There have been many trendy bottles and cups: the Stanley, the Owala, the Hydro Flask, the Yeti, and even glass bottles. For us, there can be only one… The Nalgene.

Why Nalgene?

Isn’t that the most basic question? Sure, there are lots of options and choosing Nalgene probably isn’t a hill worth dying on (or is it?). The kids actually pack around a few different bottles sometimes because the most important thing is hydration. If you’re hiking or slowly roasting to death while watching a soccer game, water is important. Get it somehow.

Oh wait, I’m supposed to make a case for Nalgene.

Nalgene carries a lifetime warranty. Maybe it’s a guy thing or a dad thing but when I hear “life warranty” I’m somehow magically sold. I’m also a big fan of Darn Tough socks. See a trend?

Nalgene bottles are practically indestructible. It takes a three or four story drop onto concrete to hurt them. If I drop my bottle that far while hiking, I’m probably not getting it back anyway.

The wide mouth makes cleaning super easy. I’ve had those bottles with tiny openings. How do you get a brush in there?! To be fair, Nalgene makes a variety of bottles. Cherokee sports a pink one with the narrow mouth opening that’s sipping friendly. Most though, are the wide mouth like a Ball mason jar.

Stickers. I don’t know why I didn’t make this number one.

Due to the popularity of Nalgene bottles, there is no shortage of accessories and cool tricks. MSR makes a water filter that attaches directly to the bottles. There are insulated sleeves, paracord handles, replacement lids, sippers…

Made in the USA.

Lastly, Nalgene bottles are cheap. A 32 ounce bottle starts around $12. Even the sippy cups start around $11. There are fancier versions with cool graphics, neat lids, filters, and whatever else but for a basic bottle that’ll last forever, that price is hard to beat.

Our Bottles

Is this a weird flex?

Every toddler loves a sippy cup or as M says, “a sissy cup.” She’s been rocking the Nalgene sipper for longer than she should have. The lids are beat up but they keep going. Best part? They don’t leak!

What to Buy?

There’s nothing wrong with the OG: a 32 oz wide mouth bottle. It has the most accessories available so if you want to add a filter, sipper, different cap later you can.

If you’re a big drinker (water!), the 48 oz behemoth is for you. You could refill your 32 oz bottle but why bother if you can tote around an additional 16 anyway. Yeah, I have one of these.

You’re the other kind of big drinker: get a Nalgene flask.

For the fitness crowd, try out the On The Fly. The cap doubles as a handle, there’s a locking pop top, and it can be opened one handed. The mouth is narrower so it’s easier to drink from. The OTF cap is available for all of the other bottles so don’t feel limited either.