Clever Hiker: Best Water Bottles
Water bottles. We all use them, but many of us don’t really put much thought into it. We just use whatever vessel is laying around. If you’re still sipping from that banged up old bottle you've had for a decade, it’s probably time for an upgrade.
We’ve used dozens of different water bottles over the years - everything from heavy duty insulated bottles for everyday use to large-capacity soft bottles for long water carries in the desert and everything in between. In this guide, we’ll use our experience to help you easily find the best water bottle for you.
Quick Recommendations
Check out this quick list of our favorite water bottles, or continue scrolling to see our full list with in-depth reviews.
- Best water bottle overall: Hydro Flask Wide Mouth / Hydro Flask Standard Mouth
- Most durable insulated water bottle: YETI Rambler
- Best non-insulated budget bottle for everyday use: Nalgene Wide Mouth
- Best glass water bottle with at an affordable price: Yomious Glass
- Best collapsible water bottle for backpacking & travel: HydraPak Flux
- Best budget insulated water bottle: GSI MicroLite 720
- Ergonomic water bottle that helps keep track of daily hydration: Thermos Intak
- Ultralight, packable & affordable soft bottle: Platypus DuoLock SoftBottle
- Best water bottle for ultralight backpacking: Glaceau Smartwater
- Insulated water bottle that comes with accessories: Takeya Actives Insulated
- Best filter bottle: Lifestraw Go Filter
- Unique water bottle with smart collapsible design: Que Collapsible
- Ultralight & packable water storage for backpacking: Platypus Platy Bottle
Read more details on each of these water bottles, written here.
February 4, 2025
Clever Hiker
CleverHiker.com is a website dedicated to providing knowledge, skills, and gear recommendations for lightweight backpacking adventures. We make tutorial videos, gear reviews, and in-depth trip guides to make backpacking easier for everyone.
We're Dave and Annie, the gear nerds behind Cleverhiker.com. Dave is a thru-hiker, Eagle Scout, and nature nut who's trekked every continent on the planet. Annie is a "retired" teacher who swapped out the classroom for wilderness adventures. We built CleverHiker.com to help share our backpacking knowledge, inspire people to get outdoors, and help conserve our wild spaces.
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