We are a stainless steel bottle family. Water bottles, coffee mugs, baby bottle/sippy cup and even MASSIVE water bottles that people make fun of. Why don't we use plastic water bottles? Better yet, why don't we use just any aluminum/stainless steel water bottle? After many years of trial and error and thinking we were doing good one minute, only to find out there was more to that "aluminum" water bottle, our family found Klean Kanteen and went on a massive buying spree. Yes, we spent a decent amount of money, but I have to tell you...it has been 3+ years and we have EVERY, SINGLE one of them (minus the few that have been left places 😳). They are still in excellent condition despite being used daily AND every time I take a sip of water, I know it is pure, clean water. Let's dig in to how I got to stainless steel, and the natural progression:
- Single Use Bottle SUB (think typical bottle you grab from convenience store, etc.)
THE PROBLEM - obvious: pollution; not so obvious: single use bottles utilize #1 PET plastic which has been deemed"safe" because it shouldn't melt, crack or fall apart with single use. But the safety stops there. Negative effects include BPA leakage, bacteria growth when used repeatedly (#1 plastic is porous which makes them difficult to clean so with repeated use they tend to house bacteria. No thank you.) Bottled water IS NOT REGULATED. What does that mean? Your expensive bottled water can be glorified tap water with a hefty price tag. There are many regulations on municipal water (tap water), there are zero on bottled water. I could take up the rest of your day with why you shouldn't use SUB's but that would just be annoying. If you want to learn more about SUB's click here. - BPA Free Water Bottle (think hard plastic, most of the time colored, reusable bottle)
THE PROBLEM - the chemicals used to replace BPA have nearly the same impact (hormone disruption) on our bodies as BPA, the research on them is just immature so the formal conclusion hasn't been reached yet. I seriously would not be surprised if in the near future, we start hearing about how bad BPA-free water bottles are for us. - Aluminum Water Bottle
THE PROBLEM - aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer's and because it should not be used in food grade products, they coat the inside in nothing other than PLASTIC. Another reason they coat the inside is to prevent your water from tasting like aluminum. Yuk. - Stainless Steel (unaltered surgical grade steel)
THE SOLUTION - no after-taste, no leeching , no nothing. Pure H2O, as long as that is what you put in it. Quality stainless steel will have the material used listed on the bottle. You want #304 or 18/8 food grade stainless steel. I personally gravitate to Klean Kanteen because they utilize the safest materials, they founded their company with environmental sustainability in mind, they oversee every single part of the manufacturing process (so you know what you are truly getting) and their products are high quality and aesthetically appealing. There are other options out there, just be sure to do your homework to ensure you are getting a high quality product.
Drink up!