REASONS TO BUY
Fair price for stainless steel
Doesn't hold on to flavors
Simple design
REASONS TO AVOID
Tall
Cumbersome
Difficult to clean
Mira Cascade Review
As an inexpensive option for a stainless steel, insulated bottle, this model works but also lacks in comparison to its competitors
Credit: Amazon
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Our Verdict
The Mira Cascade is a good budget option for those looking to buy a well-insulated, stainless steel bottle without the price tag of a Hydro Flask or a Klean Kanteen. The bottle works well overall, but we had a few hang-ups on with the bottle's design and ease of use. The Cascade also fell short in our durability metric, as it chipped and scratched easily after only a few days of use. Cosmetic, but still, it was fast. On the plus side, the Cascade kept our beverages piping hot for hours. Almost to a fault, in fact, and after many uses, we preferred using this bottle for cold beverages as opposed to hot ones. We also tended to use it around town more than in an outdoor setting due to its weight, shape, and insulating qualities. The blend of positive and negative experiences we had with this bottle lands it in the middle of the road in our side-by-side comparisons.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
The Cascade was a good option for this rainy day hike in Northern California.
Credit: Jane Jackson
Ease of Use
We tested the 25 oz version of the Cascade. The company has three size options for this bottle — 12oz, 17oz, and 25oz. Our first grievance with the 25 oz version was its size. The bottle is a bit too wide to be comfortable in hand and, unlike other stainless-steel models, it lacks a carrying handle. For cleaning, this tall, slender shape presents a challenge because it is hard to get down into the bottom of the bottle with such a narrow mouth and long body.
The Cascade didn't quite fit in a car cupholder, hence, it's sitting on the dash.
Credit: Jane Jackson
In terms of insulation, this bottle excels. The Cascade kept our water so hot that we burned our tongue on hot water after 2 hours of sitting. This came as quite a surprise, as the water in the Hydro Flask was a reasonable drinking temperature after 2 hours. Though this level of insulation was impressive, we found that the shape of the Cascade was not conducive to drinking hot beverages from, as the rim of the bottle conducts heat and the narrow mouth causes hot steam to burn the mouth before taking a sip. Overall, we were impressed by the bottle's insulation but found it to be more useful for cold beverages over hot ones unless pouring hot bevies into another vessel for drinking.
Durability
Most stainless steel, insulated bottles run the risk of getting scratched and chipped. Out of the box, their fresh, bright paint jobs make them look like new sports cars, but over time, scratches inevitably appear. During our test period, the Cascade ended up with the most scratches out of the stainless-steel category. After a few months of use, the paint around the lip of the bottle had begun to rub off, as did some of the paint on the main body of the bottle. This is a little disturbing, considering our mouths were right up against the chipped rim of the bottle whenever we used it to drink.
The lower part of the rim has a few nicks in it where the paint was scratched off by putting on and removing the lid over and over.
Credit: Jane Jackson
Weight
The Mira is not made for light and fast missions. This bottle is super tall, which is more distracting than the actual weight of the bottle. On the scale, the Mira hovers right below the heaviest bottles in this review. We found that the Mira did not have enough positive, unique qualities to justify a weight of 15.6 ounces, which negatively affected the bottle's score in this metric.
The Mira weighs almost as much as the Lifefactory, making both bottles more suited for an urban setting.
Credit: Jane Jackson
Taste
Because of its towering stature, the Mira was tough to clean — which allowed flavors to linger longer than we would have liked. The lid, however, is designed much like the Yeti, with the threads exposed on the outside of the lid, making it easy to clean. This part of the bottle often got gunked up after using the bottle with tea or sports drink. Though it was tough to clean, the bottle was able to shed flavors relatively quickly over time. We found that a few rinses with water rid the bottle of residual sports drink flavor fairly quickly.
Here, you can see we opted to use other options for our hot beverages, though the Mira is insulated. This is because the Mira holds on to flavors, due to its towering stature and difficult-to-clean shape.
Credit: Jane Jackson
The lack of a carrying handle makes the Cascade challenging to carry around without stowing it in a backpack or bag.
Credit: Jane Jackson
Value
This 25-ounce bottle is a total steal. It is hard to find an insulated, stainless steel bottle online for under $20. The price is great, and the fact that the Cascade compares to these more expensive bottles in terms of insulation is a double win. For a budget option that still keeps your ice frozen and your tea hot, it's hard to beat the Mira Cascade.
Conclusion
Though the Cascade did not score as highly as other stainless-steel models in our side-by-side comparisons, this bottle is one we would still recommend to a friend. Without costing an arm and a leg, it still gets the job done, with only a few small design flaws that set it behind some of our favorite insulated bottles.
—
Jane Jackson
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