Life After Nalgene: 11 Reusable Water Bottles You’ll Want to Carry Everywhere

I adore Memobottle’s fresh take on the water bottle. | Image via Memobottle.

I am notoriously bad at remembering to drink water. Even after a very unsexy bout with kidney stones, I still find myself lugging home an unopened water bottle at the end of the day. My mother wrapped up a stone from her backyard and gave it to me, a note taped to it: Drink water or I’ll be back! Even this physical reminder isn’t enough. My organs, I’m sure, are in constant danger of shutting down.

So it would seem that the stylish water-bottle market is ballooning just in time. As plastic bottles become side-eyed relics, savvy designers are rethinking the way we get hydrated. Suddenly, even the ubiquitous Nalgene seems old-school, the water-bottle equivalent of Crocs. Just this morning, I stumbled across memobottle, a flat, square, flask-like bottle that’s designed to fit better into laptop bags and purses. Sure, the design is better in terms of ergonomics, but it’s also far chicer than most reusable water bottles. I did some more digging – maybe this is the answer to my water issue? – and found other equally gorgeous bottles, all worthy of toting around all day. Here’s the modern, sophisticated way to pass on the plastic. 

Glossy metallic bottles are more like jewelry, and add a dash of glam to your desk.
From left: S’well rose gold bottle, $42, Corkcicle 16-ounce Canteen copper bottle, $27.95, and S’well yellow gold bottle, $42.

Glass bottles might seem impractical, but Aquaovo‘s bottles come with protective silicone sleeves. Because why shouldn’t your accessory come with its own accessory? (Bonus: A portion of the proceeds go to One Drop, a non-profit that helps provide communities access to safe water.)
Aquaovo water bottles with sleeves, $24.99.

Australia-based memobottle creates flat BPA-free plastic bottles that are designed to better fit into bags. (Cylindrical bottles are a pain to stuff into narrow purses.) The slim profile is smart and endlessly chic, and comes in two sizes, A5 (about the size of a standard piece of paper) and a flask-sized A6. Plus, each bottle comes with a white and black cap, in case you want to switch ’em out.
$25 for size A5 and $22 for size A6; buy here.

S’well gets another shout-out here, because they’ve cornered the water-bottle market – or at least brought it to the fashionable forefront. (Even Neiman Marcus sells them.) Instead of the solid-color varieties, try one of their textural styles. The marble-esque one, third from left, had style folks freaking out, but the gator and croc prints are equally cool.
Aubergine Alligator, Lily Wood, Birchwood and Blanc Crocodile BPA-free double-walled stainless steel bottles, $25-$45 depending on size.