Under $50 Scores: This Hydro Flask kids water bottle is easy to hold and perfect for travel
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As any seasoned traveler knows, reusable water bottles are an essential piece of travel gear for just about any trip, be it a backpacking adventure, a week-long cruise or a weekend road trip. Not only are water bottles handy but they save money and reduce plastic waste. That said, not all water bottles are created equal.
I often see kids carrying around adult-sized water bottles or pint-sized versions of these bottles, but kids have different needs than adults. Fortunately, Hydro Flask makes an amazing kids water bottle that is insulated, easy to hold, dishwasher-safe and comes in fun colors that kids love.
My 7-year-old niece has been using this bottle for two years at home, in school and when traveling. It’s as well-traveled as she is, having visited Wisconsin, New York, Florida, Illinois and Indiana (twice). Plus, it’s available in numerous colors and can even be engraved with your kiddo’s name.
Hydro Flask 12-Ounce Kids Wide-Mouth Water Bottle
This stainless steel water bottle is intended for kids ages 3+ but it works for older kids and adults too. It has an easy-sip straw cap, a handy finger loop for easy holding and a perforated bottle “boot” to protect it from falls. It keeps drinks cold up to 24 hours and it’s BPA-free and dishwasher-safe.
How I found the Hydro Flask Kids Wide-Mouth Water Bottle
My mother has advanced Parkinson’s and struggles with holding, tipping and drinking out of cups. It’s much easier for her to drink out of a straw, yet she often drops cups, so I set out to find a small and easy-to-hold water bottle with a straw that can handle being dropped and not leak water when turned on its side.
I’ve been a huge fan of Hydro Flask for years, and my favorite bottle is its Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide-Mouth Trail Series bottle. It’s traveled to countless countries with me, and I love it so much that I wrote an entire review about it.
Enter the Hydro Flask Kids Wide Mouth Water Bottle. It ticked all the boxes, plus it’s BPA free, dishwasher-safe and its insulated steel keeps drinks cold for an entire day. We bought three of these bottles so my niece could start using it as well.
As a budding young traveler, my niece has visited half a dozen states over the past two years, and this water bottle has gone right along with her. It easily fits into our luggage, but she often stashes it in her carry-on backpack or in her car seat’s cup holder during road trips.
Why the Hydro Flask Kids Wide-Mouth Water Bottle is a score
We use this water bottle nearly every single day, and after two years, it’s still going just as strong as it did the day we got it. It accompanies my niece to school, daycare and playgrounds, and on hikes and vacations. Sure, it’s a bit pricier than most water bottles, but we have gotten more than our money’s worth from it, and we expect it to last many more years.
Though the bottle is not marketed as being leakproof, we’ve found that it is largely leakproof, assuming the cap is tightly twisted on and the sip-straw pushed down flat. My niece usually keeps it upright in her backpack’s water bottle pocket, but it’s found its way to the bottom of the main compartment on more than one occasion without getting anything else wet.
We recently took a family road trip to Indianapolis to watch the solar eclipse, and this bottle came along for the ride. It joined my niece at the Eiteljorg Museum, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Zoo as well as during the eclipse itself. It sat in her car seat’s cup holder during the five-hour drive, and she sipped out of it at the hotel and restaurants because it’s prettier and more fun than boring old glasses.
Whether you’re looking for a dedicated travel water bottle for little ones or an amazing all-around bottle, you can’t go wrong with the Hydro Flask Kids Wide-Mouth Water Bottle.
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