Mishra, A. K., M. G. L. C. Loomans, and Jan LM Hensen. “Thermal comfort of heterogeneous and dynamic indoor conditions—An overview.” Building and Environment 109 (2016): 82-100. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132316303560 ↩︎ This is an often overlooked feature, but more important than you may think, and is a two-fold thing. Firstly, drinks stored in some plastic bottles tend not to taste as pure as drinks stored in metal. Secondly, certain drinks can leave their taste on the inside of certain bottles more easily than others. If you intend using your water bottle for coffee, tea and sports drinks, as well as water, then look for a bottle that doesn’t hold taste easily and is odourless. Capacity

The type of lid – does it screw on and off easily? Are there lid components that are easy to mislay? If it’s a sip cap, is it easy to use and drink from? Another way to investigate the energy savings potential of the hot water bottle is to calculate how much energy it takes to prepare one and compare that to the energy use of a central heating system. Because rubber or PVC bottles can only be filled up to two-thirds for safe and comfortable use, I assume a somewhat larger model – 3 L – which can hold two litres of water in practice. If you are using your water bottle for cooking at camp or you’re mixing energy drinks etc in your bottle then having measurements is a really useful feature. It’s also good if you need to monitor or ration your liquid intake when hiking. The Nalgene, Platypus and Primus bottles all feature volume measurements. Rubber baseThe “warming pan” or “bed warmer” was a metal container filled with hot coals and fitted with a long handle. It was slid between the bedsheets and then moved across the bed to warm all corners before someone got into it. Yet another solution to warm the bed was the so-called “bed wagon”: a wooden frame or sledge designed to hold a pot of hot coals, which was slid below the bed and covered with a metal sheet. Unlike a warming pan, the bed wagon provided warmth throughout the night. See: http://www.oldandinteresting.com/warming-the-bed.aspx ↩︎ Second, if you reheat the water from rubber bottles, the kettle (or pot) can no longer be used to heat water for human consumption because it will taste bad. So, either you use a separate kettle for use with hot water bottles, or you warm the water in the only household kettle and discard it after use. There are few interventions in the building envelope that can achieve such large energy savings for such a small investment, and yet the decrease in air temperature was far from radical in this experiment. If personal heating devices would be combined with a change in clothing insulation and/or blankets the energy savings could become much larger still. The leak-proof chug cap is a highly appealing feature for on-the-go sipping thanks to the soft silicone mouthpiece that doesn’t bash against your teeth as you walk and drink! Another useful feature is the clip that attaches the opened cap onto the handle so that it stays out of the way as you drink. And the fact that it’s dishwasher safe is also a big thumbs up, especially if you want to fill it with electrolytes or sweet drinks.

Make sure to bring along a water bottle while hiking or camping. Staying hydrated is essential for survival, and it is crucial to keep yourself healthy and safe. What To Consider When Choosing A Water Bottle For Hiking Or CampingThe durability of water bottles largely comes down to the materials that they’re made of. The flexible plastic of a soft flask won’t last anywhere near as long as a double wall stainless steel bottle. So if you’re after something to last a lifetime then opt for a heavier stainless steel water bottle. However, if low weight is as important as durability then aluminium and plastic bottles are a good compromise, offering lower weight but good levels of durability. Chemical-free These alternatives look needlessly complex in comparison to the hot water bottle. Water can be heated in many ways both high-tech and low-tech, and containers can be made from locally available materials. Now, you could use a bum bag for hiking if you don’t need to carry a lot of stuff but the problem is that you’ll be hard pushed to find one with a suitable bottle holder.