Titanium Water Bottle Review – SilverAnt 600mL
Like most of us, I have used dozens of water bottles in my life — so why is this SilverAnt bottle my all time favourite?
Firstly, it's made of titanium! I would posit that this is the best available material for a daily/adventure water bottle. Titanium is strong and lightweight — and it does not rust. As an engineer, I also enjoy handling a relatively exotic, high-tech and modern material.
The downside is that titanium is expensive. This 600mL bottle cost $80USD! It very much should last a lifetime though. Dollar for dollar, aluminium is a better option, clearly — or even stainless steel. Having said that — I own both aluminium and steel water bottles — and the titanium water bottle is always the one I reach for.
Apart from the exotic and strong material that is titanium — the construction is solid. The outside welds are seamless. The shaping is precise and well designed. My favourite "attention to detail" feature is that the bottle's lid aligns with the bottle when closed — so A+ on the thread design.
Talking of the lid; it is also made of Titanium. The bottle lid is very chunky! And it/also feels almost as heavy as the rest of the bottle. For those who wish to minimise weight, there is also a plastic lid included.
The metal lid does cause that metal-on-metal sound. I found this quite screechy for the 1st week of use, but the threads smooth out very quickly — and I use the titanium cap every day now. The bottle does come with an insulation sleeve. It is nothing too fancy, but I found it useful for mounting the bottle to my bicycle.
Holding the bottle, it feels incredibly solid! I have accidentally dropped it while it was full of water, and it is no worse for wear.
I find the bottle to look quite beautiful. The surface is smooth, but it appears to have a unique crystalline surface — which plays with light in very interesting ways.
The size/capacity of the bottle is quite small at 600mL. I enjoy a small bottle, as this size can fit into my back pocket. For those of you that would like a much bigger capacity, this bottle would not be the right selection. There is a 800mL version — which I actually bought as a gift to my dad — for a slightly larger capacity. That one costs $100USD!
The big downside of this water bottle… people may assume you are an alcoholic. It never occurred to me when purchasing this, but to many people, this looks like a whiskey flask, rather than a water canteen. I've had multiple people remark some or other joke in this theme. I find it a fun little talking point.
Who is this bottle for? I love it due to my appreciation for high quality items — and have a one-and-done attitude. If you appreciate excellent quality in your daily-use items, then I cannot recommend any other water bottle more than this one. This bottle is also a good purchase for serious hikers and long-haul mountain climbers.
On the theme of camping, and boiling water — titanium does melt at a much higher temperature than aluminium. I don't want to scaremonger that boiling water is going to melt aluminium — but it does melt at 660°C. Titanium melts at 1,600°C. So if you forget your bottle in a hot fire, titanium has much greater factor of safety. Steel would be fine too, but is again heavier. An average campfire burns between 480°C – 600°C, says a quick Google search.
In my opinion, this is also a great gift for the ones you love! If you're like me, I set a budget of around $100USD for my Christmas gift shopping, and I like to gift high quality items. Items that will be used for years, and something with a price tag extravagant enough that the gift receiver probably wouldn't have bought for themselves out of pure utility.
Either way, all metal options are much better than plastic. For the sake of your own health, avoid ingesting those microplastics! Some people swear by the health benefits of a copper vessel – that is a topic for another day.