We are ALL water bottle geeks these days. With fears of leaching BPA (and other chemicals), the trend has been to find materials that are greener, cleaner, and chemical free. Metal bottles have been gaining ground over plastic bottles for years, but now there’s a new bottle on the block. You have probably seen glass bottles around – some now covered in a thin silicone sleeve, protecting the glass as well as providing a pop of color to reflect your personal style. For those of us (like me) who tend to be a little less than careful (and do things like pop your metal water bottle in your bike cage – only to watch it get launched down the road when you hit your first big pothole, forcing you to ditch your bike to chase after your, now dented, bottle as it rolls down the hill), the glass option, while lovely, and arguably better in many ways, is just a little too fragile.
Enter the Bamboo Bottle. While I haven’t managed to launch this one down the road yet (it’s a little too wide for the bike cage) it’s served me well in stationary situations. This bottle is built with durability in mind. The thick exterior bamboo shell protects the glass, and serves the dual purpose of insulating the contents of your bottle. Prefer your beverages hot? Great! They’ll stay hot
(jury is still out on the length of time it will keep your morning joe piping hot). Like your water near Arctic-temperature? Excellent, throw in some ice, and you’re good to go.
The mouth of the bottle is wider than my good ol’ Kleen Kanteen, making cleaning easy if by dishwasher or by hand. The lid, green top ring and base are plastic, but clean up is easy (though easier if you clean it regularly–this probably isn’t the bottle you want to leave in your car for a week with the dregs of some sugary recovery drink lolling around in there). This bottle is super easy to disassemble: the cap unscrews, then the green ring, then slip off the bamboo sleeve, and viola – pop the glass part in the sink or dishwasher and wipe the bamboo sleeve with a damp towel – I always vote to hand wash plastic, but Bamboo Bottle’s website says that the cap, top ring and bottom are dishwasher safe – so go for it!
The cons to this bottle are few, but significant. It’s heavy. Even when it’s empty. On the bright side, you could consider each sip a rep in your new desktop-weightlifting workout. And, it’s thick. Will it fit in your car’s cup holder? I wouldn’t count on it.
All in all, it’s a unique addition to the current, crowded landscape of reusable water bottles. You have to hand it to the Bamboo Bottle folks, there’s a ton of consideration that has gone into the resources used and the design. If you are concerned about what’s surrounding your water, give this bottle a try!
