A few years back I started drinking water on a full-time basis. I can’t remember why, but it was a great decision and I never looked back. Your body needs water to function, and it helps you feel full, gives you energy, and can help you lose weight.

My co-workers also know that around 3pm every day, (right when that post-lunch slump starts to hit) I reach for a fizzie. Arbonne Fizz Sticks are a MUST HAVE in my life. If I don’t have one, I yawn constantly or just drift away into an hour or two-long nap. When I had lightheadedness and hormone imbalance, fizzies saved me. They are recommended by Dr. Deanna Osborn to help restore your cortisol to balance. Anyways, fizzies are basically my soda, or coffee. I don’t drink either of those on a regular basis, so the 50mg of caffeine in a fizz stick gives me just the right boost of energy. They’re not just filled with caffeine though, they are packed with vitamins and minerals that are natural energy givers. (Plus, they only have one gram of sugar!) Sorry for the spiel, I still haven’t figured out how to explain fizzies briefly. Anyways, I have a fizzie every day, whether I’m at home, work, or running errands.

It sounds ridiculous, but it took me forever to find a water bottle that worked for all of my (two) needs: drinking water and making a fizzie. Fizz sticks (obviously) fizz up when you pour the packet into the water, and the combination of energy molecules or whatever is in them wells up like a carbonated soda that’s been rolling around on the floorboards of your car. It’s fine in a cup or a regular plastic water bottle, but if you put it in a water bottle with a straw, you have to take the straw out otherwise the drink will just squirt out all over everything, as if there is some kind of cabin pressure in there!

Thus, my search…

Let me *first* say that I don’t think people should collect water bottles. The whole point of having one is to eliminate the need for disposable plastic water bottles. So, I am not pleased that I’ve gone through so many. Just know that.

 

Uses:

• Water
  +
• Fizzie

 

Situations:

• Walking around town/shopping/dining (needs to fit in purse)
• Driving (needs to fit in cup holder)
• Hiking (needs to be light to carry in backpack)
• Working out (needs to be easy to drink out of)

 

Options:

Sigg

My first reusable water bottle was a Sigg. I loved it and took it everywhere with me, including to Venezuela. I loved the design and being eco-friendly, but ultimately, we had to part our ways.

Pros: Tons of cool designs and colors (you can get a sloth one!!!); it’s a classic company that’s been around for over 100 years; Swiss made; narrow width

Cons: It was not unbreakable, and it ended up with a few dents on it; annoying to open and close; not enjoyable to carry; Sigg lied about their bottles containing BPA; difficult to clean and it became disgusting on the inside (even though I washed it regularly!!)

Conclusion: Trashed it because it was too gross on the inside. Would probably be great now that they reformulated it (and HOW MUCH WOULD I LOVE THE SLOTH DESIGN!), but they don’t sell them at Target sooo I haven’t bought a new one.

 

Nalgene

After trashing my Sigg, I bought a turquoise blue Nalgene with branding at a Phish show. I thought it was super cool that it had the Phish logo on it (I can not find a picture of it). I also had a beautiful green Colorado State University one (after Whit lost my Phish bottle).

Pros: Indestructible; easy to drink out of; easy to wash

Cons: I think it leaked a little bit (but not super bad); the bottom was too large to fit in cupholders

Conclusion: I liked it a lot, but Whit lost it when we were out here in Colorado last time. Since then I haven’t found one with a similarly nice lid (the ones in stores now are textured plastic – they look worse and would probably feel more bothersome to me), and I prefer a narrow shape that fits easily in my purse.

 

Camelbak

The trend in college was you were cool if you drank out of a Camelbak water bottle, so eventually I gave in to the straw idea and tested it out. I had the eddy .75L, and ended up with two of them (I bought a new one after the old one started to leak, then I realized I could replace both when the new one started to leak).

Pros: Easy to drink out of (perfect for running on the treadmill); easy to open and close; great customer service – they replaced the straw and lid twice; fun to carry, and play around with when you’re bored

Cons: Difficult to keep the spout clean; even after several replacements it still leaks

Conclusion: I can’t stand the leaks. Had to get something different that wouldn’t leak all over my bag when I travel.

Note: I just got a free Chute this morning – I’m excited to try it out, because I was thinking about getting one of these anyways. I don’t think I love the top closure, but I’ll let you know my thoughts about I use it.

 

Contigo

I had the Contigo Addison AutoSpout 24oz, and I really liked it.

Pros: Slim, sleek design – it looks nice, feels nice, and fits easily in a purse or cupholder; the straw is slimmer and spout is easier to drink out of than the Camelbak; my favorite to carry; easiest to drink out of

Cons: I didn’t find anything wrong with it until the top broke – the elastic that keeps the lid closed came off and I couldn’t get it to stay back on; customer service isn’t the best

Conclusion: Compared to the camelbak (the other straw option), the Contigo doesn’t leak. However, it does spill if the spout is open. So basically you can get a Camelbak that leaks but doesn’t spill, or a Contigo that can spill but doesn’t leak. I would have stuck with the Contigo (because even after getting the Camelbak fixed, it starts leaking again shortly after), but to get a replacement lid you have to pay for shipping. Not worth it to me! At least Target took it back and I got my money back.

 

After returning the Addison, I was on a quest to find a water bottle that I could drink easily out of, but didn’t have a straw (because I was sick of having to remove the straw when I wanted to drink a fizzie in the afternoon).

I thought about getting a glass water bottle, because they are so pretty and they seem like they would last for a long time. The problem is they are SO heavy! Who wants to carry that around? I’d love to hear your story if you use one.

I was happy to find a non-straw option from Contigo. The reason I chose Contigo again is because they are supposed to not leak. I ended up with the Jackson, fittingly enough. 😉

Pros: Slim, sleek design; easy to drink out of (I actually am enjoying not having a straw, and the mouth is not so wide that I frequently spill on myself); easy to open – push button opens the lid for you; easy to carry – the ring around the lid pops off so you can carry it, but also folds back down so there isn’t something sticking up when it goes in your purse; you can open the top or take the lid off to fill it up; has worked perfectly with fizz sticks so far!!

Cons: None yet!! The only thing I don’t love is carrying it with the ring – it’s not bad, it’s just not quite as ergonomical – some of the other brands feel better on your fingers

Conclusion: Perfect?!?!? I love it so far!! If I find anything wrong with it I will certainly let you know!

Note: OF COURSE, right after I posted this today the elastic in the top came out, and I put it back in wrong, and then threw it in my backpack. I went downtown to buy a few things for work, and my fizzie leaked ALL over the inside of my backpack!! I’m talking standing water. It was disgusting. I saw that they sell them at Safeway, and since I was already there, I figured I’d ask if I could do an exchange. They did let me get a new one for free, and the cashier even let me keep the old one. I switched the elastic to the opposite side and put it back in so hopefully it’s all good now! I will continue to keep you posted. 🙂