I drink a lot of water. I carry filtered water everywhere. Plastic has health risks so I needed to find an alternative method of carrying water. After researching all brands and styles, I chose this Kleen Kanteen. It is stainless steel, not aluminum (do we need potentially more aluminum in our bodies? I say no). It has a wide mouth for adding ice. The sport top is easy to drink from and is made of a material that is much safer than plastic. The whole unit seems very well made. This bottle holds a lot of water, and the ice water stays cold for a long time. I washed it and it still had a metallic taste the first timeI used it. But then that either went away or I stopped tasting it. I highly recommend the Kleen Kanteen. There is a size suitable for any need. I just wish they offered nice koozies for this large size. I took off one star because it will make sounds when you drink from it if you don't press your finger over the little rubber stopper in the vent, and it can also dribble water out of that vent hole. But I just try to remember to hold my bottle so that the vent is at the top, which solves the dribble problem.
By Lil MamaKitty "lilbit565" (Virginia Beach, VA United States)
August 21, 2009
Thick High Quality Steel, Cap needs improvement,
Cap could use some improvement, better than other bottle due to having vent whole that can be close using a rubber piece. Great quality and size.
By Amber "Amber"
August 19, 2009
Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottle,
This stainless steel water bottle tastes like metal and it also seems to leak a bit. I am not happy with it and could not recommend it to anyone else. There was a plastic plug which made a horrible sound when I drank. I cut the plug out and the sound is gone but it leaks so I probably should not have done that. However there were no instructions on this. I would not buy this product again nor anything from this particular company.
One big drawback to metal water bottles is that they seem to heat or cool faster than plastic. Fill either with cold water, and the metal water bottle feels colder. They also tend to sweat in humid climates. These factors can make the bottle unpleasant to carry in your hand when walking. That's not a big drawback, since I advise against carrying a water bottle in your hand as it can lead to repetitive stress injuries.
There is a definite metallic taste when the water is left in the bottle for awhile. A swig of it the next day screams "metal." However, Klean Kanteen says that nothing is leaching into the water.
The Klean Kanteen bottles come in a variety of sizes. At my local outdoors store, only the smaller 12-ounce version came with the sports cap. The clerk helpfully suggested I buy the bigger 27-ounce version (which I would have preferred) and switch the cap for the sports cap. You can buy replacement caps online.
Look for the sports cap. Otherwise, you'll need to remove the loop top completely in order to drink. Since the loop-top cap doesn't have a leash, I am sure it would end up on the ground quite often and soon be lost completely. The sports cap has a standard pop-up mouthpiece, with a cover attached with a leash. That doubles as a finger loop or loop to clip the bottle on a hook.
The mouth is big enough for you to add ice cubes. The bottle is dishwasher-safe, but they recommend not washing the cap in the dishwasher.
