The RW Takeaway: The Zoku stainless steel bottle is pretty, durable, dribble-free—and greets you postrun with cold water (or whiskey).
- Durable, stainless steel body won’t dent, even after rolling around under your passenger seat
- Recessed threads on the lid and bottle result in dribble-free drinking and a no-drop seal
- Keeps cold drinks cold for 40 hours, and hot stuff hot for 12
Price: $30 (18 oz)
Weight: 343.6g (about ¾ pound)
If, like me, you have piles of water bottles you don’t use, it might be time to narrow down your collection to include only the ones you absolutely love. I love the Zoku stainless-steel bottle. It’s pretty—the Paradise pattern has garnered many compliments and makes me happy just looking at it. It’s durable—my bottle has done its fair share of rolling around in a beach bag and under the passenger seat of my car without suffering dents or scratches to the floral surface. And it keeps the cold stuff cold and the hot stuff hot. And because this stainless-steel option is heavier (about ¾ of a pound), and therefore more stable, than a typical plastic water bottle, it’s less likely to topple out of your kitchen cabinet and ricochet off your head.
Pros
- Sturdy and durable
- Available in many cool patterns and colors
- Works for both hot and cold beverages
Cons
- Small opening accepts only small ice cubes
Dribble-Free Opening
Recessed threads on both the lid and the bottle result in a smooth, dribble-free mouthpiece and no-drip seal when the lid is secured, and a removable paracord lanyard gives you carrying options. At its narrowest point, the bottle’s opening is 1¼ inches in diameter, meaning if you still use good ol’ fashioned, standard plastic ice trays like I do, the cubes won’t fit without first smashing them to smithereens. Those skinnier, half-moon cubes that most refrigerators automatically spit out slip through the bottle’s opening, no problem. If you like a mouthpiece that you can pull open with your teeth and slam shut with your palm, this is not that.
Water—and, Ahem, Whiskey—Stays Cold
I came across this bottle during my quest for accessories for another Zoku product, the Single Quick Pop Maker. I wanted extra sticks so I could make and store frozen whiskey sour pops—because, admit it, how tasty would that be after a hot summer run? It didn’t work; the whiskey didn’t freeze. But the stainless steel bottle did an amazing job keeping that same cocktail chilled during a steamy day at the beach. Yes, I used it for water, too. In fact, I filled it in the morning and let it sit in my hot car until I finished a lunch run at our local rail trail. The water was still cold. Zoku claims it keeps things chilled for up to 40 hours, hot for 12. I filled mine with coffee at 3 a.m. ahead of a 7-hour road trip and had the pleasure of sipping—without dripping—a hot beverage the whole way.
So Many Choices
Zoku’s 18-ounce stainless steel bottles cost $30 and come in cool patterns like Modern Calligraphy, Black Camo, White Camo, Midnight Floral, and Paradise (shown here). There are also 10 solid colors and four ombré shades. The 25-ounce bottles cost five bucks more and are available in six solid colors, and the 12-ounce bottles cost five bucks less and come in 10 solid colors. Zoku also makes glass core bottles in various colors and sizes, plus a tumbler and an iced-coffee maker.
Jen is the associate test director for Bicycling and Runner’s World. Born and raised 10 minutes from the office, she spent her youth exploring the same roads and trails that she’d ultimately use to test bikes for Mountain Bike and Bicycling (for which—over the past 18 years, at different times, and with some overlap—she was a copy editor, senior editor, and managing editor). Today she prefers mellow rides with her 11-year-old boy, pushing the limits of where e-bikes can go, and wouldn’t be caught dead on a start line.
