Ok – I’m a backpacker, so I’m not super picky about my water. It doesn’t need to be cold, just wet. It doesn’t need to taste like cucumbers or lemon, as long as it doesn’t taste like it’s been in the bottle for days. I picked up the mega-sized 40 oz Hydro Flask out of curiosity after hearing they were made in one of my favorite spots: Bend, Oregon.

First off – I really SHOULD have been pickier about my water bottles. This thing is awesome. I don’t need my water to be cold, but I don’t like it hot! I have, on several occasions, left my Hydro Flask in a HOT, summer day. You know, the kind where you open the door and it feels like a 10,000 degree kiln, not a car? Yeah – so normally, this wrecks any chance I have of drinking my water in the future. It’s usually half boiling by the time I get back to the car. The first time I left my Hydro Flask in said inferno, I gingerly sipped at my water, fearing a scalding. Imagine my pleasant surprise when my water was not only near-boiling, but actually an almost briskly-cool temperature. I hadn’t started with ice mind you. I have since tested it over and over… every time, the water stays cold! The taste for this bottle is also super clean, with the stainless steel interior. No funky plastic after-taste. The behemoth 40 oz (that’s 1.8 Nalgenes!) size keeps me hydrated 24/7.

How about downsides? I’ve had this bottle almost a year and I only have a few small nitpicks. This beast weighs a lot, being double-walled stainless steel. 16 oz to be exact. So it’s not great for backpacking when I am concerned about shaving ounces. BUT, for around town (translate: in my car) and shorter day hikes? It’s totally fine and I never run out of water! It fits into my car’s cup holder, despite the mega-size. It is about the same footprint as a regular Nalgene-sized bottle. The double-wall does ding, but you have to try hard. I managed to put a minor dent in the bottom of mine after accidentally dropping it off the roof of my Jeep and onto the pavement. But it hasn’t scratched at all, aside from aforementioned dent, despite a full year of use on hikes, in cars, while travelling and getting dropped at work 15 times a day. I also drink like a 5-year-old, so I dribble water all over myself when I’m not paying attention, but I do this with any wide-mouth Nalgene too. I do see that Hydro Flask has a Wide Mouth flip-lid with a narrower opening available, so maybe I need to treat myself to one of those??

All-in-all, this is a heavy bottle, but 100% worth the investment for around-town and day trips. It holds a TON of water and it really keeps your water cold (aka: drinkable), no matter the conditions. BONUS: Hydro Flask donates 5% of your purchase towards a charity – you pick!