Things to Consider When Buying a Water Bottle

I wasn’t really keen on getting my own reusable water bottle at first. I find it too bulky and might not fit the side pockets of my trusted backpack. I thought it best to constantly buy a bottled water while I am on the road.

However, when friends Nikka and Owen of Two2Travel.com visited Cebu a couple of months ago, I saw them carrying their own water bottle. Upon probing, they mentioned that for travelers like us, it would be practical to buy reuseable water bottles to cut back on some of those travel expenses. They recalled that when you have bpa free water bottles, you could simply ask establishments to get your water containers refilled for a small price or simply get it for free, thereby cutting on your water expenses. Aside from that, it would help lessen one’s carbon footprint.

So when I decided to join the Waterfalling Adventure 2.0 hosted by the Iligan Blogger’s Society, I immediately decided to buy my own water bottle.

I went to the R.O.X. branch at Ayala Center Cebu to look for the water bottle brands that Nikka+Owen recommended. They said they’ve tried different brands in the past but all got damaged. When they got their hands on one of those Nalgene Water Bottles, they put it to test during a couple of trips around the country and found that it is one durable and useful drinking bottle. Upon further probing, I discovered a couple of things that needs to be considered when choosing your own drinking water containers.

Things to consider when buying your own reusable water bottles

• The design should be simple

The Nalgene bottle that I bought had a simple design. Simplicity is good when you consider buying a water bottle. You have to consider the aspect of cleaning the plastic bottles. Drinking from plastic water bottles would eventually accumulate dirt. You need to make sure that you buy one where you can easily clean the cap as that’s where dirt normally resides.

• Get one with a narrow opening
  

Nikka & Owen owns one of those wide mouth bottles but discouraged me from getting one. As it turns out, those with wide openings tend to spill when you drink while riding on a moving vehicle. Those with narrow mouth openings are ideal since you won’t have problems taking a bath with your beverage when you drink while moving. 😆

The only downside to this though is that your hand won’t fit the bottle’s mouth to clean the interiors. But that’s not really a biggie so long as you take good care of what you store in it.

• Make sure it is durable

Your reusable water bottle must be durable. It should not easily break when you accidentally drop it. Otherwise, you’d have to shell out cash again to replace your broken one.

• Buy BPA Free water bottles
  

Wait, what is BPA?

BPA stands for Bisphenol A, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and epoxy resins. Recent studies have discovered that the BPA chemicals in water containers could seep into the beverages we drink and has raised possible health concerns. To avoid this, it is best to buy water bottle brands that are BPA Free or those with the recycling category of 1, 2, 4, 5, 6. Avoid getting those with recycling triangles that has a category 3 and 7.

• Consider the price
  

Normally, high quality water bottles come with a price. Consider it as an investment. I paid P621.00 for my narrow mouth Tritan Orange Nalgene. Luckily, I got a 10% discount when I bought it as it was on sale at Bratpack. R.O.X. only had the glittering pink color when I visited their store.

The price of water bottles depend on its durability. If you find one that costs less yet delivers the same quality and durability, then good for you. However, there are also other brands that are way too expensive because you are buying the brand. Be sure you know your money’s worth. Don’t buy an expensive bottle just because it’s the most popular brand or the trending brand in the market. You just have to be wise and practical when you buy your travel gears.

There you have it. If you are budget-conscious when traveling and wanted to save a portion of your travel funds for other important expenses on the road, I would highly recommend getting your own reuseable water containers.

P.S. This is NOT a sponored post

Photo credit: Nalgene