Sports Bottles: Practical & Stylish Sport Accessories
Proper hydration is beneficial for your exercise performance in so many ways. It helps increase your stamina, reduces sugar cravings, burns fat and aids weight management. Drinking water when exercising is especially important because you need to replace the fluids you lose when you sweat. But some people don’t have the habit to drink or dislike the water that comes in a plastic bottle. Getting a quality sports bottle can change all that. Just like your coffee tastes different into different coffee mugs, the water bottles play a big role in the quality of the water you drink.
Reusable sports bottles are a great accessory to carry with you whenever you head for a workout to the gym, a yoga class or simply jogging around your town. There’s a plethora of different sports water bottles ideal for on-the-go, in-between your favourite sports activities or to keep them on your work desk. But of all the options available, not all of them are designed to contain your fluids safely. To make sure you choose a high-quality sports drink bottle you can take everywhere, you need to consider a few essential factors.
Contents
What Should I Look for When Buying a Water Bottle?
Purpose
When browsing the wide range of sports bottles, you need to think about the sport or activity you’re involved in, and the main purpose of the water bottle in it. For instance, if you need a water bottle for the gym or yoga sessions, you might go for a classic lightweight reusable bottle that can keep your water fresh. Make sure that it features a mouth opening that is easy to drink from and is large enough for ice cubes.
If you’re into trail running, hiking, mountain biking, climbing or any other activity where you spend a lot of time outside, you might benefit more from something that would keep your drink cold or hot for longer. An insulated bottle that does triple duty as a mug, a thermos and a water bottle might be an ideal choice for you. This useful accessory can also come in handy at the office, keeping your coffee hot and water cold during long working hours.
Design & Shape
Let’s face it- besides its functional perks, you want your sports water to look good too so that you can get a cute Instagram shot, right? Modern and practical sports bottles come in a plethora of styles and designs, from simple to sophisticated, narrow and wide, smaller or larger. The colour range is also limitless, and you can choose from classic black or simple blue to lemon yellow, pink, purple, red or any other colour on the palate. You can easily find your favourite colour, or choose one that matches your sportswear.
But don’t forget to choose a shape that will make the bottle easy to use. For example, water bottles for running should be slender enough to fit comfortably in your hand. The water bottles suitable for hiking typically need to hold more liquid and are therefore larger.
Volume
Based on your requirement and needs, you can select the perfect size of your sports bottle. Sports bottles are available with a capacity of around half a litre to circa two litres. Experts suggest that men should drink about 3 litres of water every day, while women should drink about 2.2 litres. However, this is when you’re engaging in normal day-to-day activity. On the other hand, the recommended water intake for athletes depends mostly on the sport or activity they do. When you’re running, for example, it’s recommended to drink 100 ml to 150 ml of water for every twenty minutes of activity.
Material
One of the most important things to consider is to choose a non-toxic material for both the bottle and the lid to make sure that your water stays safe and healthy inside. Make sure to avoid plastic bottles, since they can have toxic effects on human health. One of the most healthy alternatives free of BPA, phthalates, lead or other toxins is stainless steel. Sports bottles made from high quality, 18/8 food-grade stainless steel are safe and toxin-free and don’t retain or impart flavours. This means that you can use the same bottle for coffee, juice, milk or lemonade and after you clean it and fill it with water, your water will still taste like water.
The lid’s material is also important. Again, make sure to avoid plastic lids. Those made from sustainably harvested bamboo and food-grade silicone are an eco-friendly and safe alternative.
Durability
As sports activities should be an essential part of our everyday life, the bottle should also be our everyday accessory. That being said, choose one that has the ability to last through the wear and tear. Switching disposable plastic bottles for each workout is no longer necessary when you can simply pick a reusable one and start your healthy & eco-friendly lifestyle in the instant moment. Stainless steel water bottles also keep mould and other bacteria at bay. They are convenient, don’t break and last longer than any other sports bottle out there. They are also pretty easy to maintain. Speaking of which.
How Do You Clean a Sports Bottle?
It’s important to keep your water bottle clean. One of the simplest ways to clean it is to wash it by hand. Rinsing bottles by hand with warm water and soap is the best way to clean them out after runs. Any general, all-purpose liquid soap might do the job. If you use your insulated sports bottle for coffee or smoothies, you might need to give it a thorough cleaning from time to time. For this purpose, you can use a simple, long-handled bottle brush, to clean deep inside large bottles or those with narrow openings. You can scrub the inside gently with the brush to clean sticky residues more easily and thoroughly.
