Last Updated on July 10, 2024 by Snorkel Ken
We always talk about snorkel gear, sunscreen..and even the occasional review of the best beach tents and canopies. We tend to forget about the smaller stuff that makes or breaks the perfect beach day like beach towels, beach chairs, water bottles, hammocks, mats, etc. Well, we’re planning on changing that here in the next year at the Snorkel Store! Today we’re going to start with the best water bottles for the beach.
3 Best Water Bottles for the Beach
HydroFlask
Sizes: 12 oz, 18 oz, 21 oz, 24 oz, 64oz Design: Hydro Flasks have a very simple yet efficient design. The builds vary depending on the capacity of the flask that you buy and also with the type of cover that you have (more on that below in “Accessories” section). As you can see from some of the photos, the designs vary as do the caps.
Performance: Let it be said and don’t mistake it: This will not keep your beverages cold or hot forever. However, when cold beverages with ice were placed at room temperature, the ice last for just under 24 hours. The bottle doesn’t sweat and it stays easy to grip the entire time. Hot coffee and soup stayed hot for 5 hours, very warm for 6 and then started to get lukewarm at around 7.5 hours.
That’s still a LONG time for either hot or cold. To think that a bottle, vacuum sealed or not, with capacities up to
24, 32 and 64 oz can keep liquids hot or cold for this long is sort of unbelievable. We almost didn’t believe…and then we did it. And it worked. The wide mouths of each size makes the bottles easy to fill, pour and the drink. Be careful, though, as liquids (hot!) can slosh around and hit ya’ in the face or dribble down your chin onto clothes. There are some accessories that will make this easier to avoid to include a cap/cover that has drinking nozzles The Hydro Flask is easy to clean with the wide mouth and the powder coated surface.
As far as durability goes, there are some reviews and tests that performed a drop test and the bottles had dents. This is a perfect water bottle for the beach, though, and more than durable enough. If you’re rock climbing or hiking at height then I wouldn’t have it dangling from your belt or backpack without taking a risk of dents, though.
Final Verdict: Even though the Hydro Flask line is a bit more expensive than the others in our group, we still feel that you get waaay more value out of a Hydro Flask than any other water bottle we have reviewed or used. At the various sizes above and the vacuum seal, you get to keep liquids hot or cold.
The best thing about the Hydro Flask? It leaves zero, as far as we can tell, metallic taste in the liquids that you keep in it nor does it retain the flavors of previous liquids. Great tasting liquids. Great temperature retention hot or cold. Easy and comfortable hold and grasp. Super simple to clean. Looks cools.
Grade: A+
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Omnia H2O Canteen
Sizes: 18 oz., 32 oz. Right off the bat you can see the limitations with the
Omnia H2O Canteen in respects to the single size. That being said, it makes up for it in the scope of price which much lower than the Hydro Flask and comparable (if not lower) than the rest of the of the beach water bottles on this list.
Design: The design differs as well from the Hydro Flask with both the bottle and lid being made of stainless steel. The colors of the Omnia are groovy too. Abalone shell, Carribean blue, Going Green etc. They have a different feel and appeal just because of the metallic, stainless steel finish of the bottle. Double wall, vacuum sealed. BPA Free and 100% recyclable. That’s pretty cool.
Performance: The Omnia claims to keep cold liquids cold for 24 hours and hot liquids hot for 12 hours. However, we found those numbers to be about 18 and 8 respectively. This was more than long enough for our needs, though.
The Omnia is completely dishwasher safe and easy to clean and fill because of the wide mouth. The bottle was light, durable and held our liquids hot or cold for an adequate amount of time.
Taste: Unlike the Hydro Flask, the Omnia did retain some of the smell and taste of coffee after the initial pour and wash. It wasn’t too overpowering, though, and after an additional wash the taste and smell were almost completely gone…but not quite. It’s our biggest gripe with the Omnia.
Final Verdict: For the price it’s worth it. There are a few downgrades from the Hydro Flask to the Omnia H2O Canteen but you just have to decide if the lower price is worth the need for an additional cleaning and the shorter time it keeps liquids cold or hot.
Grade: B+
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Thermo Tank Insulated Stainless Steel
Sizes: 25 Oz. The Thermo Tank is a sleek looking water bottle that is not only insulated but offers a different technology than we’ve talked about already: Copper Technology. So, what does that mean and how is it different? Basically, the Thermo Tank has a vacuum layer (negative pressure) in between 2 walls of premium kitchen-grade 18/8 304 stainless steel (with copper coating for even better and more even insulation).
Design: Engineer and scientist designed but cool and trendy as well. The Thermo Tank comes in 6 different colors:
Deep teal (our favorite!), Haze blue, lime green and steel, mint and steel, pink and steel, and violet sunset.
Performance: It bills as keeping beverages hot or cold “all day” and we saw some mention of 36 hours cold. We found that it really comes down to about 16 hours of chill before it’s starts to lose some coolness. Heated fluids dissipated more rapidly and were luke-warm within 8-ish hours. Still, though, that’s more than adequate for our needs. The smaller opening and cap make the Thermo Tank a pain to clean but too bad on filling or emptying, though both the Hydro Flask and Omnia H20 were easier to accomplish those tasks.
Taste: Because it was harder to clean, the Thermo Tank was also a little hesitant to get rid of the coffee taste and smell after usage. However, on a clean bottle, we had great tasting water that had no metallic aftertaste or odors.
Final Verdict: Not a bad little bottle for the beach. You’re more likely to need to keep this a water bottle, though, and not try to change between liquids because of the difficulty in cleaning.
Grade: C+
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There’s always that need for water…and no more so than at the beach, under the sun, on a hot day, with salt water on your skin and lips. It leads to thirst and worst-dehydration. It’s important to have water readily available at all times, especially at the beach.
- The way I see it, there’s a whole bunch of ways to get the water you need while at the beach:
- Beach concession (if available) but who wants to pay for a marked up bottle of water.
- Public water sources like water fountains. But who has had their lips on that thing? Who spits in it? There’s probably gum in it too. (Yuck)
- Pack water bottles on ice into a heavy cooler; especially if you travel in a group.
- Hydration pack.
Again, easier said than done if you have a family/group. A more sensible way to do these things is to take a larger water bottle with some insulation or hydro-vac, to ensure that you have cool water for a substantial amount of time. It’s lighter than bringing a cooler full of disposable water bottles and, yeah, better for the environment.