Hiking water bottles

Hiking water bottles, a trade between weight, durability and taste

Hiking water bottles in this range cover stainless steel flasks, BPA-free plastic bottles, collapsible pouches, models with a carrying strap and versions with a long straw or an integrated filter. No single one is right for every walk. A bottle is a compromise between three things that pull against each other: weight when empty, resistance to abuse, and whether the water still tastes of water by evening.

Steel or plastic, which suits your walking?

Stainless steel is heavier and takes knocks without cracking, holds no flavour and can be scoured clean. It also conducts temperature, so a single-wall steel bottle in a rucksack side pocket gets warm in sun and cold in frost. Plastic is lighter and easier to squeeze into a full pack, but it scratches inside where residue collects and can pick up a taste. Collapsible bottles win on packed size and lose on rigidity, being awkward to fill from a shallow stream. If holding a temperature is the priority, that is the job of a double-walled insulated flask rather than of a single-wall bottle.

Which capacity makes sense?

Capacity should follow the route rather than the pack. A short walk with a tap at either end needs very little. A full day on open ground with no refill point means carrying everything you intend to drink. Two smaller bottles spread weight across a pack better than one large one and let you ration what is left. Where streams are reliable you can carry less and refill, provided the water is treated on the way in.

What should be checked on a hiking bottle before ordering?

• Mouth diameter: a wide mouth takes ice and a bottle brush and fills from a stream. A narrow mouth is easier to drink from while moving.
• Cap tether: a lid attached to the collar is a lid that does not roll down a slope.
• Seal: a silicone gasket in the cap is what stops a bottle leaking on its side inside a pack. It should be removable for cleaning.
• Carry method: a strap, loop or carabiner point decides whether the bottle rides on the pack or has to go inside it.

Does a bottle need a filter?

Only if you plan to drink from streams, lakes or standing taps of unknown provenance. A filter built into the straw treats water as it is drawn, which is the ground covered by a bottle with filter water design. For a group or a camp, hanging a bag and filtering a large volume at once is easier, which is where a gravity water filter earns its place. On a walk starting from home, a plain bottle filled at the tap is enough.

How do you stop a bottle tasting stale?

Empty it after every walk rather than leaving water standing, and dry it upside down with the cap off. Rinse the cap and the gasket separately, since the thread and the seal groove hold more residue than the body. Squash leaves sugar behind that grows a film, so a bottle used for anything but water wants washing the same day. The rest of the water & hydration range follows the same rule: whatever touches the mouth comes apart and dries.