An active friend of mine and I have a never-ending argument about sunglasses. His approach is: buy them cheap and you won’t sweat it when you lose or break them. Mine is: invest in good ones and not only will they improve your next bike ride, you’ll make sure you don’t lose or break them. The same reasoning can apply to water bottles, which is why I’ll say it right now — the Hydro Flask 24 oz. Trail Series bottle is the one to buy.
Yes, you can get a daily water bottle for considerable less than $45. But the Trail Series so over-delivers in terms of performance, durability, (lack of) weight and aesthetics that any price difference melts away.
The TempShield insulation keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for up to 12, while the wide mouth top is an easy drinker that accommodates most backcountry hydration filters. The stainless steel walls — creatively thinned to shave 25 percent of the weight — will still take far more of a beating than any plastic alternative might. And it’s about as sleek and sexy as a water bottle can be, with a timeless style that’ll look just as good in 2030.
If you’re still not swayed, consider cost per use. A $45 product you use 10 times costs you $4.50 per use. Pricy. But something you’ll reach for literally thousands of times, if you care enough to treat it right and keep it in sight? We’re talking fractions of pennies. Just remember that math if some punk in cheap sunglasses ever questions the best water bottle purchase you can make.
Editor’s note: For you extra thirsty types, the 32-ounce version is just five bucks more. And for you super ultralight types, the 21-ounce titanium bottle — 35 percent lighter and one of our favorite Outdoor Retailer products — is now available for $100.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io