Review summary: Total water bottle bling made for folks who want to be eco-savvy and stylish. Last year I got a uscanteen to try out and it offered style for sure (but a price tag to match), good usability and a few cons. Read on to see what I thought.
uscanteen in black como carrier
Product: Each uscanteen
Use: You drink from it of course. This product helps you eliminate disposable water bottle waste. Also this specific water bottle adds a flash of style to your wardrobe.
Cost: High for a reusable water bottle. Canteens are normally $60 and carriers for adults start at $80 usually. HOWEVER – uscanteens are almost always on sale. For example, right now all canteens are 44% off and all carriers are 33% off. At about $83 it’s still way more than you’d pay for a basic reusable water bottle, like a Klean Kanteen, but these reusable water bottles offer go anywhere style. They’re kind of the divas of the reusable water bottle world. Good to recommend to a style conscious pal who refuses to get on board with reusable water bottles.
Como Carrier
About the Como Carrier:
The Como carrier is perfectly sized to hold your canteen snug and safe but not too tightly. The carrier is crafted with woven canvas with leather trim and extra stylish metal grommets. The carrier is waterproof with a smooth adjustable nylon strap that you can sling across your body or wear over one shoulder. There’s also a zippered pocket in back to securely stash money and credit cards and an open pocket in front which for an iphone or other small electronic. Finally there’s an extra D-ring on the side to clip your keys.
uscanteen and Como carrier perks:
uscanteen
- Stops plastic water bottle use cold.
- BPA-free.
- Chemical free.
- No tainted water taste.
- The wide array of canteens and carriers are lovely and now they have kiddo versions available.
- Canteens are stylish and sleek, look great and are easy to hold onto with or without a carrier.
- Carriers are comfortable to carry.
- Made to last. Dave the boyfriend has been using this canteen + carrier combo for about 8 or 9 months without a hitch. No wear and tear has occurred and all components are in excellent shape. This canteen and carrier should last you years.
What the boyfriend says:
I usually test out all products I review personally, but I didn’t want to carry a water bottle carrier that has leather and also I have a reusable water bottle. Plus face it, I’m not all that stylish – more casual. That said, the boyfriend (Dave) is very style conscious, didn’t mind the leather much and needed a water bottle so I passed it off to him to test out and he LOVES it…
Stylish reusable water bottle
Perks that Dave likes include…
- The handy front pocket fits his cell phone.
- The strap is perfectly adjustable for a taller or shorter person.
- The entire set is lightweight to carry around.
- The canteen pulls in and out of the Como with ease and keeps water cold and fresh with no leaking. He’s actually put tea in it on occasions as well and it stayed warm.
- It’s a great conversation starter. Everywhere he goes people ask him about it – what it is, where he got it and on and on. Dave likes attention and this canteen + carrier gets him some.
- Lastly, Dave loves the stylish design. Dave is in a band and he thinks this is the only water bottle he’s seen that’s cool enough to take on stage without looking like a dork.
What we don’t love:
Victoria Carrier
- I don’t love is that there is leather trim. I just don’t think it’s necessary. If you don’t want leather trim you can go with the alternative uscanteen Victoria Carrier which is made with sleek, durable nylon instead.
- The canteen doesn’t fit in any standard water bottle holders – say in your car or on your exercise bike.
- Dave’s boss though he brought alcohol to work. This canteen really does look like a canteen. We thought it was funny, but just an FYI so you’re prepared.
- I think the price point is too high for families. In order to get an entire family of four this bottle it would cost you at least $316 or so. I don’t care how stylish it is, that’s expensive. I think this is more a single person product – not as in you have to be single, but it’s just not the kind of item a whole family would purchase.
Como design options
Having said that I think this bottle is too expensive, I’d also like to point out the flip side real quick. Say you do have a family of four and you buy the cheapest bottled water out there – a basic no-name brand is about $9 in bulk (24, 16 oz bottles). Since your family (in total) needs to drink about 8 cups of water a day (more in summer) that means you’re going through 256 ounces of bottled water per day or a total of 16 bottles per day. That’s 5,840 plastic water bottles a year, which works out to around 243 cases of water at a total cost of $2,187.
Considering you could use this uscanteen + carrier for say 3 years (and I’m underestimating) you’d save over $6,000 by going with this more expensive water bottle. That’s insane. What could you do with an extra $6,000+? Seriously, no matter how costly a reusable water bottle it’s always going to be a better choice than bottled water – both for the earth and your wallet. Damn.
Overall score:
4 out of 5 little trees. The uscanteen and carrier
Learn more:
See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.
