Whoever thought that drinking water could be so complicated? If you are one of a growing number of consumers who have decided to drink tap water instead of store-bought bottled water, you’ll need a great reusable bottle. We tried four bottles that looked stylish enough to display at your desk.
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SIGG 1-liter Lifestyle 2007, in Maha Purple, $19.95 from reusablebags.com (also sold at Whole Foods)
These Swiss-made aluminum bottles come in bright colors with fun designs. The narrow-mouth screw top is a little cumbersome to open (and it was the only one not attached to the bottle) but the bottle is easy to drink from. The finger hook on top makes it simple to carry.
Klean Kanteen 27-ounce stainless steel reusable bottle, $15.45 from reusablebags.com
This bottle wins style points for its sleek design — at once reminiscent of an old-fashioned Thermos vacuum bottle and modern in that it will match your stainless steel appliances. But the faux squeeze top was my least favorite bottle top; the bottle doesn’t squeeze, so you have to suck the water up. I opted to unscrew the top, but that gave me a medium-wide mouth that wasn’t practical to drink from.
Nalgene MiniGrip Colored Lexan Loop-Top Wide-Mouth Bottle, 12 ounces, slate blue, $6.40 at REI (rei.com)
A smaller version of the ubiquitous Nalgene bottle, this soda-size vessel is a modest alternative for those who don’t want to tote a large bottle into meetings and classrooms. Not everyone is a fan of polycarbonate plastic bottles, but we liked this one. It slips easily into a purse or backpack and, even though it’s small, it holds enough water to keep you hydrated without constant trips to the water fountain.
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CamelBak Water Bottle, 25 ounces, black, $12 at REI (rei.com)
The “hydrate or die” slogan on the side only adds to the intensity of this water bottle. If you’re not an astronaut or endurance athlete, it might take a while to get the hang of CamelBak’s “bite valve” system. But it works. Like magic, it seems. No tilting of the bottle, no squeezing, no spilling. The finger hook makes it easy to carry, or attach to a bag. And it holds a lot of water.
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