 Which Insulated Bottle is the Best?Insulated water bottles have been around for a long time, but in the last decade or so their popularity skyrocketed with brands like Hydro Flask and YETI. There’s no doubt that the dual-wall insulation technology in these bottles is a wonderful quality of life improvement compared to non-insulated bottles, especially if you live in a hot region. But if you look on Amazon today, you can find dozens if not hundreds of brands selling similar insulated bottles. So many people ask, which water bottle has the best insulation? We tested 10 popular water bottles to see how well they hold ice. The Best Insulated Bottle - A Video Review
If you'd rather watch the results, then check out our YouTube video below!
The ContendersWe primarily focused on 32-ounce bottles because that size tends tend to be very popular, but we did use some other bottle sizes for certain brands based on what was available. We also included a couple non-insulated bottles as a baseline, a Stanley classic thermos to see how the older style compares, and a triple-wall bottle because we hadn’t tested one before and we were curious if it’s the next best thing.
(click an image below to see the bottle on Amazon) The Test Our Setup for the Test (Minus the Strainer and Ice Mold) Because the main purpose of an insulated water bottle is to maintain a temperature for longer periods throughout the day, we measured the weight of ice before and after the test as our main metric. We purchased an ice mold that creates larger sticks to limit the effect that surface area variations in different pieces of ice might have on the melting rate. Then we added one ice stick to each bottle and no water. After four hours, we poured the contents of each bottle into a strainer, then the remaining ice was dumped onto a scale. By comparing the weights of each ice stick before and after, we were able to get an idea of which bottle keeps ice the best. We then repeated this test three times and calculated the cumulative results.
Keep in mind that this experiment was intended just to give an idea if there are any major variations in insulation effectiveness. In an ideal experiment, we would have used a more accurate scale, used similar lids on all of the bottles, measured out the water into each ice mold to ensure the same volumes of ice were made, and used the same volume bottles across the board. With the disclaimers out of the way, here are the results! The ResultsThe cumulative results are summarized in the table below. You can see the percentage of ice that melted in the fourth column. A few things jumped out at us.  The Luxe and Stanley Original bottles are in a league of their own with 36% ice loss. One factor to keep in mind with the Luxe bottle is that it’s only 22 ounces, and the smaller volume of air likely made the result look better than it really was. We also haven’t tested or used this bottle at all other than with this insulation test, so we’re not quite ready to recommend it yet. Regardless, this initial test of the triple-wall insulation showed promise, and this type of bottle is worth looking into more. The Stanley result was interesting too, given that this type of bottle has been around for a long time and is basically the OG of insulated bottles. After that, we have the Klean Kanteen TKWide, the YETI, Takeya, and Hydro Flask with between 49 and 52% ice loss. These results are very close and are certainly within the range of potential error, so there’s not much difference here. Next is the Iron Flask at 55% ice loss. But keep in mind that we only had a 40oz Iron Flask to test, and the larger volume of air likely made the ice melt faster. Based on this consideration, we feel comfortable assuming that the Iron Flask’s insulation is essentially the same as the previous group. ThermoFlask was the one outlier of the dual-wall insulation bottles. At 59% ice loss, ThermoFlask seemed to consistently test worse than the other similar bottles. And the Nalgene and Klean Kanteen classic had the worst results, but given that these are single-wall bottles and not insulated, this result was to be expected. We mostly just included them in the test as a baseline because we could see when the ice had finished melting in the Nalgene, and we were curious if the single-wall stainless-steel design would do any better. ConclusionsWhen we take a step back to think about these results overall, we can reach a few conclusions.
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 Klean Kanteen's Best Bottle?Klean Kanteen quickly became one of the leading bottle brands when it burst onto the scene with its stainless-steel bottles in 2004. But more recently, other brands have caught up with, and in some cases overtaken, Klean Kanteen’s market share by introducing stylish bottles with dual wall insulation. In late 2020, Klean Kanteen finally released an insulated bottle called the TKWide series. So was the TKWide bottle worth the wait? We purchased a 32-ounce TKWide with a chug cap to find out. We’ll let you know our thoughts and what you can expect if you buy one for yourself. Hydro Flask's Flex Chug - A Video Review
If you'd rather watch a video, then check out our Youtube video below!
PriceInsulationWe’re fans of insulated bottles in general, so that’s a big plus. We’ll be testing the TKWide’s insulation in a future video to compare it against bottles like Hydro Flasks and YETIs, but we expect the insulation is good for most daily activities. Style
Size and WeightThe other thing we noticed right away is the size. This bottle is huge for a 32-ounce. It’s because of the Impact Base Cap adding another inch or so to the height. The bottle is also heavier than other 32-ounce bottles. A 32-ounce TKWide is a full 5 ounces heavier than a 32-ounce Hydro Flask, or about 32%. This isn’t a big deal most of the time, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re going hiking or on a long walk with your bottle.
Spout Cap
Spout
InsideWhen you take off the cap and look inside, you’ll find the comically large instruction booklet translated into 8 languages. There’s also a thank you note that reviews all the social programs and environmental commitments that Klean Kanteen is involved with, so if you’re into supporting environmentally-focused causes and companies then you’ll probably feel pretty good about your purchase. Threads
Plastic
For a completely plastic-free option, consider getting a 40-ounce non-insulated Klean Kanteen with the classic wide loop cap. Please note that this cap only fits Klean Kanteen’s wide mouth bottles with external threads, which does not include TKWides. Our ConclusionIn conclusion, we really like Klean Kanteen’s TKWide bottle. It looks fantastic, is very durable, and has a premium feel that’s hard to describe. The minor issues like the weight and how the internal threads are more difficult to align than standard threads can be overlooked for the most part, though if you’re going on a long walk or hike, we recommend bringing a lighter bottle.
So overall, this is a great go-to bottle that will help you stay hydrated throughout the day. Do you agree with our conclusion? Let us know! |
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PS Kreative, LLC, Licensed in North Carolina, USA (ID # 2514262), DBA "BottlePro"
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