip side of the bottle has hourly markings on it, which is a good way to keep track of how much water you consume each day. It comes in five different colours and is often available for less its already-cheap price.
Key specs – Capacity: 700ml; Material: Borosilicate glass and BPA-free silicon; Colours available: 5
Price: £12 | Buy now from Amazon
Teaching your children the importance of staying hydrated is crucial, and we believe that the Fringoo is a great tool to help you do just that. With six eye-catching, vibrant designs that are tailored to both girls and boys, it’s easy to imagine your children proudly displaying their new Fringoo bottles in the playground or at home. The bottle has a capacity of 600ml, so it can easily fit into lunchboxes or rucksacks, and it’s also free of BPAs or any other harmful chemicals. It’s also dishwasher-safe, so cleaning it couldn’t be simpler.
The straw helps children drink with minimal spillage, and the carry-handle helps them carry the bottle wherever they go. You needn’t worry about it breaking if dropped, either, as it’s made of 100% durable Tritan. The top opens and locks simply with one press of a button. This enables your child to easily access their daily supply of water and minimises the risk of leakage in their backpack.
Key specs – Capacity: 600ml; Material: BPA-free Tritan plastic (dishwasher safe); Colours available: 6
Price: From £15 | Buy now from Amazon
If a stranger’s patterned water bottle has caught your eye recently, it was probably made by S’well. S’well boasts an extensive range of designs, from animal prints and marble works of art to iridescent colours and metallics, which is one of the reasons why it’s become the go-to brand for stylish water bottles.
But the brand’s popularity isn’t all down to its fun designs; S’well bottles are everything you could want in a water bottle. They’re BPA-free, made from long-lasting stainless steel and keep water cool for up to 24 hours thanks to a clever vacuum design. They also keep liquids hot for up to 12 hours so they can be used as both a water bottle and a travel mug. A S’well bottle is far from cheap but is well worth the money if you’re able to splash out, especially if an attractive bottle is likely to make you sip from it more frequently.
Key specs – Capacity: 260ml-750ml; Material: 18/8 Stainless steel (hand-wash only); Colours available: 33
Price: From £9 | Buy now from Amazon
One of the most irritating things to happen when you’re trusting your water bottle to safely transport your liquid from A to B is for it to leak and ruin the entire contents of your bag, let alone leave you with a suspicious wet patch. This is where iON 8’s leak-proof BPA-free water bottle comes into its own. With a fast flow for rapid hydration, a hygienic flip-top cover and lid lock for one-handed use on the go, it’s great at preventing accidents.
The Ion8 is also suitable for hot and cold drinks varying in temperature from -10°C to 96°C. Ion8 drinks bottles are made from a BPA-free, non-toxic material called Tritan by Eastman, which is apparently highly resistant to odours, can be easily cleaned, and is completely dishwasher-safe. One of our faves, for sure.
Key specs – Capacity: 500ml; Material: BPA-free Tritan plastic (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: 17
Price: From £15 | Buy now from Amazon
Black + Blum’s Eau Good charcoal filter bottle is one of the more unusual water bottles we’ve come across. Instead of your typical lid filter, the Eau Good comes with a stick of Japanese Binchotan charcoal that absorbs contaminants from the water over a period of about eight hours. At the same time, it releases minerals including calcium and iron into the water, without adding even the faintest hint of charcoal taste.
The bottle itself is made of BPA-free Tritan plastic and uses a leak-proof cork and silicone seal. This is secured by a steel ring that clamps down on the lid when the bottle is not in use. Fitting the charcoal stick into the water bottle’s groove isn’t exactly a seamless process: it’s far more fiddly than depicted on Black + Blum’s website but, once the stick is in there, it stays. Each filter lasts for six months, and when it expires it can be crushed up for fertiliser. Replacement charcoal filters are available to buy separately.
Key specs – Capacity: 800ml; Material: BPA-free Tritan plastic (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: 5
Price: From £19 | Buy now from Amazon
The new Contigo Ashland Chill is the all-rounder of reusable water bottles because it’s a great grab-and-go option whether you’re at home, want something for the car, or even to use at your office or gym. The 590ml thermal stainless steel bottle has a one-press drink spout for easy one-handed drinking. The spout cover keeps dirt and germs out, and it even has a button lock to prevent accidental opening and spillage. All three parts – bottle, cover and straw – are top-rack dishwasher-safe and you’ll be pleased to know it’s 100% BPA free.
The thermal insulation is an added bonus because this ensures that your drinks remain cold for up to 18 hours, something we’re sure to need given this weather. The Contigo Ashland Chill is just the right size to fit most car cup holders and we like the rubber grip on the top, which makes it convenient to pick up even when you’re driving. Our only gripe is that sometimes a few water droplets splash when you press the button to release the spout, but otherwise the entire unit feels very sturdy and something that will potentially last you years.
Key specs – Capacity: 590ml; Material: BPA-free stainless steel (dishwasher-safe); Colours available: 8
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