15 best reusable water bottles to help ditch single-use plastics

If you want to chuck your water bottle in your bag and forget about it for the rest of the day, look no further. The seal on this bottle is utterly leakproof, even when we left it lying on its side for hours. It operates by pressing a button on the front which makes the spout pop up. Once its pressed back again, there’s a protective cover to stop it getting dirty – a nice touch – and a tiny sliding lock to prevent the button pressing accidentally when it’s in your bag.

The double-wall vacuum insulation keeps drinks cold for up to 28 hours – even after sitting in our car all day – and there’s a carry handle to make life easier too. The only downside is it only comes in one size, which some people might find a little too large. However, if you’d prefer a bottle for hot drinks as well, we’d recommend the Contigo matterhorn thermalock vacuum-insulated water bottle (£14.95, Amazon.co.uk) instead, which will keep liquids toasty for ten hours. We also liked the fact the twist-off lid is attached to the bottle so there’s no chance of losing it while drinking.

This has everything you could want in a water bottle without costing a fortune. It’s available in four attractive shades of muted blue, pink, black and grey, has a carry handle and the double-walled vacuum construction will keep drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours. We also love the fact it’s not enormous which makes for easier drinking and it has a sleek, modern design that makes it look a lot more expensive than it is. Plus, 10 per cent of each sale goes towards the Life’s a Beach charity which works to eradicate single-use plastic from beaches and waterways as this makes up a shocking 49 per cent of beach litter. What’s not to love?

If you haven’t heard of the Air Up bottle yet, you clearly don’t have pre-teens in the house. This oddly clever invention is the latest must-have in schools across the UK and is already a viral sensation on TikTok. It’s the perfect bottle for anyone who hates water as it magically makes you believe you’re really drinking juice.

Simply fill it with water, pop a flavour pod over the mouthpiece and your brain will think you’re drinking what you’re smelling, rather than plain water. Not convinced? Us neither, but it really does work. We also liked the fact you could push the pod down to deactivate it and stop the flavour whenever you want.

Air Up says each pod lasts for around five litres of water and there are countless flavours available including kola, wild berry, ice tea peach, iced coffee, elderflower and – our favourite – pineapple. Our one gripe is that the slanted mouth means you can’t stand it upside down to drain after washing up. Still, our junior tester has never drunk so much water so it’s a major thumbs up from us.

This is one seriously good-looking bottle. We loved the range of colours it comes in, including neon green, mint gelato and the blush pink we tested. You can even mix and match colours so the lid is a different shade from the bottle itself.

Although the bottle’s made of stainless steel, the inside is lined with ceramic to avoid any metallic taste transferring to the water which really keeps it tasting fresh. And it’s fantastic at keeping hot and cold drinks at the right temperature too thanks to the triple wall vacuum insulation. There’s a choice of two lids as well – a one-handed push button lid or one with a gold stainless steel straw, which makes a change from the cheap plastic straws many bottles use. We did find it tricky to lift the spout of the straw lid without touching the end we needed to drink from though.

There’s not much this bottle can’t do. It looks more like a flask than a traditional drinking bottle and could certainly withstand any hike or camping trip – that’s unsurprising though when you consider that the company is best known for its outdoor gear and makes everything from coolers to camping mugs. It recently found more fame when its Quencher – an oversized tumbler with a handle and a straw – became a TikTok sensation, yet this won’t be available in the UK until the end of April.

The quick flip bottle though is more for practicality than posing, keeping iced drinks cold for a whopping 40 hours thanks to its double-wall vacuum insulation. It’s utterly leakproof too and didn’t spill a drop even when it lolled around in our bag for a whole day. We like the fact it operates with a single button and has an extra metal ring fastening to prevent accidental opening which means this has now become our go-to when carrying hot drinks. However, it’s worth upgrading to the huge largest size (£38.99, Stanley1913.com) if you can’t reach a water source all day.

This is a no-nonsense bottle that won’t let you down, but its big selling point is the pretty exterior. Designed by acclaimed pottery designer Emma Bridgwater, it features a gorgeous painting of blossom on the outside that made us smile every time we reached for a drink.

The bottle itself comes from Chilly’s who helped introduce reusable water bottles to the world back when few of us had even thought about carrying one. The performance remains unbeatable, keeping drinks cold for 24 hours or hot for 12 hours, while the no-messing screw lid is entirely leakproof and the price is reasonable too. We would, however, recommend investing in a special bottle brush if you buy one as the slim neck can make it tricky to clean.

Giant bottles that hold enough water for a full day are all very well, but there’s no getting away from the fact that they weigh a ton. They’re also no good for children who have to carry it all day – and would never drink that much anyway. So, we tested the smallest size of the Klean Kanteen bottle and became instant fans.

The 355ml size is perfect for a short trip or for a child to use, yet the double-wall vacuum insulation keeps drinks hot for 16 hours and iced for 41 hours. There’s a great range of colours to choose from and the simple screw cap and rounded lip makes drinking on the go easy. Best of all, it’s dishwasher safe – a rarity with stainless steel bottles but a godsend if you loathe washing up.

No need to turn to pricey bottled water if you hate the taste of tap water, the kings of the water filter has a nifty solution with this sturdy bottle that includes a MicroDisc refillable water filter. This lasts for around 60l (or four weeks) and has an activated carbon filter that removes chlorine and other nasty-tasting substances. However, good-guy minerals like calcium and magnesium will still pass through the filter and remain in your water.

We were surprised to discover just how good water tasted using this bottle – our teen tester in particular was a big fan. We also liked the pull-up mouthpiece that’s protected by a lid to keep it all clean, though it is quite stiff to use. There’s also a squeezable one-handed sports bottle available if you’d rather drink on the go (£14.68, Brita.co.uk). It gets bonus points for being dishwasher-safe, though do remember you will have to buy replacement filters once a month.

This bottle does it all – and in a really gorgeous range of colours that are a bit more interesting than the average water bottle. Available in three different sizes and with both wide and standard mouths, it keeps drinks cold for an impressive 24 hours and hot for 12 hours. We tested it with tea and it really was piping hot hours after filling thanks to the double-wall insulation (happily it didn’t taste of metal either).

It’s a smart design too. We love the fact the outside is powder coated making it a lot easier to hold than slippery stainless steel – while preventing condensation from forming. The carry handle folds away to take up less space in your bag and the range of lids available make it super versatile. Plus, hooray! It’s dishwasher safe too. We tried the flex straw cap which comes with two straws that need cutting to fit the size of the bottle. However, we did find it quite stiff to operate so this lid isn’t ideal if you’re looking for speedy drinking-on-the-go.

Trust iconic French cookware brand Le Creuset to make a bottle as discreetly stylish as its covetable casserole dishes. Available in the brands distinctive range of stand-out shades with an attractive ombre design, the company has elevated the bog-standard water bottle with small but smart tweaks for added user-friendliness. There are ridges on the silver screw cap to make it easier to undo and the double-wall vacuum insulation has a copper wall layer so you won’t risk condensation. Drinks will also stay cold for up to 24 hours and hot for 12. Plus, it clearly displays the name Le Creuset in block capitals on the front for tasteful showing off while you’re sipping.

If you’re likely to be heading somewhere you can’t safely drink the water, this bottle is unbeatable. It includes an integrated straw and membrane microfilter that removes 99.9 per cent of bacteria including E.coli and salmonella, microplastics, silt, sand, chlorine and parasites. An activated carbon filter also reduces chlorine, bad odour and pesticides. This lasts up to 4,000l and is independently tested to meet drinking water protocols established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NSF International/ANSI.

This might be overkill if you’re just taking the bottle to the office but it’s an absolute game changer when travelling to countries where you can’t drink the water. It can even be used to fill up at a stream or river when out hiking all day so you don’t have to carry extra water and there’s a carabiner to attach the bottle to your bag. Best of all, every bottle bought gives a child in a developing country access to safe drinking water for a year.

Intrepid trail runners need something a little more specific than the rest of us so this bottle is a must-buy for sporty types. Although it holds a decent 500ml of water, it weighs just 35g when empty so you won’t need to lug around a heavy bottle until the end of the run. It has a silicone bite valve and is made of compressible material which means it gets smaller the more you drink for easy storage on the go. There’s even a thumb hole to hold it securely on even the most challenging run. Just be aware it does have quite a plastic taste initially so needs rinsing several times before the first use.

If you need something a little sturdier that will keep drinks cold, we also rate Decathlon’s aluminium hiking water bottle 900 instant cap with straw 0.6 litre (£8.99, Decathlon.co.uk) which is easy to use with one hand and was particularly popular with our junior tester.

If you’ve ever tried to ram ice cubes into the narrow mouth of a reusable water bottle (surely not just us?), you’ll know it’s no easy feat. Icy drinks are much simpler with this clever water bottle from Built which comes with a BPA-free silicone ice mould tray that makes long thin ice cubes, perfect for popping straight in the bottle without a struggle. The ice cubes will even come with a New York skyline design embossed in them which is a nice touch.

We loved the look of this bottle too, thanks to its cylindrical bullet-style shape and go-with-anything charcoal colour. The silver screw lid can be a little tricky to open – especially with wet hands – but it really was leakproof and the vacuum insulation technology kept our drink chilled for an entire day. We reckon it will become our new favourite water bottle once summer arrives.

We’ve never really considered a water bottle a luxury item but then we clapped eyes on this swish offering from German brand Flsk. The packaging’s even good enough to gift – with a stylish cardboard sleeve and material carry case. Available in nine chic shades – we tested tasteful Champagne which is a very pale gold and comes with a ridged silver screw cap for easy opening – the bottle is seriously good looking. It’s also one of the easiest lids we tested to refasten and doesn’t spill a drop even lying on its side all day.

The bottle’s made with VICC technology which keeps drinks cold for 24 hours or hot for 18, and we can confirm it really does work for that long. It’s also worth noting that 1 per cent of the company’s overall turnover is invested into Flsk future fund which supports other sustainability-focused enterprises and social impact projects.

Keep your options open with this ingenious 2 in 1 bottle that on-the-go coffee drinkers will love. It consists of a lightweight bottle for 525ml of cold water plus an insulated 340ml hot drinks cup with a lid that slides over the outside. That means you can head out for the day with cold water in your bag for later, but carry a homemade coffee to drink straight away. Once you’re finished, you won’t need to lug around the cup all day but can slot it over the water bottle to save space. It’s also ideal if you like to buy drinks in coffee shops as you’ll always have a reusable cup to hand and can take advantage of discounts often offered for bringing your own.

The single-wall stainless steel bottle itself isn’t suitable for hot drinks though, so you won’t be able to fill it with coffee and pour into the cup later as you might with a flask. However, it’s ideal if you’d rather enjoy cold drinks from a cup rather than a bottle making it a must-have for bring-your-own-wine picnics.