What is the Best Water Bottle for Hiking? (Hydro Flask vs Klean Kanteen vs Nalgene)

8/15/2022

What is the Best Water Bottle for Hiking? Part 1 of 3 (Short Hikes, 1-3 Hours)

So Many Options

With so many water bottle options available, you might be asking which one is the best for hiking. Here, we’ll review our favorites and let you know our recommendations.

Quick Summary

We know you're busy, so here's the short-short version.
Keep reading the rest of the post or watch the video for more details.

When to buy a Nalgene vs Klean Kanteen vs Hydro Flask

Click the links below to see these products on Amazon.

Nalgene Listing

Klean Kanteen Listing

Hydro FLask Listing

The Best Water Bottles for Hiking - A Video Review

In this video, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of some of the most popular and iconic water bottles, including Nalgenes, Klean Kanteens, and Hydro Flasks. If you'd rather read through our recommendations, keep scrolling down for the full post (the video and written post cover the same info).

Safety First!

As always, be safe out there. Generally you should plan to bring approximately 17 oz of water per hour of hiking. We highly recommend checking out our previous post that discusses hydration safety to make sure you’re bringing enough.

See Our Previous Post

Recommended water volumes for hiking

Our Recommendations for Water Bottles for Short Hikes (1-3 Hours)

Today we’re focusing on short hikes between 1-3 hours in length. For these length hikes, a large water bottle is usually enough to keep you hydrated.

If you’re looking for full-day or multi-day hydration solutions, that’s when you start getting into bladder packs and filtration systems. We’ll cover those in a future post.

Bottle Brands

When it comes to the bottle brand, we love the classics: Nalgenes, Klean Kanteens, and Hydro Flasks. These happen to be three of the more popular water bottle brands for outdoor enthusiasts, and for good reason.

Nalgene

Klean Kanteen

Hydro Flask

There are TONS of other great brands and bottles out there, including YETIs, Takeyas (we LOVE Takeyas), and Camelbaks to name a few, but for the sake of time, we’re limiting our review to Nalgenes, Klean Kanteens, and Hydro Flasks because each one marked a new milestone in hydration bottles for hiking.

Nalgene: The Original Hiking-Focused Bottle

Nalgenes are the original reusable water bottles that focused on outdoor recreation, and they're still a great option today.

Classic 32oz Wide Mouth Nalgene, Pros and Cons

Pros:

They are inexpensive, usually costing between $10 and $20.
They are lightweight.
And they are extremely durable and dent-resistant, even more-so than the next bottles we’ll talk about.
There are also plenty of color options to choose from, so you can surely find something that matches your style.

Cons:

The main downside is that they are not insulated.
There’s also no carrying handle built into standard Nalgene wide mouth bottles. You can use the lid tether, but it’s not exactly comfortable and isn’t centered.

What about BPAs?

BPAs, or bisphenal A, are chemicals that have been linked to certain health issues. We're not medical experts, so we'll refer to the Mayo Clinic on this one.
There was a lot of press about BPAs in Nalgene bottles in the early 2000s, but they changed their manufacturing formulas in 2008 to make sure their bottles are all BPA-free.

Who Should Get a Nalgene?

Overall, we recommend getting a Nalgene if you’re trying to limit your spending or are very focused on carrying as little weight as possible. Even though they’re not the premium option on this list, they’re still great bottles that will keep you hydrated for many years. And they're also made in the USA if that influences your buying decision!

See Pricing on Amazon

Klean Kanteens: The Original Stainless Steel Hiking-Focused Bottle

Klean Kanteens started around 2004 and were the first stainless steel bottles focused on hiking and outdoor recreation. They really started taking off when Nalgenes were in the news for BPAs. At first they had non-insulated bottles, but more recently they’ve expanded their line to include dual-wall vacuum sealed options.

Classic 40oz Wide Mouth (Not-Insulated), Pros and Cons

Pros

These tend to be in the middle ground on prices. The non-insulated bottles are generally between $18 and $35.
All of their bottles are plastic free (other than the lid), so if that’s a priority for you, then Klean Kanteens are a great option.
The classic stainless steel is very durable. (But if you drop your bottle, don’t be surprised if you get a ding or dent in the metal that you won’t be able to fix.)
It also has a built-in handle.

Cons

One downside of any stainless steel bottle vs plastic is that these bottles are heavier. But for shorter hikes, this isn’t as big of an issue.
The classic design is not insulated.
Some people, including us, say the classic cap/handle in the image above isn't great because it can be a little more difficult to unscrew and isn’t a great carrying handle. However, the newer loop cap with a metal handle seems to be the new standard that most of their bottles are shifting towards, and that handle is great (see below)!
There are not many color options, so if you’re looking to get a unique color to help your bottle stand out, you might want to consider a different brand.
As mentioned above, these bottles dent fairly easily if dropped. It'll still work, it just won't look as good as it did.

The Newer, Better Klean Kanteen Handle

Klean Kanteen's New Style Metal Handle on their Loop Cap

Klean Kanteen's newer bottles have a much better lid than the original style. The newer design has a metal loop handle. If you're buying one of these bottles, we definitely recommend looking for one that has this type of handle. Most of their newer style lids (loop cap, cafe cap, twist cap) seem to have this metal handle built-in.

We thought they were only incorporated into the new TKWide insulated bottles, but we just stopped by REI and saw these on the shelf. We're glad they made this change, and we hope it's becoming the new standard.

What about Klean Kanteen's Insulated TKWide Bottles?

Klean Kanteen's TKWide 32oz Insulated Bottles (Loop Cap)

We’ve mostly talked about their non-insulated classic design so far, but Klean Kanteen recently came out with their TKWide insulated bottles. Expect the TKWides to cost and weigh more than other Klean Kanteen options, but they look like they'd be worth the price. We’re excited to try these out at some point.

See Pricing on Amazon

Who Should Get a Klean Kanteen?

To sum it up, we recommend getting a Klean Kanteen if you want to avoid drinking out of a plastic bottle but still want to be cost-conscious.

Just remember that Klean Kanteen has a mix of insulated and non-insulated bottles, make sure to pay attention when buying to make sure you’re getting what you want. But either way we think you’ll be happy with one of these bottles.

See Pricing on Amazon

Hydro Flask: The Premium Insulated Hiking-Focused Bottle

Hydro Flask is arguably the most popular water bottle on the planet in 2022. These bottles burst onto the scene in 2009 as one of the first major bottles with dual wall vacuum insulation. With a great product and a healthy dose of FOMO through social media, they became staples of certain subcultures.

Classic 40oz Wide Mouth Hydro Flask, Pros and Cons

Pros

But the best thing is that all Hydro Flasks are insulated. Just add ice before your hike, and that should keep your drink cool throughout your short hike.
They’re plastic free, other than the lid.
Because they’re stainless steel, they’re very durable bottles. (But if you drop your bottle, don’t be surprised if you get a ding or dent in the metal that you won’t be able to fix.)
We like the handle more than the classic Klean Kanteen style.
Like with Nalgenes, there are plenty of color options to choose from, so you should be able to find something that fits your style. The powder coat paint feels and looks great, and it holds up really well over time as long as you don’t get a severe dent or scrape.

Cons

The main downside to Hydro Flasks are that they are the most expensive of the three bottle brands mentioned so far. The cheapest options generally start around $25, and 40oz bottles are currently around $50.
Hydro Flasks are heavier than either Nalgenes or non-insulated Klean Kanteens, so if carrying as little weight as possible is your priority, then you may want to look elsewhere. Or consider looking at Hydro Flask’s more recent Trail Series bottles that are lighter than their classic design.
As mentioned, your bottle can dent easily if you drop it.

Who Should Get a Hydro Flask?

We recommend getting a Hydro Flask if you want your drink to stay cool through your hike and if you want to get a specific color that fits your style.

But at the same time, we realize that Hydro Flasks are expensive, and some of the cost you pay is just for the logo on the front. Many people argue that you can get a better deal and more cap options with similar brands like Iron Flask, Thermoflask, or Takeya and they’re not necessarily wrong. But if you decide to invest in a Hydro Flask, we doubt you’ll be disappointed, and you’ll have a fantastic bottle that you can reuse for years to come.

See Pricing on Amazon

What about Hydro Flask's Trail Series?

If the weight of Hydro Flask’s standard bottles is a big downside for you but you like the bottle design, we recommend taking a peek at Hydro Flask’s newer Trail Series bottles. They’ve been around for a few years and have a sleeker look. And best of all, they’ve been engineered to weigh less than Hydro Flask’s standard bottles.

See Pricing on Amazon

Slings: A Useful Add-On for Hands-Free Hiking

With any of these three bottle brands, we recommend also buying a carrying sling for hands-free hiking with your big bottle. At BottlePro, we have a couple options available, but there are plenty of other options to choose from in today’s market. Here are a few to consider, and look at the listings to be sure to make sure you're getting the right size for your bottle!

BottlePro's Neoprene Sling

This inexpensive option is great for short hikes and keeps your bottle well-protected.

See Pricing on Amazon

Wild Wolf Outfitter's 40oz Sling

This is a good all-around and cost-effective pouch to keep your bottle protected, and it comes with quite a bit of storage space for your phone, keys, or other items.

See Pricing on Amazon

BottlePro's HikerPouch

Our leather option. It's a little on the expensive end, but it's made with quality leather and includes a pocket for your phone and several d-rings along the rim for multiple ways to clip it onto your bag.

See Pricing on Amazon

Hydro Flask's Slings

Hydro Flask has a couple of sling options. They're lightweight and packable, which is great to offset the weight of your bottle. Like all things Hydro Flask, expect to pay a little more for the logo. But it's still a great product and can help keep your Hydro Flask protected and easier to hike with.

See Pricing on Amazon

Want to take your favorite bottle to the next level?

Check out our Amazon store for fun and helpful accessories, like fruit infusers, cup holder adapters, and carrying slings.

See BottlePro's Store

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