Maybe I just don’t pay close enough attention.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve never been on TikTok.
The type of water bottle you carry says something about you? I mean, I’ve successfully navigated the world for over 50 years without needing to carry water with me at all times.
Water bottles are a huge market today. With all the bad news about one time use water bottles, people who carry water need a reusable bottle.
Lots of competitive brands and many are very expensive. They have become a bit of a status symbol for those who carry them.
I rarely carry one (maybe to the beach). My daughter almost always carries one. She keeps it in her backpack for when she walks around the city so she stays hydrated. She uses ones she got for free (marketing items with a company logo). Neither of us have ever spent money on a water bottle.
Water bottles are huge for my daughter and her friends.
In fact, she just gifted her two best friends fancy water bottles with art prints.
What I find hilarious is that Stanley, a century old maker of cheap but high-quality thermos bottles, is now considered cool. My mom has a 50 year old Stanley thermos (link below, its appearance hasn’t changed). I have to tell her next time how hip she is.
https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Vacuum-Bottle-Hammertone/dp/B000FZX93K
I always have a water bottle with me. I have a work/car water bottle, a family room water bottle, and a bedroom water bottle. lol Right now I’m using Contigo but I’m thinking of switching to Camelback. I’m about functionality and not what’s in though. I don’t want to have to unscrew the top to drink or to have a straw. Easy cleaning is a must.
We are big water bottle users. D carries one with her everywhere. Uses her company branded water bottle at work but carries a Yeti that we gifted her for xmas the rest of the time. H and I both use Yetis that we got as gifts from a resort. H gifted me a larger one for the beach one year as well. I take it kayaking.
I drink a lot of water, but I’m a bottled water person. I might use a reusable bottle if I trusted our water here, but I don’t. Even before the coal ash spill, followed by 18 months later our water smelled like rotting meat… that no experts could figure out a solution except to add more chemicals… years ago I used to refill a large cup at the office. And the inside of the cup would turn brown. No thanks. It may be ok for drinking. I use it for cooking and bathing and stuff. But I drink over a gallon of water a day. I don’t trust it that much.
I stopped using bottled water to reduce plastic waste. I now have two water bottles, one kept in the car to drink while driving, the other with me around the house. They are both 1 qt sized. I drink two a day, or 8 cups.
I have one of each style. Does that make me split personality?
Glass half full, how great that more people are drinking water AND using a reusable vessel!!
What people chose to carry it in, is no different than people who choose higher end shoes or dresses, or cars or whatever. They are available at all price points and with different features.
I have a water bottle with or near me most times. Have done this for the past two years or so and it has been a good thing for me because I am a low volume drinker of ANY fluids. I’m definitely drinking more water, because I’m sipping throughout the day. I usually “assign” a favorite to use until it’s no longer functioning right for me (I have a habit of dropping mine often!) Right now I’m using one of a set I bought from Costco and often I’ve had Life is Good ones I buy from Sierra Trading Post. I take it to work, in the car for errands, have it on the counter at home, near me when I’m exercising, etc.
I prefer NOT a straw but a flip top. As mentioned, easy to clean and dishwash.
I don’t need a specific brand but also I do think there are lesser ones out there that don’t keep water cold, get smelly, etc.
We all have our life items we are snobby about. If it’s your water bottle, go for it. Just keep drinking!
I can’t even comprehend that there are still people out there not using reusable water bottles.
I have a Hydroflask I have used for 10 years or more. That thing keeps drinks so hot they’re too hot. I have to put a few ice cubes in to cool it down to not boiling. And it keeps drinks so cold there’s ice left in it the next day. If I am out and about I usually have it with me in the car. I don’t carry it on my person unless it’s super hot out and I’m exercising. I don’t use it much at home unless I want to sip on hot tea and have it stay hot for a long time. But it is a workhorse. Great product and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth.
I have a rose gold S’well that D gave me but it doesn’t hold enough water, which is too bad. I use a HydroFlask so I’m definitely not cool!
We have so many water bottles in our house, we could open a store! Big ones, little ones, a whole lotta yeti ones that were vendor gifts, etc. But many are heavy and/or have no handles or are weird sizes/shapes. So impractical. So, with the big Stanley tumblers in vogue, I decided to do a little test and bought an imitation one from five below. I keep it in the car in the warm months. Works great!
We also have so many reusable water bottles. My favorite is my copper colored Hydro flask because it fits in my cupholder. My college kid has an Ello, which didn’t make this list, but is popular and well priced.
Pretty sure I’m the only person left who actually doesn’t carry water with me everywhere.
(But if I did, it would definitely be a reusable. I’m appalled by rampant disposable bottle use. My D works in environmental issues. Even if you recycle a water bottle–which mostly people don’t–they don’t get turned into other water bottles, so every single one is from new oil extraction. Bleh!)
I still use reusable water bottles occasionally, but we no longer buy the big multipacks at Sams like we used to. They get multiple uses (usually left over from the rare times on the road where we buy a bottle of water rather than soda). No concerns about losing them along the way. I’m retired and drink most of my water out of 16 oz glasses, one out on the breakfast bar getting refilled all day.
The cultural trend of carrying a water bottle everywhere and sipp-sipp-sipping all day long is not dangerous for most people, but I am definitely seeing more cases of water-induced hyponatremia, i.e. drinking so much liquid that it washes out your electrolytes and you can’t maintain normal levels of sodium. I have had some cases with sodium so low we have had to hospitalize. Usually, multiple factors turn out to be the cause (e.g. excessive water intake + low caloric intake + an SSRI) but sometimes the only factor is the excessive water.
Medical students learn about a condition called Psychogenic Polydipsia which is a mental illness driven urge to drink too much water, but we doctors joke they need to create a new diagnosis called Sociogenic Polydipsia.
Except in rare medical conditions, there is no need to push yourself to “hydrate.” The vast majority of people do not need to carry water with them, or do anything other than drink some water at each meal.
Thank you! I’ve been saying this (without an MD) for years.
I saw a funny story on social media from a guy saying that when he was young he thought coffee was a drink for adults, then when he got older he thought alcohol was a drink for adults, but now that he’s an adult he’s realized water is the actual drink for adults.
I’d like to point out that both wine and beer are mostly water…
