Best water bottles of 2024, tested by editors | CNN Underscored

Best water bottle: Yeti Rambler 26-Ounce

Best straw water bottle: Owala FreeSip 32-Ounce

Best plastic water bottle: Yeti Yonder 34-Ounce

The best water bottle can keep you hydrated and help you cut down on plastic and paper waste, so why buy bottled water when you can bring your own from home? But with an endless stream of water bottles making numerous claims about technological innovations and insulating properties flowing into the market, it’s easy to get lost in all the options.

To determine which bottles are truly worth their price tag, we culled thousands of double-walled insulated and uninsulated water bottles down to 31 contenders after reading reviews and browsing bestselling bottles across the internet. We then put them through a litany of tests to determine which is the absolute best. After two months of testing and drinking a whole lotta water, we narrowed it down to three bottles that stood out from the rest.

The Yeti Rambler came out on top during our testing, thanks to its amazing durability and unique chug cap that gives you a comfortable and quick drinking experience while maintaining easy access to the super-wide mouth.

If you like drinking out of a straw, you’ll love drinking out of Owala’s FreeSip. It was the best straw bottle we tested and had the best drinkability of everything we tried.

Read our review

If you don't care about the temperature of your water and want something lighter and easier to carry around, the Yeti Yonder is the bottle for you. It's still easy to drink out of and is just as durable as you'd expect.

Related article The best filtered water bottles in 2024, tried and tested

While the Yeti Rambler is on the pricier side, this water bottle is easily the best we tested. It keeps your water cold enough, but what makes it stand out is its amazing durability and drinkability. Plus, the Rambler is customizable, available in 14 colors and five sizes (12 ounce, 18 ounce, 26 ounce, 36 ounce and 46 ounce), and it’s even dishwasher-safe.

The bottle won our durability test — in which we dropped each bottle filled with water onto concrete from 4 feet high — by a mile. Nearly every other bottle we dropped in our latest round of testing had some component break or took some serious damage, whether it was a plastic cap snapping or the bottom of the bottle completely warping. The Rambler, however, barely had a scratch. This alone made it one of our top contenders, as it’s a real shame to invest in an expensive water bottle only for it to break after a few accidental drops.

The Rambler also has one of the best lids we tested. It’s made of two components: one that screws into the bottle and contains a spout, and another that twists on top of that to keep it protected. This two-tiered system means that you can unscrew the top and chug away from the spout whenever you want to take a swig of water. But when it’s time to refill your bottle with water and ice, you can take the entire contraption off, revealing the Yeti’s ultrawide mouth.

The Yeti’s massive mouth is another pro. It makes it super easy to dump clumps of ice in and fill it with water, not to mention it’s a lot easier to stick a bottle brush into a bottle with a large mouth. Even though it is easier to clean by hand, you won’t ever have to if you don’t want to, since the Rambler is one of only four total bottles in our latest round of testing that’s completely dishwasher safe.

In prior testing, the Yeti Rambler was the only bottle with such a good cap right out of the box, but since then, other brands have caught up and started including similarly great lids from the get-go. Hydro Flask has a standard Flex Chug Cap and Stanley’s Fast-Flow Lid has a two-part design.

The only downside we’ve experienced from this lid after years of testing is its inability to be opened easily with one hand. If you’re a commuter, or like to go on road trips, and want to drink water without having to brace a bottle between your thighs to get the lid off, consider the Rambler’s Straw Cap or our pick for the best straw water bottle, the Owala FreeSip.

While the Yeti Rambler is our best tested, its biggest downside is its temperature retention. It ranked dead last in our most recent hot- and cold-water tests. However, our cold-water tests lasted 48 hours, which is likely longer than you’d want to keep water in a bottle anyway. At the 12-hour mark, which is closer to a real-life scenario, every bottle we tested this round was still at its starting temperature. So, even though the Rambler finished last over 48 hours, the thermoregulation of all these bottles — including the Rambler — should be more than enough for most people.

While it might not be as important to some, we also love that the Rambler has great aesthetics. It comes in several bold, stylish colors, including a light blue, an olive green and even an eye-catching pink. You can also customize your bottle with plain text designs and monograms, state emblems and even uploaded logos for an extra $6.

Is the Yeti Rambler the most thermally efficient bottle on the market? No. But is it still the best one? We think so. It is far and away the most durable bottle we’ve tested while being extremely easy to fill and drink from. Its customizability, ease of cleaning and clever chug cap are all reasons why, no matter where you go, we think you’ll love having a Yeti Rambler at your side.

If you love drinking water out of a straw, there’s no question the Owala FreeSip is the bottle for you. Of every bottle we tested, it was the easiest to drink out of and all-around the best straw water bottle we tried. It lacks the extreme durability of the Yeti but makes up for it with its lid and undeniable cuteness.

When talking about the Owala, you have to mention its lid; it’s what makes an Owala an Owala. We truly loved drinking from this cap because it functions as both a straw lid and a chug lid. This means that whether you’re casually sipping at your desk through the straw or want to take a huge swig during a workout, the Owala has you covered. In day-to-day testing, this made it our favorite water bottle to drink out of by far.

What’s ingenious about the Owala, though, is that this lid solves all three pain points of traditional straw lids. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I think about with straws is how much of a pain they are to clean. This isn’t the case with the Owala since the entire cap is dishwasher-safe. Another issue is how thin some straws tend to be and how you can’t drink from them fast enough. The Owala’s chug opening solves this problem, and the straw itself is also quite wide, meaning you can drink as fast as you want in most cases through the straw anyway.

Lastly, while this is niche and doesn’t happen all the time, one of my least favorite attributes about straw water bottles is how water shoots out of them whenever you go up in altitude, whether that’s on a weekend camping trip or an airplane. However, since the Owala has a separate opening, it’s much better at equalizing air pressure than other straw bottles I’ve tried. I can’t promise the dreaded water eruption will never happen to you, but it is much less likely. When I brought the bottle over 3,000 feet up into the mountains, it didn’t explode.

While the Owala’s lid is the star of the show, it wasn’t a slouch in our other testing categories. Its water temperature didn’t rise a single degree in our cold-water tests after 12 hours, and after 48 hours, it finished in the top ten with an increase of just 6.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

It wasn’t the most durable bottle, however, and after being dropped on its lid, the spout actually broke and the bottle wasn’t leakproof anymore. The 4-foot drops were quite extreme, though, so most day-to-day accidental drops shouldn’t be too much of a problem. (We did drop the Owala several times by accident during testing, which only created small, barely noticeable dents.)

Another nitpick I had is that the metal bottle itself isn’t dishwasher-safe. Its ultrawide opening makes sticking a bottle brush inside easy but you won’t have the convenience of just throwing it in the dishwasher like you do with the Yeti Rambler.

And it’d be a shame to sing the praises about the Owala without highlighting just how darn cute it is. The color schemes can be whimsical and flashy for people trying to make a statement, but the bottle also comes in solid black for those who don’t need their water bottle to stand out. We tested a green bottle and a blue one and loved the look of both.

There’s no question the Owala FreeSip is the best straw water bottle we tested. It’s easy to drink out of, versatile and easy to clean, not to mention it looks good too. If you need a bottle you can drink out of with one hand and you aren’t too clumsy, the Owala is the one for you.

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Not everybody wants a metal water bottle. They can be too heavy, or maybe you don’t care how cold your water is. You might try a glass bottle, but if you drop it you’ll have to buy another immediately (not to mention the mess broken glass makes). That’s why BPA-free plastic water bottles still fill a critical need for plenty of people. If that’s you, Yeti’s Yonder is the first water bottle you should reach for. It has a cap similar to the one we love on the metal Rambler, and it was the most durable plastic bottle we tested by far.

Drinkability is an important feature of water bottles, and just like its heavier, metal sibling, the Yonder shined bright in this test. I tried out the brand’s tether cap, chug cap and straw lid and each was a pleasure to sip from. I liked the tether cap the best because you still get the wide opening for filling up and the small spout for easy drinking, but the top cap is attached to the bottle so you don’t have to hold it. Or, if you don’t mind holding the top part of the lid, the chug cap for the Yonder is essentially the same as the one on the Rambler, and you already know how much we love that one.

The Yonder was the easiest plastic water bottle we tested to drink from and the most durable. In our drop tests, the Yonder got some scratching on the bottom, but it didn’t shatter. I also dropped the Yonder three times on each of its three different lids, and all of them came out of the gravity-fueled gauntlet with only a few scratches. The only other bottles that performed similarly were the Nalgene Narrow Mouth and the Nalgene On The Fly. The lids for both still worked after the tests, but the plastic took much more damage than the Yeti’s. The Nalgene Wide Mouth, which I had high hopes for, shattered on only the second drop, and it was the only plastic bottle I tested that’s body broke.

If you’re in the market for a plastic water bottle, the decision is clear. Yeti’s Yonder is not only the best to drink out of but it also has the most durable design. Not to mention, Yeti offers the bottle in seven colors, sizes from 20 ounces to 50 ounces and with multiple lid configurations so you can buy the perfect bottle for you the first time.

For our most recent update, we tested a new pool of six plastic water bottles to find the best.

We didn’t test the thermoregulation of the plastic water bottles, but in a previous update, we slightly adjusted our thermoregulation tests to more heavily weight performance after 12 hours to mimic everyday behavior. We measured the bottles’ temperature after 12, 24 and 48 hours in our cold-water tests, and after six hours in our hot-water tests. While most of these bottles can perform double duty as a coffee mug (some don’t recommend adding hot liquids because pressure can build up inside), dedicated travel mugs — which we’ve also tested — are a better option in most cases.

Since every bottle we tested this round had similar thermoregulation abilities after 12 hours, we paid more attention to things that affect your experience on a day-to-day basis like durability and drinkability.

We spent several hours testing all 15 water bottles to ensure they met the demands of everyday use. That meant testing how long they keep water cold, how long they keep water hot, how they fare during a drop, how easy they are to drink from and more. Here’s a breakdown of what we tested and how we did it.

A former winner, this bottle wasn't as comfortable to drink out of in our newer rounds of testing.

The Healthy Human Curve was our previous pick as the best budget water bottle and is the only option, besides the Yeti Rambler, that could still be adequately used after our drop tests. However, its lid options leave a lot to be desired. Its standard lid makes you drink directly from the mouth, which becomes difficult while walking or driving. A sports cap is available, but the opening is too small to comfortably drink out of and the brand’s lid cap leaks. It is a decent bottle and incredibly durable, especially for the price, but we think you’d be happier investing the money in one of our current winners.

An original winner, this bottle got demoted because of its durability and drinkability.

We previously named the S’well bottle the best bottle for holding temperature. After reconsidering how people typically use a water bottle, we figured that a bottle’s temperature retention for longer than 24 hours isn’t as important as durability and drinkability. Because of that, the S’well bottle dropped in our rankings this round due to its accumulation of dents in our drop tests. Plus, its small mouth makes it hard to clean, and filling it up with normal ice is nearly impossible.

This was a solid contender, but fell short in the durability department.

It’s no secret Stanley is having a moment right now. And even though this bottle didn’t earn a top spot, it’s still a solid option. It has a great cap that’s easy to drink out of, but it just wasn’t as durable as the Yeti Rambler in our tests. But if you love the Stanley brand, you won’t be disappointed with the IceFlow.

This bottle is made with recycled stainless steel which is a great sustainability perk, but it failed our durability tests and leaked during long-term testing.

We retested the Klean Kanteen TKWide in our most recent round because the brand started making the bottles with recycled stainless steel. While we love this initiative for its sustainability, the bottle still wasn’t up to par compared to our winners. It has good temperature regulation and is completely dishwasher-safe, but drinking out of it wasn’t as easy as with our winners and it got seriously battered in our durability test.

This bottle couldn't live up to the larger FreeSip, but is an okay option for people who want a smaller bottle.

The FreeSip Twist is a cute little bottle that still has the clever lid that makes its bigger sibling so great. However, the Twist can’t be opened with one hand, which was a big pro for the standard Owala FreeSip. The mouth is also much smaller, making it harder to clean and add ice. However, it does fit in most cup holders, which is a big plus over larger bottles.

We didn't like this internet-famous bottle at all. The scent pods were too strong and drinking from it wasn't a pleasant experience.

You’ve probably seen or heard a bunch of ads for the AirUp, a bottle that adds flavor to normal water with scent pods. While the scent pods do weirdly work, we didn’t like how artificial the flavors tasted (smelled?) and think they’d be too much for anyone with a sensitive sense of smell. And since the water has to be infused with the scent, there’s a hole in the side of the straw that adds air to the water you’re drinking. This was a very unpleasant sensation, and it felt like we were drinking more air than water. This is why we ranked it as the bottle with the worst drinkability.

This bottle was a close runner-up, especially when considering its thermoregulation. However, its lid and body took a lot of damage in our drop tests.

The Simple Modern bottle performed remarkably well in our thermoregulation tests, and it was the only bottle that still had ice after 48 hours. Its chug cap’s opening is too small for comfortable drinking, but it does come with an extra straw lid. What ultimately kicked it out of the running was how much damage it took during our drop tests. The lid broke, and the body was severely warped.

If you like Hydro Flask, this is the bottle you should get. The updated lid is fantastic, but it wasn't as durable as the Yeti.

Hydro Flasks have the name recognition everyone wants. Unfortunately, this bottle just couldn’t keep pace with our winners. The new Flex Chug Cap made the race close, but it still performed poorly in our durability tests, taking it out of the top tier of bottles. If you want a Hydro Flask for the name or the aesthetics, we get it. If you’re set on one, we’d recommend this one with the chug cap, as it makes drinking while walking and driving much easier.

Another great contender from Hydro Flask, we hope the brand comes out with a chug cap soon.

The Trail Series was the lightest water bottle we tested and, surprisingly, had better durability than the standard Hydro Flask. Where it fell short, though, was its drinkability. With a large mouth, it was hard to drink out of when walking or in the car, which ultimately led to its demise. If this bottle had a cap like the Flex Chug Cap and was a bit cheaper, it’d be a serious contender.

This bottle is comically big and wasn't durable enough to compete.

This bottle is quite unwieldy and feels more like a jug than a bottle. It’s too large for most to comfortably hold, and its handle broke on the first drop.

This bottle didn't keep up with others in our testing in nearly any category.

The Thermoflask also broke during our durability tests, isn’t dishwasher-safe and has a chug cap that’s opening is too small to drink quickly out of.

More suited for coffee, this bottle was harder than others to drink from.

This bottle is more of a travel mug and didn’t have the same drinkability as some of the better bottles. Plus, it completely broke during our durability tests, so we can’t recommend it.

This bottle had similar issues as the Contigo above. Namely drinkability and durability.

Similar to the Contigo, the Coleman is better as a travel mug than a true water bottle. Its drinkability suffered, and its lid broke on the first drop.

We think most people would be happier with the Flex Chug Cap bottle if you're dead-set on getting a Hydro Flask.

The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth is a great bottle but has the same durability shortcomings as the Flex Chug Cap bottle, albeit with a worse lid. Unless you’re dead set on drinking straight out of its wide mouth, we’d recommend getting the wide-mouth bottle with the Flex Chug Cap.

This smaller bottle is easier to carry around, but much harder to fill up with ice and water.

The Standard-Mouth bottle performed as well as, if not better than, the Wide Mouth. Plus, it’s smaller, which means less weight to carry around. You can’t pour ice in as fast but the smaller opening means it’s easier to drink from. Just be careful about drops. After our tests, it got so damaged it lost its insulation abilities.

This bottle's small and awkward mouth and lid eliminated it from contention.

This Klean Kanteen had stellar performances with thermoregulation. The biggest downsides were the small mouth (with a weirdly tiny lid) and the fact the body got so damaged it caused the insulation technology to fail.

The magnetic cap of this bottle is a nice touch, but it wasn't as durable as the Yeti.

This bottle performed quite well, especially with thermoregulation. The lid has a little magnet so it doesn’t hit you in the face while you drink. Its biggest downside: The cap broke off when we dropped it.

Another victim of the drop test, the easy-to-carry handle snapped off.

If you’re considering CamelBak, go with the Chute Mag over the Carry Cap. The lid on the Carry Cap has a big loop, which is nice to hold, but it snapped off pretty easily during the drops.

Like many other bottles we tested, a shattered lid eliminated this bottle from the running.

The Miir also did well in thermoregulation, outdoing both the Yeti Rambler and the Sigg model below. However, it lost favor during the drop test, when the lid broke on the first drop. We didn’t test wide-mouth Miir bottles, only the standard. If you’re careful, Miir is a great option for a smaller, portable bottle.

The lid of this bottle broke on its first drop, which is unfortunate because it held up extremely well during most of our tests.

This bottle performed well during the temperature tests, just about matching the Yeti Rambler. It’s a good-looking bottle featuring a lid with a locking mechanism and a built-in tea filter. Where it really fell apart was when we dropped it on that lid. It broke on the first drop. You can normally order replacement lids, but compared to the other bottles it just wasn’t sturdy enough.

The most expensive bottle we've ever tested, the Snow Peak didn't really compete well in any of our tests.

This bottle is beautiful, scoring the highest in pure design. But it’s also expensive and scored the lowest in our testing, especially in thermoregulation, where it had the third-worst score after the Takeyas. The lid shattered on the drop test.

Underperforming thermoregulation was this bottle's downfall, but the included rubber boot is a nice bonus. During long-term testing, this bottle also leaked.

The Active is basically the same as the Takeya Standard, with a few nice improvements. Most notable is the rubber boot on the bottom, which is well worth the extra money if you want to buy a Takeya. While it didn’t completely eradicate dents, it made a big difference and prevented any paint chipping on the bottom.

The Takeya bottle underperformed with thermoregulation. The cap features a nifty little spout for fast drinking that unscrews to reveal a wide mouth, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome the poor insulation.

We had high hopes for this bottle, but it's hard to drink from and not as durable as you'd think.

Nalgene is a legendary brand but this water bottle didn’t hold up well at all in our testing. It has a wide mouth that makes it easy to fill but it’s nearly impossible to drink from it while moving without spilling. And even though it’s known to be super durable, it was the only plastic bottle that shattered in our drop tests.

The Narrow Mouth Nalgene is easier to drink from but harder to fill. This is an okay alternative for Nalgene die-hards.

This bottle is much easier to drink out of than the wide-mouth Nalgene but forget about ever adding any ice. It’s got a similar construction as the other Nalgene but it didn’t shatter in our drop tests. We’re still not as confident in the plastic material though, and think the Yonder’s construction is better.

Its lid makes this Nalgene easier to fill and drink out of, but it feels cheap and flimsy.

This bottle was easy enough to drink out of but the lid is made from thin plastic pieces that could break over time. They didn’t shatter in our drop tests but the thin metal loop that holds the lid closed did pop off, which didn’t inspire much confidence in its longevity. It also wasn’t 100% leakproof in our tests.

This straw bottle was easy to drink out of, but its lid broke on the very first drop.

Straw bottles can be great and if you really want one, we still recommend getting the Yeti Yonder with a straw cap. This bottle’s lid wasn’t durable enough to stand out in our testing, as it broke the first time we dropped it. The lid also isn’t 100% leakproof, as we felt small sprays of water when we turned it upside down and shook it.

Slight leaking and a weak lid dropped this bottle out of the running.

The problem with this Contigo bottle is its lid. Like some of the other plastic bottles we tested, it wasn’t actually leakproof and small bits of water sprayed out when we shook it upside down. In the drop tests, the body survived but the handle of the lid popped off.