My kids have gone through a lot of water bottles, and this year, we finally found the best one for school. It's the Nalgene Kids On the Fly (OTF).
I don't want to spend too much time on the deficiencies of other water bottles we've tried unsuccessfully, except to say that this one (from Camelbak) was our second favorite - the only problem is that curious kids eventually chew through the spout and then it leaks. The Nalgene OTF is great because:
- it's just the right size. It holds enough water to get them through the day, but not so much that it takes up their entire backpack.
- they can fill it through the drinking spout. This is a weird advantage that I didn't think of myself, but I noticed it when I saw how my kids actually like to fill up their water bottles. Hint: they sometimes cannot be bothered to screw off the entire cap. Especially at school when there's a line of kids at the water cooler and they're over eager to get back to playing at recess.
- IT DOES NOT LEAK. Praise the heavens.
- the top closure is fun and easy for the kids to pop open, which is great, but I was afraid it would wear out the tension and lead to leakage. BUT: it also has a reinforced metal clip thing that keeps it closed, so no matter how often they pop the top for fun, you always know it's closed tight if the metal clip is in place.
- it has a loop integrated into the design, which means you can clip it on a backpack if you want to.
- it has a free-flowing water spout with no valve - so great for older kids who aren't so prone to spills.
It took a couple of years for us to find a good kids' water bottle for school. If you're looking for one, too, I hope this helps! And I just re-read this and it totally reads like a sponsored post. It's not. I just thought I'd share in case anyone else has been as frustrated with school water bottles as I have been.
I don't want to spend too much time on the deficiencies of other water bottles we've tried unsuccessfully, except to say that this one (from Camelbak) was our second favorite - the only problem is that curious kids eventually chew through the spout and then it leaks. The Nalgene OTF is great because:
- it's just the right size. It holds enough water to get them through the day, but not so much that it takes up their entire backpack.
- they can fill it through the drinking spout. This is a weird advantage that I didn't think of myself, but I noticed it when I saw how my kids actually like to fill up their water bottles. Hint: they sometimes cannot be bothered to screw off the entire cap. Especially at school when there's a line of kids at the water cooler and they're over eager to get back to playing at recess.
- IT DOES NOT LEAK. Praise the heavens.
- the top closure is fun and easy for the kids to pop open, which is great, but I was afraid it would wear out the tension and lead to leakage. BUT: it also has a reinforced metal clip thing that keeps it closed, so no matter how often they pop the top for fun, you always know it's closed tight if the metal clip is in place.
- it has a loop integrated into the design, which means you can clip it on a backpack if you want to.
- it has a free-flowing water spout with no valve - so great for older kids who aren't so prone to spills.
It took a couple of years for us to find a good kids' water bottle for school. If you're looking for one, too, I hope this helps! And I just re-read this and it totally reads like a sponsored post. It's not. I just thought I'd share in case anyone else has been as frustrated with school water bottles as I have been.