We all know we should be drinking more water. But while chugging back more H2O is great for your health, constantly buying bottled water is bad for both the environment and your bank balance. Buying a reusable water bottle and filling it with tap water is the eco-friendly (and affordable) alternative, and means there’s no excuse not to get your eight glasses per day wherever you are.
If you’re ready to save money and stay healthy, we’ve rounded up the best water bottles below. They’re all well-designed, won’t leak and (we think) you’ll actually want to drink from them. If you want to know more about what to look for when choosing a water bottle, you can find everything you need to know in our short buying guide below. If you just want to skip straight to the products, scroll past to see our five favourite bottles.
How to choose a water bottle
Reusable water bottles can vary in price from a couple of pounds up to just short of £50. While it may be tempting to reach for the cheapest one or the first bottle you see, you may end up regretting it. Shop around, and you can pick up a decent bottle for around a tenner which will be robust enough to survive being carried around everywhere you go.
You can generally expect to get what you pay for. Spending a little more can get you some useful features, such as leak-proof or insulated designs, or even built in water filters to remove impurities from your tap water.
Whether you choose to spend a little more for such features will probably depend not only your budget, but your lifestyle and where you’ll be using your water bottle. If you enjoy cycling or hiking, spending a little more for a bottle that keeps water cool and is designed to clip onto a backpack will be well worth it. On the other hand, if you’ll only be using your water bottle at your desk or around the house, a basic bottle will do the job fine - and save you some pennies too.
The best water bottles to buy
S’well Stainless Steel Vacuum Water Bottle: Best for design
Price when reviewed: £35
If a stranger’s patterned water bottle has caught your eye recently, it was probably made by S’well. S’well boasts an extensive range of designs, from animal prints and marble works of art, to iridescent colours and metallics, which is one of the reasons why it’s become a go-to brand for water bottles in the last couple of years.
But the brand’s popularity isn’t all down to its fun designs; S’well bottles are everything you could want in a water bottle: they’re BPA-free, made from long-lasting stainless steel and keep water cool for up to 24 hours thanks to the clever vacuum design. They also keep liquids hot for up to 12 hours so they can be used as both a water bottle and a travel mug for hot drinks. A S’well bottle is far from cheap, but is well worth the money if you’re able to invest, especially if an attractive bottle is likely to make you sip from it more.
EMPO Fruit Infuser Water Bottle: Best fruit infusion bottle
Price when reviewed: £8.97
If you’re trying to drink more water but aren’t keen on the taste, a fruit infuser bottle could be the solution. An infuser is like a normal water bottle, only with an extra compartment that can be filled with chopped fruit to flavour the water, and our favourite is EMPO’s affordable bottle. The EMPO bottle has a central infuser column, which is easy to take out to fill and clean, and is also dishwasher-safe. It’s large enough to fit in all the fruit you want while still leaving plenty of room for water, and with a 700ml capacity, it’s bigger than most reuseable water bottles on the market so you won’t have to worry about filling it up as often.
The EMPO infuser bottle comes in four fruity colours, and although they’re a little on the bright side, they’re much more subtle than most of the fruit infusion bottles out there. A nice added bonus and one of our favourite things about the EMPO infuser bottle is the free recipe book that comes with it, so you’ll have plenty of inspiration to help you stick with your new H2O habit.
Bobble BPA-Free 550ml Water Bottle: Best water bottle with filter
Price when reviewed: £8.31
If you’ve ever looked up filtered water bottles, you’ve probably already come across Bobble. And if you haven’t seen them online, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of the brand’s distinctive bottles around you in the street, office or on your daily commute. Bobble’s original filtered bottle has been one of the leading water bottles since 2008 and we still think it’s hard to beat, despite the fact that it’s not (yet) dishwasher safe.
Bobble bottles are designed in the USA and constructed from recycled BPA-free plastic. A changeable carbon filter is built into the lid, which removes chlorine from tap water so you can get bottle-clean water straight from your kitchen. Unlike with other filter bottles that can be fiddly to change, this means you only have to switch the lid for a new one when you’re ready for a new filter. Not that you’ll need to change it often - the Bobble filter can be used up to 300 times before it needs switching, which is equivalent to 150 litres of water.
Chilly’s Reusable Water Bottle: Best for insulation
Price when reviewed: £20
If keeping your water cold is a priority, look no further than Chilly’s insulated water bottle. It keeps water nice and cool for up to 24 hours, even if you leave it in a sunny spot, making it perfect for long walks, car journeys and summer picnics. It can also be used for milk, wine or any other liquid you wish to keep cold, so it’s great for camping trips, commutes and days at the beach too.
The Chilly’s bottle isn’t cheap, but is surprisingly affordable compared to other water bottles on the market. It also comes in some of the most attractive colourways, including pastels, metallics and matte shades, although the paint may begin to wear off after a couple of months of regular use. That said, the impressive insulation still makes it a winner if you care more about function than aesthetics. Plus, at just £20, you’ll still save money on reuseable bottles even if you choose to replace it after a few months.
Chilly Bottles Double Walled Reusable Bottle - 18hrs Hot & 24 Cold - Matt Finish (Pink, 500ml)
Klean Kanteen Classic Sport Bottle: Best for sports and on the go
Price when reviewed: £18
If you’re looking for a water bottle to take to the gym or on your morning run, you want one that’s quick and easy to drink from when you need it, but won’t leak when you don’t. Klean Kanteen’s classic bottle is exactly that, and comes with a sports cap for easier access when you’re on the go. It combines a stainless steel body with a changeable sports cap - something that’s quite rare among stainless steel bottles - and won’t drip or leak when you move around. That said, it’s worth buying an additional screw lid for long journeys or just for extra peace of mind, even though it will set you back another fiver or so.
The classic bottle from Klean Kanteen now comes in a great range of colours, from hot pink and luminous orange to the classic silver and a quirky matt yellow. It’s also dishwasher safe, so it couldn’t be much more convenient to use. Despite being made from stainless steel, however, water doesn’t stay cool in the Klean Kanteen bottle for very long at all, so this isn’t a bottle to buy if insulation is a priority, but for a reliable bottle that makes staying hydrated easy, it’s hard to beat.
