Green Product Review: Klean Kanteen Classic Reusable Water Bottle

Review summary: It’s getting to be time for some new water bottles around here. About four or so years ago I bought two Klean Kanteens – one for me and one for Cedar and they held up fairly well and we liked them. Recently my Kanteen somehow vanished off the face of the planet (it happens) and my son broke his lid (see cons below) then lost his bottle too.

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Klean Kanteen new 2010 colors

That said, I’ll most likely be sticking with Klean Kanteens for me, my son Cedar and the rest of the house. Overall we love these reusable water bottles and bonus Klean Kanteen has some fresh new colors out for summer (shown below).

Product: Klean Kanteen reusable water bottles – We both had the classic brushed stainless steel bottle – I got the 27 ounce stainless steel bottle with the loop top. My son Cedar got the 18 ounce bottle with a flat top.

Use: You drink from it of course and this product helps you eliminate disposable water bottle waste.

Klean Kanteen classic

Cost: The cost varies depending on the kanteen + lid combo you choose. At the time (4 years ago) I paid about $30 for both bottles which is comparable to prices now and also comparable to most other reusable water bottles on the market. At the end of this post I’ll link to some buying options so you can see actual prices.

Klean Kanteen perks:

Bottles are made with stainless steel and are completely BPA-free. No plastic lining or threads either – the entire Klean Kanteen is made of 100% stainless steel.
Right now, Klean Kanteen bottles come in three styles: Classic, Wide and Insulated for use with cold and hot drinks and various cap options are available too.
Bottles are reusable and 100% recyclable.
All Klean Kanteen caps are made with BPA-free polypropylene and are recyclable. There are also stainless steel caps available.
Kanteens have cool rounded edges at the bottom which helps limit dirt and grime stuck to the bottle.
Bottles do not impart weird scents or tastes into your water.
Dishwasher safe.
You can fit ice cubes in the nice wide mouth.
The company has a newer Green Shipping program to offset the carbon footprint from all orders placed through their online retail store.
When we got our bottles, the company had few color choices, but now they have many colors to choose from which is a nice perk.
Bottles are made strong to last a long time. Unless you lose the bottles like we did, but they were still in killer shape even after 4 years of use and Cedar has a tendency to drop his bottle but it still held up.
Easy to fill.
The company has a large commitment to sustainability and participates in 1% For The Planet.
You can even get kanteens for your whole darn company with the Klean Kanteen co-branding program.

What we think:

Klean Kanteen sippy bottles

We really loved our Klean Kanteens. First of all they keep your drink icy cold. Cedar and I can go on some pretty long walks but our drinks stay chilly the whole time in the kanteen.

We like the size choices. I like the 27 oz because I know that I need to drink a few a day and I’m good to go on my water requirements. Also, it’s the perfect size for say an hour workout. I can fill it, workout, and the water runs out in just about one hour. My son’s bottle was the perfect size for his smaller hands, and he used to refill his bottle about 5 times a day. When we buy this next time I’ll likely get Cedar a larger size because he’s a water freak.

Bottles are well-made but light-weight. Cedar never complains about carrying his around.

We also liked the nice bottle design. These are slim, sleek and not obnoxious with a big fat logo. Now that they have more colors to choose from their bottle design is even better.

Were there any negatives?

Klean Kanteen cap options

Klean Kanteens are made in China. Recently, probably from consumer pressure, Klean Kanteen has made a concentrated effort to push how fair and responsible their labor practices are. According to Klean Kanteen, “We visit our factories regularly, sometimes unannounced, to make sure that the workers who handcraft each Klean Kanteen® are treated well and paid fairly. We require fair labor standards, including the ethical treatment of factory workers, child labor rules, wages and benefits, health and safety.” Of course, local is always a better choice IMO, but I also want a safe and decent water bottle for my son, which Klean Kanteen is.
Our biggest complaint was not being able to walk and drink. The mouth is wide which works for ice cubes but the water comes out fast. If you like to walk, jog, skate, bike and so on without having to stop to drink I’d suggest getting the Sport Cap 2.0 to go with your bottle – note that there was a recall on the older sports cap, so I wouldn’t buy an older 2.0 cap, say, at a sporting good store.
My son had the classic flat cap and it sucked. If you want a better flat cap go with the newer stainless flat cap. As noted above, Cedar drops his bottle often. His bottle looks scratched, but that’s not a big deal. However, the classic flat cap broke all apart into small pieces after not too many falls.
If you put icy liquid in it, then leave it out, the water of course starts to evaporate all over the outside of the bottle and gets everywhere – like on a table. This doesn’t bug me too much, but if you have fancy furniture and kids, it might be an issue for you and you may want to invest in an insulated tote.
The bottle is too slender for some bike drink holders.

Overall score:
4.5 trees
4.5 out of 5 little trees. We love Klean Kanteen bottles because they’re earth friendly, reusable and keep drinks icy cold and tasting fresh. These bottles have a few cons but overall Klean Kanteens are the best water bottles we’ve owned, we’ll be buying them again and we always recommend them to friends.