What to Look for in a travel Water Bottle

Before we get into our favorite water bottles, here’s what you should look for.

Questions to Ask

Where are you traveling? Will drinking water be hard to find? Do you need to filter the water?

What is the climate? If you’re going somewhere extremely cold or hot, you may want your water to stay hot or cold longer.

What activities are you doing? Are you spending most of your time outside or in cities?

What is your travel style? If you travel light, some bottles takes up minimal space.

How are you carrying the bottle? Will you carry it in your backpack or separately? What is your bag capacity?

Are you traveling with a partner? We tend to share our water bottles, so we bring a larger capacity, but I carry a smaller bottle when I travel solo.

See More: 15 Carry On Essentials You Need for Every Flight

Best Water bottles for Travel

Here are the water bottles we’ve tried and still use regularly.

1. Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide-Mouth 32 oz – Best for domestic travel ($49.95) →

The lightweight series from Hydro Flask is our favorite water bottle for domestic travel. We got our first Hydro Flasks when we started our outdoor journey and have been using them since (long before they became a trendy symbol for the eco-conscious!). The photo below shows our collection growing over the past 10+ years.

The lightweight series was their answer to complaints about weight. They don’t have the best reviews compared to the original bottle, but when we travel, we carry this the most because it has the best balance of insulation and weight (12 oz vs 15.5 oz). At home, weight isn’t an issue, so we use the original bottle, which keeps drinks cold and hot longer. We also have the 24 oz and 40 oz but use the 32 oz most often.

Capacity: 32 fl oz
Weight: 12 oz
Dimensions: 10.2 x 3.25 inches
Material: Stainless Steel

2. Larq Bottle PureVis Insulated 25 oz – Best travel water bottle for international trips ($118.00) →

The LARQ Bottle uses PureVis tech to eliminate up to 99% (based on the elimination of 99.8% of E.coli in a 20-second cycle for all LARQ Bottles) of bio-contaminants from your water and bottle. All the tech is in the cap, which will turn on every 2 hours to clean the water and the bottle. You can also manually push the button on top to activate it.

It’s our go-to when we travel internationally and aren’t sure if the water is unsafe to drink. The non-insulated version is lighter, weighing 10.7 oz (24 fluid oz) and 12.5 oz (32 fl oz).

Capacity: 25 fl oz / 17 oz
Weight: 17 oz / 13.5 oz
Dimensions: 10.4 x 3 inches
Material: Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel

Pro Tip: They have a cute travel sleeve or active loop (with built-in carabiner) accessories.

3. Grayl 16.9 oz Ultrapress TI Purifier – Best For Backpacking ($199.95) →

We first discovered GRAYL water bottles in 2015 for our backpacking trips. It uses a French-press-style filtering system to remove waterborne pathogens (99.99% of viruses, 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.9% of protozoan cysts). The LARQ does not filter larger particles like the Grayl. It’s an excellent bottle for camping and backpacking, plus the titanium model can be used for cooking (without the cap/filter).

Capacity: 16.9 fl oz
Weight: 14.1 oz
Dimensions: 9.5 x 2.75 inches
Material: CP54 Grade 1 Titanium

Pro Tip: If you want to purify larger quantities of water at a time, go with the GeoPress since it’s larger.

See More: Recap of Our Endless Caravan

4. Pelican Pacific – Best Handle ($40) →

If you plan on carrying your water bottle without a backpack, the Pelican Pacific has one of the best ergonomic handles with grip. The top has a built-in straw, and the water bottle comes in many colors.

Capacity: 26 fl oz
Weight: 24 oz
Dimensions: 10.5 x 3.25 inches
Material: Stainless Steel

Pro Tip: If you’re looking for something to use day-to-day, they also have the Pelican Porter, which is a mug-style bottle and has a 40 oz capacity. These are very trendy right now.

5. HiBear All-Day Adventure Flask – Best Versatile Bottle ($95) →

The HiBear All-Day Adventure Flask is the Swiss army knife of insulated bottles. You can make pour-over coffee, mix cocktails, decant wine, make loose-leaf tea, brew a batch of cold brew, infuse water, or use it like a regular water bottle.

Capacity: 32 fl oz
Weight: 29 oz
Dimensions: 11 x 3.7 inches
Material: Stainless steel

6. Platypus SoftBottle 1L – Best Collapsible ($12.95) →

If you’re looking for something super lightweight, the Platypus Softbottles are the way to go. When empty, you can roll them up so they take up little to no space. For the longest time, I bought a bunch of these as gifts since I found them so useful.

Capacity: 34 fl oz
Weight: 1.2 oz
Dimensions: 13 x 6 inches
Material: BPA-, BPS-, and phthalate-free plastic

7. Hydro Flask 128 oz Oasis – Best Large Capacity ($128) →

If you’re always thirsty (or live in the desert like we do), we want to have a lot of water with us. The Hydro Flask Oasis holds 128 oz or one gallon of water. We bring it with us when we pickleball, when people run out of cold water, we can even share. It’s our newest bottle, and we’ve already gotten compliments on it!

Capacity: 128 fl oz
Weight: 4.08 lb
Dimensions: 17.35 x 6.45 inches
Material: Stainless Steel

8. Popflex Gallon Timer Bottle – Best To Help You Stay On Track ($45) →

If you need a way to monitor your water intake at home, the Popflex Gallon Timer Bottle gives you goals to hit throughout the day. It has a solid handle, making it easy to transport, and the new ones come with an infuser. If you don’t like drinking plain water, add cucumbers or fruits to give it a little flavor. They also make cute bottle bags to help you carry it around.

Capacity: 128 fl oz
Weight: 30 oz
Dimensions: 12 x 6.25 inches
Material: BPA Free Plastic

Best Water Bottle material

The type of material your bottle is made of will affect its durability and weight.

Aluminum – Lightweight and affordable, but flavors cling to the lining, and it’s less durable than stainless steel.

Glass – Dishwasher safe, zero effect on taste, and you can see what’s in it (con if you’re sneaking in alcohol somewhere lol). On the flip side, glass is heavy, there is no insulation, and it’s more fragile.

Plastic – Lightweight and affordable but can leach chemicals into your water and leave an aftertaste. Plus, it ages quickly and isn’t great for the environment.

Stainless Steel (Single Walled) – Lightweight, durable, and no health risk. Single walls have less insulation and transfer heat. Plus, they dent easier.

Stainless Steel (Insulated) – Keeps drinks hot and cold the longest, durable, and no health risks. Cons include it’s heavier and requires hand washing only if vacuum insulated.

Features to Look for

Size: How much water do you need with you? Will you have places to refill it?

Bottle Shape: Bottles are made thinner and wider. Where do you want to store your bottle (backpack sleeve/cup holder etc.)?

Collapsible vs Rigid: Some bottles are made to collapse when empty to save space.

Bottle Height: This mostly plays into how you fill your bottle. Tall bottles may not fit into certain appliances.

Mouth Size: Bottles come in narrow and wide mouths. We prefer wide mouths because they are easier to clean and drink.

Water Bottle Lids: Usually, you don’t have a choice in what lid comes with the bottle, but most companies sell different lids that you can change out. Do you want a handle or your bottle, or do you want to carry it with a carabiner? Do you prefer a nozzle or straw so it’s easy to drink?

Temperature Control: If you want your bottle to keep your drinks hot or cold, you’ll need an insulated water bottle.

Filtering Capabilities: Some water bottles have built-in filtering, which you may need when traveling to some countries. Also, consider the filtering mechanism (i.e., UV lights don’t separate debris, filter straws allow you to suck through the straw, and a French press method requires more physical effort).

Look & Feel: Water bottles can be as much of a statement piece as your clothes now.

Cleaning the Bottle: Water bottles need to be cleaned regularly (many sources say daily). Wide mouths are easier to clean. Some bottle materials require hand washing only. Are there areas that are hard to access with a bottle brush?

See More: 17 Best Travel Backpacks You Need to Check Out

More Travel Water Bottles to Check Out

Here are more popular travel water bottles to check out. Some we’ve tested and didn’t think they belonged on our top list, and others we still need to check out. As we test them, we’ll add them to the list if we like them. Are we missing any that should be on here?

Hydro Flask Vacuum Water Bottle – we love using these water bottles when we’re home or exploring our own city, but not so much when we’re traveling.

Nalgene Wide Mouth Water Bottle – we’ve used nalgenes in the past, and it’s especially nice if you’re cold weather camping. You can pour hot water in it, and bring it into your sleeping bag.

CamelBak Eddy+ Water Bottle

Mira Cascade

Mover Vacuum Water Bottle

Parifyou Glass Water Bottle

Takeya Actives Insulated Water Bottle

ThermoFlask Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle

Essential Tips for Your perfect travel water bottle

Features – Think about what features you want in your bottle and prioritize them to help you decide what’s best for your lifestyle.

Wash Your Bottles – Bottles will gather bacteria, and it’s always best to wash them regularly (ideally daily).

Dump any unused water out at the end of the day to let it dry to reduce bacteria from growing.

Pick up a bottle brush – it makes cleaning easier. Most bottle brushes need to be replaced between one to three months, depending on how often you use it. This natural fiber bottle brush set is more sustainable and can last up to six months.