Best smart water bottle 2023

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Drink up!

To give you an idea of how good I am at staying hydrated, on the second day of testing this water bottle, I forgot to take it into work with me. So (along with packing my bag and gym kit the night before) it’s not a priority.

While I don’t mind the taste of most water anymore, unlike when I was younger, I still struggle to remember to keep myself hydrated – even when I think it may help me edge closer to a coveted running PB or when I’m wondering why I’ve got a headache.

So, when I left my favourite water bottle in a spin class, and then heard about this smart new drinking companion, I knew I had to give it a try – would the HidrateSpark finally help me up my water drinking game?

The HidrateSpark is just like a normal water bottle, but there’s a rechargeable sensor in the bottom that measures how much water you drink. It then relays all the information back to an app on your phone. Oh, and it makes the bottle glow, as a little friendly ‘drink me’ nudge.

The app tracks how many times you empty the bottle and syncs with your smartwatch to send you additional reminders, either throughout the day or when you’re behind on your goal. There’s a free tier (the one I used) or you can pay for more glow colour customisation options.

In the lab, we test water bottles for any leakage, checking how well they keep drinks cool (and hot in a few cases), whether they’re comfortable to use, and how easy they are to clean.

Our experts awarded the HidrateSpark an impressive 10/10 in our leak-proof test and found it easy to drink from. It’s not dishwasher-proof, and you need to remove the sensor from the bottom if you’re washing the bottle, but otherwise, it’s simple to clean.

In the short term, it kept drinks cool – even when the weather was hot, and our water stayed cool for two hours. In fact, the temperature didn’t creep up. At. All. It claims to keep drinks cool for up to 24 hours, too – but our experts found that the water warmed slightly as the day went on.

Ultimately, how noticeable this is would depend on the starting temperature of your water, but if you needed to keep it chilled for longer, you could easily fit ice cubes into the bottle, thanks to its wide screw-top lid.

On the techy side, testers found the app simple to set up, and the bottle easy to calibrate, although it sometimes needs recalibrating once the sensor has been charged. The battery was long-lasting too – at least ten days.

Well, I didn’t find the app reminders that inspiring – their funny and inspirational quotes didn’t resonate (apart from ‘Baby shark… drink drink drink drinkdrinkdrink’ which did elicit a giggle). A simple water drop emoji reminder didn’t jolt me into hydration mode much either.

But I loved the glow, which felt like a throwback to the much-coveted light-up trainers of my childhood. You can tailor the settings, so I had it flashing pink to remind me to drink, and to reward me when I did.

Obviously, this visual cue means it only works if the bottle is in your eye line, making it the perfect desk buddy, but that’s less effective when on the go (not to mention, the bottle is pretty big, and the strap is small). The sensor also only works when it’s on a flat surface, something I realised (much to my relief!) when it didn’t illuminate a dimly lit spin class.

I found the recommended amount of water – four and a quarter bottles! – a lot to hit too, but within a few days I was downing two to three by the evening. Handily, the app also lets you add other liquids (some you have to pay for, some you don’t), meaning my much-needed early morning coffee could count towards my goal, too.

The glow hasn’t got old yet, so I think I’ll be making a permanent spot for the HidrateSpark in my water bottle rotation, even if I still need to find another one that’s more handbag-friendly.

Luckily there are lots of other water bottles you can try in the quest for better hydration – and our WH Lab team put a couple of the market leaders to the test.

I have a confession. I don’t really like the taste of water. Before you say, ‘water doesn’t have a taste’, you are wrong, and it doesn’t match up to a cold Diet Coke on a hot day.

But I appreciate water is better for me than fizzy drinks, so I’ve tried everything over the years to convert myself, from app reminders to spending money on chic reusable bottles I want to show off. Nothing stuck. Apparently, you can lead a girl to a fancy water bottle, but you can’t make her drink. So, I was initially sceptical when asked to trial the Air Up, but when I heard it was designed for people who aren’t excited by the taste of water, I was intrigued.

The Air Up uses scent to make your brain think you’re drinking flavoured H2O. You fill the bottle from the tap, choose your favourite flavour of aroma pod – these include virgin mojito, orangeade, iced coffee and loads more – pop it over the mouthpiece and pull up to activate. Because 80% of taste comes smell, the idea is that you believe you’re drinking a virgin mojito or iced coffee rather than plain ol’ water.

We tested the Ocean Blue Tritan bottle (Tritan is a strong, shatterproof plastic). In the lab, it scored an impressive 95.7/100. It was 100% leak-proof, comfortable to hold, and testers were impressed by how effective the aroma pods were at creating flavour. It did struggle to keep our water cool for more than 30 minutes, but if that's a dealbreaker, the brand also does stainless steel bottles.

So how did it fare IRL? I enjoyed trying the different pods – my bottle came with watermelon and winter apple flavours and I also bought cherry kola and strawberry and balsamic so I could test a mix. The fruit scents made the water taste a little synthetic – already artificial flavours such as cherry kola worked better. (Also, don't go for strawberry and balsamic unless, for some inexplicable reason, you really like the taste of vinegar.) I definitely drank a lot more water while I was trialling it, mainly because I wanted to work my way through the different scents. If you can land on one you like, this would be a surefire winner.

For me, I’m still to find The One, but the novelty hasn't worn off yet. If you are thinking of adding to basket, one thing to bear in mind is the ongoing cost. Air Up claims you get five litres of flavour for every pod and new pods cost between 4.99 and 6.99 for three. So, if you’re drinking your recommended two litres a day, it could quickly add up. Then again, it’s probably cheaper (and healthier) than that DC habit...

My hydration style is what I like to call Urban Camel. Some days, I drink several litres of water and casually Google rare bladder conditions that can be the only logical cause of my co-dependent relationship with the ensuite. Other days, I remember I’m in possession of a human body circa 10pm and only then take my first non-caffeinated sip of the day.

Enter the TikTok sipfluencer, the Stanley Quencher H2.0 Flowstate. This XXL stainless steel tumbler is (almost) as tall as a toddler (12.5 inches to be exact), has a tapered bottom so it can fit into any standard car cupholder, and is about as subtle as Cher Horowitz. Thanks to celebrity fans including Adele, it tends to sell out as soon as it’s restocked on the Stanley website, but you can usually find one of the six pastel colour-ways available on Amazon.

So, does it make you drink more? Initially, I was hooked. Thanks to the optional straw lid, I was a full litre down by 10am. I was bragging to any poor soul in my vicinity that my water was icy fresh after four hours. And I was spending so much time peeing they nearly sent out a search party at work.

After a couple of days, my infatuation hit a major speed bump. I discovered that it leaks if it isn’t held completely upright. Without being able to store it in my backpack or handbag, it became the bane of my existence. It was heavy and I was paranoid I’d leave it on the Tube. I also felt self-conscious. Everywhere I went, people either wanted to talk about how I'd managed to secure a Stanley Quencher, or straight up laughed at the sheer size of my new hydration sidekick. By week three, I was still drinking more, but exclusively referred to it as ‘The Beast’.

As for the expert verdict, the Stanley secured a very solid 86/100 from our testers in the lab. They were impressed that it kept water relatively cool for nine hours and the insulated stainless steel didn’t contaminate the taste of their drink. It also scored highly for its quick cleaning capabilities, as unlike a lot of other stainless-steel models on the market, it's dishwasher-safe.

Disclaimer: our testers did notice that both the straw lid and twist cap leak when the bottle isn’t held completely upright, losing 13g of liquid when tipped on its side. Not ideal. They found it comfortable to use and were certified fans of its large side handle, but also noted how heavy it is to hold when full.

Should you invest? If you spend a lot of time in your car, or are looking for a big bottle that will encourage you stay hydrated at home without constant refills, then ‘yes’. I loved that my water stayed cool and the straw encouraged me to sip and sip again.

But – and it’s a big but – if you have an active lifestyle and want a reusable bottle to be your full-time companion, the Stanley Quencher is, frankly, a little bit of a faff. Until it comes with a leakproof lid or complementary Land Rover, this commuter recommends opting for a smaller leak-free vessel you can store in your bag, like the Chilly's Series 2, which came out top in our lab tests. It was leak-proof and kept our water impressively cool in 30C heat. Here's to hours of icy sipping without worrying about spills.

Senior Homes Tester

Blossom is our Senior Homes Tester. Passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for our readers, she has tested everything from blenders to pizza ovens. Blossom enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols for hundreds of items. Innovative items like robot vacuum cleaners and wine coolers are among her favourite tests to date, and her most notable accomplishment is toasting 360 slices of bread in a determined bid to find the best toaster. In her free time, Blossom openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.

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