Hydration is having what fashion people call un moment, which makes water bottles today’s must-have accessories. And unlike $1,000 platform Crocs and jeans that are more rip than denim, this trend has mass appeal.
Your water bottle travels shotgun in the car with you. It’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning. There’s a fair chance that you’re no more than a foot away from a water bottle right now. Parents, your kid has probably lost more water bottles than you’ve ever owned.
And it’s not just water. If you’ve ever complained about the price of takeout coffee or uttered the phrase, “We have coffee at home,” you definitely have a travel mug or tumbler. (Not to mention self-righteous satisfaction when you see the line at the coffee shop.)
Since you’re taking a water bottle or tumbler everywhere with you, you need one that can withstand a high amount of wear and tear. Most of that happens when it’s in your bag, bashing into everything else you’re carrying around on a daily basis. And speaking of those essentials, you probably also don’t want the water bottle damaging them by leaking.
Based on these fundamental requirements, we decided to test the leakiness and resilience of a selection of our water bottles. Here’s how, what happened, what that means, and all that good stuff.
How to Test Water Bottles
We put our bottles through two experiments. The first specifically tested for leakiness, the second for resilience.
Leak Test
We strapped each bottle upside down above a measuring jug using zip ties. (It all looked like a medieval torture device, or it would have if they’d had zip ties back then.) If a bottle started to leak, we shook it to get the best idea of how much water was going to come out.
Resilience Test
We put each bottle in our custom-built tumble tester. Don’t let the cute name fool you. Picture the spinning box you put raffle tickets or bingo balls in, but made from wood and chicken wire.
Along with the bottle, we added typical detritus you find in your bag – house keys, car keys, coins, Allen keys. (What, you don’t carry Allen keys in your bag? That’s weird, because we definitely didn’t just add those to increase the level of destruction. We all carry Allen keys all the time. For our… screw-spinning… hobbies.)
Anyway, we spun the tumble tester around for one minute using a drill. Honestly, it looked pretty cool.
What Happened
We’ve combined the results from both experiments into a table at the end of this article. Feel free to scroll down and see how your favorite did. I get it, it’s exciting.
Leak Test
Somewhat predictably, the bottles that had holes in were the ones that leaked. This included a reusable takeaway coffee cup, travel mugs with sliding lids, and a couple that had straws, which are essentially one long hole. All the others had lids that sealed shut, and they did their jobs admirably.
Resilience Test
Although the setup for the leak test looked straight from a dungeon, the resilience test was far more brutal. None of the bottles emerged unscathed, although some fared better than others.
To scientifically and objectively assess the tumble test damage, we ranked all of them using our proprietary Scale Rating Tumbler/Cup Harm (SCRATCH™). You can see the rankings in the table at the end: here’s what they all mean.
| Scale Rating Tumbler/Cup Harm (SCRATCH) Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | It’s a goner |
| 2.1 to 5 | It has “character” |
| 5.1 to 8 | No one will notice |
| 8.1 to 10 | Practically new |
Key Findings
We saw remarkably few leaks
It’s not that we didn’t have faith in our bottles. But we were still impressed at how few leaked, either when they were suspended upside down or while being tumbled. Even the ones designed to have holes in the tops or those with less secure lids didn’t lose all their water. Most of it, yes, but not all of it.
Apparently this has to do with air pressure and surface tension. We’re not saying you can store a travel mug full of latte in your bag and expect it not to absolutely drench everything else in there. But it was impressive nonetheless.
Look for lids that twist to seal
All the lids that twisted closed and had some kind of seal proved to be watertight. These were brand new bottles, and that seal might wear away over time, but since we don’t have a time machine, all we can say is that they definitely work brilliantly straight from the box. The slide lids you find on tumblers, on the other hand, performed better than you might expect, but were nowhere near watertight.
The metal bottles wore hardest around the neck and bottoms
The metal bottles suffered scratches and even dents, with the worst damage generally occurring around the necks and bottoms of the bottles. This might be because these are the widest parts of the bottle, and therefore came into contact with the other objects more frequently.
The clear plastic bottles performed above their pay grades
The clear plastic bottles were scratched and scuffed to about the same degree as the metal ones, but the damage wasn’t as obvious. It’s much easier to see shiny silver metal where paint has been scratched off, than a slightly paler shade of plastic where plastic has been scratched away to reveal… more plastic. Also, unlike some of their metal counterparts, none of the plastic bottles dented. If you want a lightweight but resilient water bottle, plastic is a solid option, specifically PET or PETG.
The polypropylene plastic lids sealed well but wore the worst
Most of the bottles have lids made from a thick plastic called polypropylene. These lids did an outstanding job in the leak text, but received the brunt of the damage in the resilience trial. Most emerged chewed up and fuzzy. Imagine (but for legal reasons, do not try) scratching at the lid of a plastic soda bottle with a straight razor: that’s the texture we were left with. A couple of the metal bottles were coated in a similar plastic and had the same problem.
In contrast, the clear plastic tumbler lids that are mostly made from acrylonitrile styrene (AS) showed scratches much less clearly, and remained relatively smooth to the touch.
The Bottom Line
As long as your water bottle has a plastic lid that screws shut and has some kind of seal, it shouldn’t leak. In contrast, lids that slide closed but don’t fully seal, or that have holes in them, or that have straws, will leak. Maybe not as much as you’d expect, but enough to ruin the contents of your bag.
On the resilience front, although none of the bottles or tumblers emerged looking brand new, the damage was cosmetic. It wouldn’t prevent you from using the bottle for its intended purpose, provided you don’t mind people asking if your water bottle lost a fight with an especially angry bear.
The metal bottles showed damage more obviously than the PET and PETG plastic bottles, and the polypropylene lids fared poorly. Repeatedly bashing this type of plastic with hard metal objects at speed creates a horrible rough texture that looks and feels what scientists call “completely gross.”
So, there you go. We’ve proved that water bottles are tough enough to be carried around everywhere and can be trusted not to leak, depending on the type of lid they have. And if you want your bottle to last even longer, consider getting a coin purse and leaving the Allen keys at home.
| Q# | Product Name | Image | Leak Test | SCRATCH Rating | View Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q67942 | Hampton Stainless Steel Bottle |
|
No leak | 2.63 | View Product |
| Q87550 | Aluminum Cola Water Bottle Tumbler |
|
No leak | 2.86 | View Product |
| Q70743 | Aluminum Water Bottle with Snap Lid |
|
No leak | 3.24 | View Product |
| Q55938 | h2go Allure Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
250ml
|
3.45 | |
| Q55937 | h2go Surge Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 3.51 | View Product |
| Q48478 | Aluminum Metallic Bike Bottle |
|
No leak | 3.64 | View Product |
| Q91958 | Core 365 Vacuum Bottle |
|
No leak | 3.91 | View Product |
| Q70215 | Imprinted Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 3.98 | View Product |
| Q63535 | Keep Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Bottle |
|
No leak | 4.09 | View Product |
| Q17423 | Alpine Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 4.21 | View Product |
| Q70212 | Giveaway Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 4.22 | View Product |
| Q70205 | Sports Water Bottle with Straw |
|
No leak | 4.35 | View Product |
| Q93105 | Arctic Zone Titan Thermal HP Mug |
|
100ml
|
4.56 | View Product |
| Q63639 | Emperor Vacuum Tumbler |
|
100ml
|
4.67 | View Product |
| Q91142 | CamelBak Tumbler |
|
125ml
|
4.68 | View Product |
| Q70213 | Water Bottle with Push Cap |
|
No leak | 4.70 | View Product |
| Q86941 | Refresh Aluminum Bottle with Bamboo Lid |
|
No leak | 4.72 | View Product |
| Q59757 | Contigo West Loop Tumbler |
|
No leak | 4.80 | View Product |
| Q46073 | Translucent Contour Bottle with Flip Top Lid |
|
No leak | 5.12 | View Product |
| Q70740 | Marketing Aluminum Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 5.34 | View Product |
| Q70207 | Double Wall Acrylic Straw Lid Tumbler |
|
400ml
|
5.47 | View Product |
| Q23135 | Stainless Steel Grip Bottle |
|
No leak | 5.64 | |
| Q81932 | Paracord Vacuum Bottle |
|
No leak | 5.87 | View Product |
| Q70201 | Stainless Sports Water Bottle |
|
No leak | 5.91 | View Product |
| Q86143 | Nayad Roamer Stainless Double Wall Bottle |
|
No leak | 6.25 | |
| Q82842 | Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Tumbler |
|
100ml
|
6.43 | View Product |
| Q68369 | Darby Aluminum Bottle |
|
No leak | 6.76 | View Product |
| Q67943 | Tipton Stainless Steel Bottle with Bamboo Lid |
|
No leak | 6.89 | View Product |
| Q76082 | h2go Journey Thermal Bottle |
|
No leak | 7.12 | View Product |
| Q88532 | Stadium Cup with Coin Slot Lid |
|
425ml
|
7.23 | |
| Q91366 | Java Flex Cup |
|
400ml
|
7.81 | View Product |
Natasha Lavender
Natasha is an experienced writer and editor who has covered topics including technology, health and safety, business, and pop culture. Her work has been published by Good Housekeeping magazine, Forbes, Success, and more.
