From app-connected caps to bottles with built-in speakers, these are bound to keep your thirst quenched.
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MAKING SURE we are properly hydrated is key to overall health, yet sometimes the fast pace of everyday life gets to us and we forget to actually drink water throughout the day. A smart water bottle is a simple solution to help us keep tabs on our hydration levels. With a smart water bottle, you can cruise your way to healthy body functioning, glowing skin, and steady energy all day long.
These days, smart water bottles come in all shapes, sizes, materials, and technologies. Many water bottles offer a plethora of features, but sometimes all the bells and whistles don’t quite fit your lifestyle; sometimes all you really need is a little motivation to drink up. From collapsible options that save on space to self-cleaning technology you occasionally have to hand wash and Bluetooth-connected options that track how much you drink (welcome to the future), at the end of the day a smart water bottle will have done its job if it just makes you want to drink more.
Every good smart water bottle is going to do one task especially well: remind you to take sips and stay hydrated throughout the day. So smart water bottles work quite well in this function. Some brands decide to take the tech a step further and provides additional features that can enhance your water consumption. Some tech-savvy wellness enthusiasts love smart water bottles that sync to their health app and provide them with a data-driven approach to hitting their daily hydration goals; others find the idea of connectivity in a water bottle silly. It's worth noting one cool feature we're seeing smart water bottles take on is UV-cleaning, which helps eliminate bacteria and prevent that damp metal smell a bottle can take on.
Whichever style you prefer, remember a smart water bottle is really just a drinking vessel intelligently designed to solve a problem. We created this guide to help you find a smart water bottle that fits seamlessly into your budget and your daily routine, so you can be a happier, healthier, more hydrated human. Check out the best smart water bottles of 2023, tested by the team at Men's Health, and find the smart water bottle below that appeals to you. It's time to make your hydration process a whole lot easier (and cooler).
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The Hidrate Spark was one of the first smart connected water bottles on the market. And now, it has its PRO model. This baby tracks your water intake and literally lights up to remind you to drink up. It syncs via Bluetooth to the HidrateSpark app, Fitbit, Apple Health, and more. (It’s even worthy enough to be sold at the Apple Store).
The advanced technology calculates and adjusts personal hydration goals based on your body and activity level. It has smart sensors that record how much you drink, instantly syncing it to your phone for that connected life.
One of our favorite (yet not entirely important) features comes from location tracking. Just like “find my iPhone” you can “find my water bottle” and never lose it again. The lid is dishwasher safe, while the body and sensor are hand washable. One single charge lasts up to four months. This water bottle has it all. Soon your body will be trained to sip more often throughout the day making the $60 ticket well worth it. What do buyers say? Out of more than 4,000 Amazon reviews, 85% recommend the Hidrate Spark PRO Smart Water Bottle with at least a 4-star rating.
Clean freaks, you're going to love this. The PureVis Smart Water Bottle doesn’t track your hydration through an app, but it is smart in the way it prepares it for drinking. LARQ utilizes UV-C light technology to clean out bacteria that sticks around in between washes. Since the pandemic, UV-C light sanitization systems have been on the rise because of how efficient they are. This bottle sanitizes the entire inside, which can sometimes be a tricky task, even when hand-scrubbing.
All you have to do is push a button for a 60-second light bath. And when it realizes you aren’t using it regularly, it self-cleans every two hours for the purest possible water. The double insulation version is a bit heavy, but it will keep your liquids hot or cold for an entire day. If you’re looking for a lighter option without the insulation, opt for the LARQ Movement.
What do buyers say? "Nearly a year later - I bought a second one! ... I’m very happy with my new Larq bottle! I love the sleek simple design and it looks great in all black," said one Amazon reviewer.
In addition to staying hydrated, just remembering to keep your water bottle clean can sometimes be a hassle. The award-winning WAATR PureMax 4K Smart Water Bottle features UV-C technology to zap away bacteria and mildew with disinfecting ultraviolet light. Tap the cap twice for a quick, 60-second cleaning or five times for a more thorough, two-minute deep clean. If you constantly find your water bottles smelling funky after a day or two, this bottle is for you.
What's more: With a stainless steel construction, it's also the most durable smart water bottle we've seen this year. With double-walled, vacuum insulation, it can chill cold drinks for up to 24 hours and keep hot drinks toasty for up to 12. We especially love that the cap fits on other popular thermos-designed water bottles—like bottles from Hydroflask.
What do buyers say? "This thing makes great water! No matter what kind of water I put in it, it makes it taste better," said one reviewer.
With a simple wave of a finger (insert Harry Potter reference here), the UVC cleaning technology in Monos’ Kiyo UVC Water Bottle purifies drinking water inside, eradicating up to 99.99% of bacteria. That means you can fill up your water bottle from the faucet, lake, river, or refrigerator and rest assured that what you’re drinking is clean.
If you’re really thirsty, you can swipe once for a quick clean mode (60 seconds) or wait three minutes on deep clean mode by swiping twice. The soft design doesn’t look as high-tech as it is, taking inspiration from classic artisan pottery.
It charges via USBC-C in just 3 hours for 30 days of normal use. It’s a great portable option that fits in a purse, backpack, or carry-on travel bag while remaining easy to carry and impressive in style. You can’t track your hydration levels, so this is a great option for someone that isn’t always connected, but is always on the go.
What do buyer say? "This one was more expensive than the other ones I've owned (Swell, Hydroflask, etc.) but it's so worth it, because I'll actually use it. Even after a week of constant use this bottle hasn't developed ANY odor AT ALL," said one Monos.com reviewer.
This water bottle from adidas and REBO includes a special smart cap to help track your hydration from the REBO app. What's cool is the app acts as a hydration coach, giving you a customized plan that's based on your daily activity. Users of this bottle note how it pairs well with the adidas Running platform, sending reminders when you should take some sips.
One knock on this bottle is the capacity is on the smaller side (about 18-20 ounces). The positive spin to this is the bottle is more portable in this size and lighter in weight (less than one pound). Alas, if you are hydrating a lot then a few ounces can make a huge difference; so you may be refilling this more than if you had a bottle that was closer to 32 ounces. As far as batter life goes on the smart cap, adidas claims it can last up to 2 weeks—which is quite long compared to some of the other smart caps that last about a week.
What do buyers say? "Great product, makes me drink lots of water. Keeps water really cold," said one adidas.com reviewer.
And you thought you'd seen it all. This isn't your typical "smart water bottle," in the sense that it'll encourage you to drink more. But you will at least have more fun staying hydrated. That's because this high-tech water bottle features a detachable Bluetooth speaker—which means it's perfect for anyone who likes to keep their tunes with them wherever they go. Take it with you on a hike, an outdoor workout, on the beach, or anywhere else (where bumping those jams out loud is acceptable, of course). It's IP67 certified, so it's waterproof, dustproof, and sandproof, meaning it's ready to go just about anywhere.
There are other things to like about this bottle, too, like the fact that it's BPA-free and keeps your drinks cold for up to 24 hours. But let's be honest: The real reason you're getting this is for the speaker, which also features a built-in speakerphone with digital echo canceling and a dedicated talk/end button. And for around $70, that's not a bad option for a gift, either.
What do buyers say? "I always forget to bring a mini speaker to the park or just out to a friend's house. This way, I get the benefit of both," said one Amazon reviewer.
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Wellness junkies are probably aware of the potential benefits to the hydrogen water hype. Essentially, hydrogen water is regular water with gas that may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Some researchers claim it slows the process of aging, has better mineral absorption, and improves muscle recovery after a workout. While current research is limited, those aiming to stay on top of the latest health trends (and boast about it) will love the potential benefits of this hydrogen-forming smart water bottle.
The Level Up Way glass bottle lets you turn any water into hydrogen water through something called SPE PEM technology. At the press of a button, and a little patience (six minutes to be exact), this smart bottle ionizes your water making it more bioavailable, introducing molecular hydrogen. Hydrogen water can be expensive, so this one-time purchase is worth your hard-earned money, if you can commit to it.
What do buyers say? "After researching hydrogenated water, I chose the Level Up Way system. I am extremely happy with the product," said one Amazon reviewer.
Unlike the other smart water bottles here, this water bottle has zero tech features. But it's "smart" in how it motivates you to drink up throughout the day. You might laugh or think it's cheesy, but these little reminders can actually work by training your brain to look forward to these tiny milestones. Let's be honest: If you're staring at a plain cup, you are much less likely to take a sip and refill than you are to hit the goals listed on this jug. If a $20 water jug can up your hydration levels, take that as a major win.
A few other features to like about this "dumb" water bottle are the massive, one-gallon capacity (!) and leakproof, BPA-free design. At under $30, it's also one of the most affordable water bottles we researched this year. Plus, it's hard to ignore the more than 30,000 ratings on Amazon alone, including more than 24,000 five-star ratings. It might be corny, but thousands of buyers agree that it's helping them stay hydrated.
What do buyers say? "This actually helped me reach my goal of a gallon a day because drinking it with the time intervals help me be aware of the daytime and to keep up with my water intake," said one Amazon reviewer.
Use soap and warm water to clean the inside of your bottle and the smart cap. One way to clean the cap easier is to use a damp cloth with soap and water, that way you can use the cloth to reach tight spaces that are hard to get to.
Some smart water bottles are also dishwasher safe, but you need to make sure you read the fine print of your bottle before just tossing it in with the rest of your dishes. It's likely your smart water bottle is dishwasher safe for the actual body portion, but not for the smart cap or for any pieces that have electronics inside.
Most of us have long been in the habit of carrying around a water bottle throughout the day. But, today’s best water bottles have evolved way behind the old-school Nalgene bottles of a decade ago. Here’s a list of all the reasons you might want to work a new, high-tech smart water bottle into your daily routine:
You’ll drink more water
The most obvious reason to buy a smart water bottle is to help you drink more water and stay better hydrated throughout the day. Different models use different methods to help motivate you. The best smart water bottles have built-in batteries and use clever tech to remind you to drink more. “Reminder bottles,” for example, can glow or light up at regular intervals, while Bluetooth-connected bottles can even send push notifications to your smartphone.
You can keep tabs on your water intake
Some smart water bottles can also track your total water intake. Some do this automatically, while others may require you to manually turn a dial or engage with the bottle in some way to “mark” every time you finish a full bottle of water.
You can track your beverage’s temperature
If you’re fickle about the temperature of your drinking water—some will only drink it ice cold, while others prefer room temperature H20—a temperature-tracking bottle is the trick. These can let you know when it’s time to add more ice or, if you’re using your bottle for hot beverages, when it’s time for a reheating.
But, wait … there’s more!
Today’s best smart water bottles offer even more features. The most high-tech bottles (like those from Larq) feature integrated water purification technology so your water and your water bottle are always clean. Some include built-in Bluetooth speakers, so wherever your water goes, so does your music. Others have built-in power banks to help keep your smartphone and other small gadgets powered up on the go.
Over the last two years, Men’s Health fitness experts and staff writers researched and personally tested dozens of top-selling smart water bottles. We compared every feature and spec, including durability, price, ease of use, tech features, and how well they actually motivated us to stay hydrated. We also included several well-reviewed models with at least 100 five-star ratings on the etailer sites we trust most. The list above represents our honest picks of the best smart water bottles worth buying in 2023.
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South Africa, and survived a near-miss great white shark attack in Mexico. His travel advice has appeared on the websites for Forbes, Travel + Leisure, CNET, and National Geographic. He loves the great outdoors and good bourbon, and (usually) calls Tulsa, Oklahoma home. Mike also enjoys speaking in the third person.
John Thompson is the Gear and Commerce Editor at Men’s Health, where he covers fashion, grooming, gear, and technology. He was previously the Style & Gear Editor at BroBible.com, and a commerce writer for TheManual.com. His interests include attending concerts, spending time outside, and following his favorite baseball team, the Kansas City Royals.
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