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The argument for carrying a reusable water bottle is undeniably clear. But in case anyone needs a refresher: A 2023 United Nations report found that the world produces more than 600 billion single-use plastic bottles each year. That’s roughly 25 million tons of plastic, very little of which gets recycled. It can also take as much as six times more water to produce a plastic bottle than the amount of liquid one holds to begin with.
Hands down, the best reusable bottles are made from stainless steel. The material is durable, inert, insulating, and easy to recycle. That said, everything has a footprint: Manufacturing the average stainless-steel bottle creates considerable emissions, which means you need to drink from it about 500 times to offset its initial environmental cost.
All things considered, hitting that break-even point isn’t hard as long as you love—and exclusively use—the vessel you’ve chosen. But which of the many (many) options out there will you go googly-eyed for?
To help you choose, we spent weeks researching and then testing five stainless-steel bottles from well-known brands. Our testers sipped water, measured temperature, smacked contenders onto sidewalks, and dove into parent companies’ efforts to minimize their environmental impact. In the end, we landed on a well-built, smooth-sipping bottle from a brand that takes actionable steps to ensure it’s not helping drink our planet dry.
Explore
one5c’s pick: The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth
A simple, well-engineered water bottle with excellent insulation and an array of easy-to-drink-from lids, the Hydro Flask Wide Mouth ($45; hydroflask.com) is a steadfast hydration companion. While we liked the Owala FreeSip ($35; owalalife.com) from a purely drinking POV, Hydro Flask floated to first place overall thanks to the company’s commitment to sustainability, including a top-notch take-back program and packaging made from 80% recycled materials.
Why it’s good
The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth is a durable, no-frills bottle made from high-quality food-grade stainless steel. Like the other models we tested—and the large majority of bottles on the market—it features double-walled insulation to keep drinks cold and is available in a variety of sizes: 24, 32, 40, and 64 ounces. The 32-ounce version we tested is 11 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide, a cup-holder-friendly size we found easy to pack and carry. Most bottles we assessed had a similar profile, save for the Stanley IceFlow ($45; stanley.com), which is a few inches taller and, as a result, awkward to pack.
In tests of how well it works as a water bottle, the Hydro Flask ticks all the important boxes. Its insulating power was impressive: Ice water that started at 55 degrees F dropped to 54 degrees after 10 hours at room temperature—a result of the thermodynamics of ice melting. (The Yeti Rambler 36-ounce Water Bottle [$50; yeti.com], Owala, and Stanley all performed at or near the top here, too.) The Hydro Flask was also reliably leakproof: It never spilled during weeks of daily use or when we left it on its side for 12 hours. All the bottles also aced this test, except for the BrüMate Resa ($43; brumate.com), which leaked when its fussy, twist-to-lock straw lid wasn’t aligned just right.
Lids, it so happens, are one of the biggest differentiators among water bottles, and we give the Hydro Flask major props for its versatility. It has four different sold-separately screw-on lids: a classic wide-mouth cap for standard drinking, a narrow-necked “chug” lid, a flip-top straw cap, and a coffee-style “flex sip” lid for hot or iced beverages. They cost $12-$16, are easy to attach and remove and simple to clean (all parts are top-of-dishwasher safe). We especially liked the chug and sip lids, both of which allow your mouth to cover the entire opening, eliminating the awkward splash-back that can happen if you take a swig and a step at the same time.
On the other side of things, the Owala and BrüMate both come with a single lid. Testers found the BrüMate’s silicone-tipped straw one unnecessarily difficult to drink from. The Owala, meanwhile, sports a trigger-operated lid and a clever dual-function mouthpiece that lets you sip or swig, which provided our favorite overall drinking experience. The Yeti and Stanley, like Hydro Flask, also have sold-separately interchangeable tops. But the Hydro Flask’s four different lids do the most to make the bottle feel as if it’s four different bottles in one.
Nothing’s perfect: There’s very little to dislike about the Hydro Flask. But allow us some minor quibbles: During our drop test, we managed to dent the bottle with a solid smack onto the cement from the waist of a 5-foot-6-inch tester, a fall that generates roughly 25 pounds of force (watch your toes!). Even after the ding, the bottle’s seal and insulation still held up. Each Hydro Flask lid also features a soft, silicone handle that’s comfortable to carry or clip to a backpack, but isn’t sturdy enough to use as leverage for twisting off the cap the way you can with the more traditional hard plastic loops favored by Yeti and Stanley.
Why it’s sustainable
In a tight race, Hydro Flask also led the pack in terms of Earth-friendliness. One of our favorite things about it is the company’s approach to packaging. It uses a minimum of 80% recycled materials, and all other paper packaging comes from places that the Forest Stewardship Council certifies as responsibly managed. All packaging is recyclable, uses soy-based inks, and doesn’t include foils or varnishes that might risk stock getting rejected during processing.
As for the Hydro Flask bottle itself, the company guarantees it will last with a limited lifetime warranty. It’s also dishwasher-safe. But what makes Hydro Flask really stand out is its trade-in and recycling program: Mail in your old bottle and get $5 off your next purchase, and the company will then ensure the old bottle is properly recycled—although it doesn’t specify how and into what.
Hydro Flask is also on the right path in terms of the planet-warming potential of its operations. The company has Science Based Target Initiative goals to reduce emissions from things like its offices and company vehicles by 46.2% by 2030, and it’s working with its manufacturers to cut their supply chain emissions by 42%. Hydro Flask is also a founding member of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps, which has a shared goal to halve industry emissions by 2030 and hit net-zero by 2050.
Nothing’s perfect: Although Hydro Flask’s parent company, Helen of Troy, reports emissions data and goals, it hasn’t yet released info on its progress in actually lowering its carbon footprint and meeting its benchmarks. Similarly, the company reports nitty-gritty details of its water use, but doesn’t communicate how or if it’s decreased consumption. Otherwise, our main critique is that no portion of the Hydro Flask water bottle itself utilizes recycled materials.
Runners-up
The Yeti Rambler 36-ounce Water Bottle ($50; yeti.com) placed a close second, falling to HydroFlask by less than 1 percentage point once our testing and sustainability scores were tallied. The stainless-steel bottle is tough, leakproof, and insulating, and testers appreciated its no-nonsense design. We liked its lid options, and the fact that you can remove the entire top from the base if you want to add ice or need to reach the bottom of the bottle for cleaning. The brand is also buttoned-up sustainability-wise. Some highlights: Yeti hosts river cleanups, has donated $2.3 million to support organizations and individuals working to preserve the wild, and has a detailed emissions report.
Despite the fact that Stanley’s super-popular Quencher mug line inspired a frenzy of overconsumption in which buyers rushed to collect dozens of different designs, the Stanley IceFlow ($45; stanley.com) placed third on our podium overall. Sustainably speaking, the company has detailed transportation emissions reports, uses minimal packaging, and has a science-based goal to reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 50.4% by 2030. It did falter, however, in performance; while we appreciated the bottle’s no-frills style and three, sold-separately lid options (wide mouth, chug, and flip straw), its surface dented easily and its long narrow design was awkward.
The Owala FreeSip, on the flip side, excelled as a bottle but fizzled as a super-sustainable choice. Testers were initially skeptical of this trendy vessel—which features a flip-out handle that tucks neatly onto the lid and adorably resembles a cockatiel when unfolded—but were won over by the bottle’s ergonomic design. However, the company is quite mysterious when it comes to sustainability, disclosing very little about its emissions, water use, donations, and operations. It also doesn’t use recycled materials in the product or packaging.
What stainless steel water bottles we tested
We tested five water bottles from legacy companies like Stanley and Yeti in addition to relative newcomers like Owala and BrüMate. We focused on double-walled stainless-steel bottles that come in at least two different sizes, have handles, are favorably reviewed by other outlets and buyers, and are available online and in stores. Ultimately we landed on the BrüMate Resa, Hydro Flask Wide Mouth, Owala FreeSip, Stanley IceFlow Insulated Bottle, and Yeti Rambler Insulated Water Bottle and tested the midsize version of each. Prices range from $35 to $50. Extra lids for the Yeti, Stanley, and Hydro Flask cost between $10 and $15 apiece.
How we picked our winning bottle
Our product recommendations are based on two parallel assessment tracks: one for performance and one for sustainability. These ratings combine to land on our final winner, which represents the ideal blend of a product that’s good for the Earth and for your life. Read more about our assessment process here.
How we tested water bottles
The ideal water bottle keeps beverages cool, fits neatly in a bag, and provides a pleasant drinking experience. It should also keep its contents inside, because a leaky bottle can ruin your day (and your electronics). In addition to toting each one around for weeks, assessing their general design, drinking experience, and portability, we put our contenders through a series of tests designed to figure out which bottles were the most reliable.
- Durability Test: We filled each bottle to capacity and dropped it from waist height onto a cement sidewalk three times. We checked for both cosmetic and structural damage.
- Leak Test: Each bottle, filled with 25 ounces of water, was placed on its side on a towel-lined baking sheet. We checked for leaks over the course of 12 hours.
- Insulation Test: We filled each bottle with 25 ounces of cold tap water and five ice cubes and measured the initial temperature. After five and 10 hours, we checked the mercury again to see how well each bottle kept its contents cool.
- Cleaning Test: After use, we cleaned each water bottle by hand according to manufacturer instructions, noting bottles that featured any difficult-to-reach nooks and crannies. Each was also given a spin in the dishwasher.
How we scored sustainability
Our sustainability ratings take into account three factors: a product’s environmental impact at its production, what happens at its end-of-life, and the manufacturer’s environmental behavior. Production factors in where, how, and with what a product is made—as well as how it’s transported through the supply chain. End-of-life takes into account the quality of the materials used, the product’s warranty, and any repair or recycling options for consumers. The final factor involves actions the company takes outside the life of a product to minimize its footprint or benefit the environment, and we award bonus points for transparency, as well. These scores are informed inferences based on available information, not full-blown life-cycle analyses.
Madeline Muzzi is a writer with more than ten years of experience covering lifestyle, culture, and products. She is a certified sommelier with a special love for cooking and restaurants. Her work has been featured in New York Magazine, Eater, Taste, and Serious Eats, among others.
Tyler Santora is a freelance science journalist, editor, and fact-checker. He’s written for publications such as Undark, Scientific American, Popular Science, and more.
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