Stainless Steel Water Bottles vs Plastic vs Whatever?

[Outback in Idaho]

  For years in cycling I have used some sort of plastic water bottle. Some with designs, others not. Seemed the way to go to carry water. Of course plastic bottles heat up faster, especially in the sunlight. Seen a few plastic water bottles with an insulation material, but that does not really seem to make any difference in the long run.

  Was picking up two orange water bottles of George's Cycles 50th Anniversary and my buddy I rode a long time with says it is best to use metal water bottles. And I am like, do they even make steel water bottles that fit in water bottle cages?? Guess he uses them and I never really noticed. Going to bug him why he thinks stainless steel is better. Did read that plastic water bottles can leech chemicals in the water when exposed to sunlight.

  Saw some stainless steel water bottles on Amazon that recently came out that have small filters in them that are acclaimed to filter out Giardia and Cryptosporidium up to 99.9% and other impurities. That one is a bit expensive. Surely there are other stainless steel water bottles that are durable and do not cost $50 each?

  Stainless steel should outlast plastic water bottles, yet I have water bottles that I bought back in the 90's and are still good. Although with the BPA and other stuff I do not use them much. Stainless steel is still going to be affected by the elements, yet maybe on a bicycle or recumbent the air flow will keep them cooler as opposed to plastic with essentially acts as insulator - right?
  Stainless steel can be boiled if the water was bad, and if a fire was allowed. So a filtered version might be good, if one can trust the filter. There are a lot of cheap Chinese filters that are udder crap and do not filter stuff, and their stages are filled with plastic this and plastic that. Like WTF ya know! 

  Sagan seems to have edge on their filters, although they come with the name tag price too.


  So what is your take water bottles used for cycling, or that can fit into standard bicycle water bottle cages, and also be used for other things like hiking and whatnot? Is stainless steel the bees knees? Do prefer SS bottles with or without filters? Is it good to have a filtered version on you in case there are no nearby 'safe water' accesses or maybe the water coming out of the fountain has moss growing all over it?

[MadPlumbarian]

I don’t do cycling but I have to have at least 8 bottles and two cups all stainless, the cup is my little everyday just have a cup of cold iced tea, but it’s double wall so it will stay cold for hours, the same with my bottles all but one is double wall,I keep one with me full to the brim with ice and water, it used to be iced tea but it’s nice just going over to the fridge and filling it from the tap with both ice and water, and the next morning when I take my Rx there will still be ice floating, I absolutely hate warm water, I’m sure most bottle manufacturers make a bottle to fit in a bike cage, so it’s just research,,
JR

[Sos24]

I love insulated steel water bottles for normal everyday use.  I almost always have one with me.  Durability and taste make them preferable to other bottles.  The weight is their biggest downside imo.  My favorite bottles are the Hydroflask Trail series, because they are lighter than most yet still work really well for keeping drinks cold.

For cycling I prefer plastic sports bottles just because I find the ability to squeeze a large quantity of water into my mouth while riding easier than other manners of drinking while riding.  In hot weather, I like insulated Camelbak bottles to keep the water cold for a little longer.

As far as the question of filter, I like carrying one when I go on long unsupported bicycle rides as a just in case.  Mine is a combination of a Lifestraw universal cap with a Aquamira Backcountry Replacement Filter on a regular sports bottle.  The bottle can be used without the filter, then if needed the filter can just be pressed into the cap.  I like the Aquamira filter better than the Lifestraw universal one because it has better flow rate and is smaller.  I prefer the Lifestraw cap, over the Aquamira shift cap because it fits lots of different bottles and is similar to regular sports bottle caps.

[nate j]

I'm not a cyclist, but I much prefer my stainless steel water bottles for hiking and camping.  Single-wall Klean Kanteen bottles are my choice.   I certainly could boil water (or melt snow) in them if the need arose, but I carry a Sawyer Mini as my first option for purifying questionable water.

[Aloha]

I haven't cycled for year but in my time it was plastic.  I never thought too much about cold water or filtering.  I love my SS insulated bottle and use one everyday.  I would imagine they make SS for water cages but as Sos points out it might be nicer to squeeze a bottle of water when cycling  . 

As for filters I have a plastic lifestraw single stage filter bottle and a standalone life straw. 

[Outback in Idaho]

  Had picked up something called a UVBrite double walled SS bottle, that has a pathetic UV-C LED in the cap. I was no non-impressed by the LED's output, nor the pathetic 18 ounces. That's maybe two or three drinks and its empty. Am liking the 22 ounce plastic water bottles as I can use one up in an hour of riding if it is not too hot out.
  Still trying to wrap my head around a stainless steel version. So far all the ones I have seen are in the 18 ounce range.

  See a lot of Catrikes and HP Velotechnik Scorpions with water bottle mounts on the back of their seats to carry extra water, and those back there are stainless steel. Since my buddy put that bug in my ears I've been seeing the phenomenon of SS water bottles.

[nate j]

  Still trying to wrap my head around a stainless steel version. So far all the ones I have seen are in the 18 ounce range.

Not to beat a dead horse here (I promise I don’t work for the company haha), but Klean Kanteen offers a number of sizes between 12 and 64 ounces.

[Santos]

Wat about titanium ?

I have switched to titanium from aluminium water bottles as I want to drink from them more regularly and Aluminium oxide is probably not good for you healthwise in large doses!

Two of the ones I got from china through ebay were US$35 delivered. They could be used for boiling and have 70mm bases .

They are small capacity (430ml and 600mml)  but I did see larger ones in the 700ml and 1000ml range as well as insulated double wall ones. What I was impressed with is the bottles both came with a simple black neoprene sleeve. Like giant can cooler sleeve and it seems to keep the water cool for a couple of hours. Not ice cold but cool enough that its refreshing. At first i thought i was going to upgrade them but they work so well they are now the main way i carry them clipped to my belt or sling with a climbing rated carabiner

I got the smaller ones as they are for hiking and I feel it's better to have small one that I actually take than the large one I leave behind. (I also own a 1100ml one that is military cantee style that nests in a pot and frypan).  Longer hikes I can bump up a size or even take two of the smaller ones to manage the fluids, or all 3 for the 2L total capacity.

Do you cycle really long k's?  Also can you swap bottles out of the carrier. Bigger capacities are great but its also a lot of weight to juggle in and out of the water bottle holder .

[ThundahBeagle]

When hiking I use Nalgene bottles. A have probably 5 or 6. Some wide mouth, some traditional bottle. But I do gave an old army canteen with metal cop, so I use that to boil water. And I have a few stainless cups I suppose I could use if I brought them as well

[Tasky]

I still use my old US Army issue steel canteen from WW2, with the bakelite cap and cork seal.
Steel helps with all the issues from plastic (environment, pollution, leeching, etc) and works well to keep water cool, especially with the felt-lined canvas cover. I also have a couple of modern steel ones that also come with cups, so great as part of your brew kit.

TBH, there's a plethora of steel bottles that fit bike cages, either standard or proprietary. Just about any camping shop will stock them, at least in the UK.

[Sea Monster]

I use a camelbak thingy for riding.....


As far as water bottles goes I have two stainless ones - one single wall, one double wall.

They're both pretty crappy as far as quality goes - mostly in the lid department - I'm fairly sure they're both made in china, and are the sort that don't actually have a brand, but companies that are more about having a brand than actually producing things can put their brand on them....

The single walled is this one (not the same brand on it, but I'll bet you a tooth that its the same) https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-leq5bsm4e8/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/6734/22244/msp03256__36271.1634817561.jpg?c=1


The double walled one is https://www.thermos.com.au/imgs/Product_Imgs/BOL500TL6AUS_Enlargment.png

Mine has a different brand on it, but again, it'll be the same one, and I don't feel like advertising the brand I have (because they're jerks who rebrand normal products, add about 50-70%, and sell them in unbleached paper packaging to oblivious middle class enviro-warriors who think they are supporting an ethical environmentally sustainable company who are really just marketing grifters)

They claim to not use lead in the sealing of the vacuum insulation, and therefore maybe their factory is slightly more ethical than others.....


In any case, I wouldn't recommend either of them    - I inherited both from others who didn't like them, and only use them because I'm stingy and they work...well enough for something that was free, and already exists...I wouldn't want to encourage the companies to manufacture more of them though.

[Vidar]

For hiking around here my main option is rather basic. Normally just an empty 0.5 liter plastic soda bottle or three - or some empty sport drinks bottle (for those fancy drinking caps). These do come with some advantages:

• Basically free as they are usually around anyway.
• Sturdy, lightweight and never fails.
• Totally recyclable.
• Frost proof - if forgotten somewhere in the winter the ice will just expand the plastic rather than break and leak.
• Available in various sizes and numbers as needed.

Disinfection isn't really a thing around here so not part of the equation for me. (Maybe someone has made a fitting screw on filter for all I know?)