Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide Mouth Trail Series Review
Compare prices at 2 resellers Pros: Simple, durable, easy to use
Cons: Very expensive
Manufacturer: Hydro Flask
Our Verdict
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 This Product
Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide Mouth Trail Series | |||||
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| Awards |  |  |  | | |
| Price | $44.95 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | $39.99 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $8.73 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $26.99 at Amazon | $18.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Simple, durable, easy to use | Durable, easy to carry, wide mouth for easy cleaning, lid insert for easy drinking | Light, durable, resists flavors, simple design, wide mouth makes for easy filling | Sleek design, affordable, low-profile for filter bottle | Affordable, insulates well, has interchangeable lids, portable |
| Cons | Very expensive | Expensive, heavy | Diameter too big for cup holders, wide mouth makes it difficult to drink from when walking or driving | Limited to water use only, small capacity | Paint chipping after a few months of use, flip cap seemed to lack security |
| Bottom Line | A solid and straightforward vacuum insulated bottle that is easy to use and clean and weighs significantly less than similar options | Our favorite choice for daily use because of the size, shape, and ease of use in an insulated stainless steel bottle | A tried and tested classic, this model is versatile and reasonably priced | A bottle that is aesthetically appealing and effective at providing filtered water without leaks and other mishaps | This is one of our top ranking bottles because it's easy to use, just the right size, lightweight and inexpensive |
| Rating Categories | Hydro Flask Lightwe... | YETI Rambler 26 | Nalgene Wide-Mouth | Brita Stainless Ste... | Simple Modern Summit |
| Ease Of Use (40%) | |||||
| Durability (25%) | |||||
| Weight (20%) | |||||
| Taste (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Hydro Flask Lightwe... | YETI Rambler 26 | Nalgene Wide-Mouth | Brita Stainless Ste... | Simple Modern Summit |
| Body Material | 18/8 stainless steel | 18/8 stainless steel | Eastman Tritan co-polyester | 18/8 stainless steel | 18/8 stainless steel |
| Empty weight (oz) | 10.5 oz | 22 oz | 6.4 oz | 13.9 oz | 12.4 oz |
| Volume (oz) | 24 oz | 26 oz | 34 oz | 20 oz | 22 oz |
| Bottle weight (oz) per fluid oz capacity | 0.44 oz | 0.85 oz | 0.19 oz | 0.7 oz | 0.56 oz |
| Mouth diameter | 3 in | 3 in | 2.5 in | 2 in | 2.25 in |
| Base diameter | 3.2 in | 3.25 in | 3.25 in | 2.8 in | 3 in |
| Height | 10.2 in | 10 in | 8.25 in | 10.75 in | 9.5 in |
| Body Type | Hard-sided/traditional | Hard-sided/traditional | Hard-sided/traditional | Hard-sided/traditional | Hard-sided/traditional |
| Free of Materials | BPA, BPS and Phthalate Free | BPA-free | BPA, BPS and Phthalate Free | BPA-free | BPA-free |
| Cap/Lid Type | Screw cap | Wide-loop cap | Loop-top screw cap | Screw-cap with straw | Screw Cap |
| Volume Options | 24 oz, 32 oz | 18 oz, 20 oz, 36 oz | 16 oz, 48 oz | 20 oz | 14 oz, 18 oz, 22 oz, 32 oz, 40 oz |
| Warranty | Lifetime Warranty | 3 or 5 year warranty | Lifetime Guarantee for normal use | 30 day | Limited Warranty |
Our Analysis and Test Results
This bottle is a solid all-around performer. It is lightweight, portable, and extremely easy to use. We appreciated its slim shape for its overall portability but also found it to be difficult to clean because of this.
Performance Comparison
Ease of Use
Hydro Flask has established itself as a quality brand that makes easy-to-use insulated bottles. The Lightweight Trail Series is no exception. This bottle has a straightforward design, much like the other Hydro Flask insulated bottles we've tested in years past. This one has a slightly lighter-weight carrying handle and a slimmer shape overall. With a brush, it's easy to clean the threads and gasket on the lid and lip, though its towering height (over 10 inches) makes it a bit more difficult to get to the bottom of the bottle on a routine clean. This bottle fits into a car cupholder easily, due to its slender shape and 2-inch base diameter. It keeps beverages piping hot — almost too hot. We found that we had to let our tea cool for hours before sipping on it from the Hydro Flask Lightweight.
Durability
To test durability, we perform two separate tests on each bottle. The Hydro Flask Lightweight excelled at our first test — which involves dropping the bottle onto a cement surface from the height of 3.5 feet. This Hydro Flask walked away unscathed, not showing a single dent from this drop.
We next assess the durability of the gaskets and the quality of the lid design by performing a leak test. This involves filling the bottle with colored water and laying it on its side for 3 hours. The Hydro Flask showed no signs of leakage after this test. Overall, this bottle ranks high in terms of durability.
Weight
Hydro Flask must have been hearing some complaints about the heftiness of their bottles in the past because this is the first iteration we have tested of their new lightweight model. We were impressed. The Hydro Flask Lightweight retains all the same insulating qualities of previous models we've tested but weighs just 10.5 ounces for a 24-ounce capacity bottle. For comparison, the 24 oz Hydro Flask Standard Mouth bottle weighs 12.9 oz.
Taste
Unfortunately, imparting flavors was an issue with the Hydro Flask Lightweight. Insulated bottles present a Catch-22 when it comes to flavors: we typically use them to store hot tea, coffee, and other powerful flavors and yet also rely on them to keep water cool as well. This means that we expect a lot out of these bottles. The Hydro Flask doesn't respond well to laziness — it requires frequent cleaning in order to avoid lingering flavors.
When we conducted our taste test, we noticed a fair amount of lingering flavor from our drink mix, even after washing. Right out of the box, the Hydro Flask was ready to use. We didn't find any plastic-y or chemical flavors when we unwrapped it from its packaging, which is a big plus.
Value
This bottle is not cheap. The quality of materials and overall performance demonstrates that the Lightweight Wide Mouth Trail Series is a great option, but it comes at a cost for sure. This is an ideal bottle for daily use and occasional hikes/days spent outside. We appreciated its versatility and would recommend it as a great one-quiver bottle, but only to those willing to pay a premium for a water bottle.
Conclusion
The Hydro Flask Lightweight Wide Mouth Trail Series receives impressive scores across the board. This bottle is super simple in terms of design, lightweight, and insulates very well. It imparts flavors a bit and perhaps requires a bit more attention when it comes to keeping it clean in order to avoid an unappealing coffee/Gatorade mash-up. Overall, this bottle is a great investment for those looking for a versatile and reliable all-arounder.
— Jane Jackson