Klean Kanteen Insulated Classic

Keep your cold beverages cold and your hot ones hot...

I received my Klean Kanteen as part of a prize package. I've been using it almost daily for over a year now and I love it. I take it to work and to play.  

Klean Kanteen is a family- and employee-owned, U.S. based company that's been around since 2004. They began the reusable, stainless steel water bottle revolution. They state, "From the very beginning, Klean Kanteens have been built with love— the love of adventure, the love of conserving wild places and the love of replacing single-use plastic." I think that says it all.

This particular offering is a 20oz, vacuum insulated, stainless steel bottle. It utilizes double wall construction with a vacuum between the walls. This greatly reduces the transfer of energy from one side to the other. The use of stainless steel further enhances this function while also providing a non reactive container that doesn't absorb bacteria nor does it leach chemicals, so you can have peace of mind when it comes to your health. Stainless steel is also non-staining, non-porous, and thus easy to clean. Finally, as the cherry on the top of this delightful cupcake, it is 100% recyclable if and when that time comes.

While it is suitable for just about anything you'd want to put in there, I use it primarily for water and coffee. I've put ice cold water in it, left it in a hot car all day, and found the water still quite cold and delicious 12 hours later. In the winter, it kept my coffee hot for several hours and warm all day. It does seem to keep cold things cold a little better than it keeps hot things hot and this is substantiated by their claims for the product.

I appreciate the size and shape. It's not too tall or too fat and is easy to grip while still holding a decent amount of whatever. It fits in all of my cupholders easily. The mouth is a nice size and easy to drink from. The top is just an insulated plastic stopper that screws in and it does have a lanyard hole. While some people may miss the squirt type sport top, I prefer drinking from a glass which this approximates quite well.

Durability is a balancing act between toughness and weight. Dents that are deep enough to make contact between the double walls will transfer energy between the two sides reducing or even eliminating the insulating ability of the vacuum. Obviously if you manage to drop it hard enough to breech the outer wall and release the vacuum, it will no longer work at all.

Personally, I wouldn't mind a heavier, more expensive bottle but I'm probably in the minority. I'm sure most people will find the balance just about perfect. That said it will dent if you drop it, particularly if it's full. Mine has been dropped more times than I care to count and though dented, still works fine so far as its insulating properties are concerned. I will use it as intended until that is no longer the case and find some alternate use for it thereafter.

As a side I have dropped similar products from other manufacturers that haven't fared as well. When this one is finally rendered ineffective by my own abuse, I will replace it with another Klean Kanteen.

As far as cleaning it goes, you will need a bottle brush. Stainless steel is easy to clean in general and I've had no trouble keeping mine so. That said, some people may find the need for a bottle brush a bother. Stainless steel does come in different grades and based on my experience with similar products from other manufacturers, I believe this to be of a superior grade; it does not retain any taste or odor whatsoever.  

So there you have it. This is a product that not only performs well, but also helps the environment by helping to eliminate the use of plastic water bottles. As a bonus it keeps your beverage of choice hot or cold and it's 100% recyclable. What's not to love?

Background

A lifetime of enjoying the outdoors. I am an avid kayaker and amateur landscape photographer who also enjoys hiking, camping, and just being outside. Wherever life takes me, my Klean Kanteen will likely be right there too.

The Klean Kanteen insulated water bottle keeps liquids cold for days or hot for hours. Super strong stainless steel inside and out, it can take a beating and is easy to clean.

I have had the Klean Kanteen insulated classic  20-ounce water bottle for six months now and I continue to be amazed at how well the bottle works. Because it looks like an ordinary water bottle it's easy to forget that it isn't.

I first noticed how well the insulated bottle works when I started leaving it in my truck for hours on days where the temperature was well into the 90-degree range. Since my bottle has a sport cap I would just grab and drink. I was always surprised at how cold the water was. Klean Kanteen says the insulated bottle will keep drinks hot for 20 hours and cold for 50 hours. Those are bold claims so I decided to do a few tests of my own. 

My cold test consisted of removing a full bottle that had been chilling in the refrigerator for several days, the water was 40 degrees at the start of the test. I then set the Klean Kanteen insulated bottle and an uninsulated bottle in full sun on a 90-degree day for 12 hours. After 12 hours the insulated bottle's water was 55 degrees and the uninsulated bottle's water was 90 degrees.

I then proceeded to test for how long the insulated bottle would keep liquids warm. I filled the bottle with just boiling water that measured 200 degrees and put the bottle in the refrigerator. After 5 hours the temperature was 175 degrees, after 8 hours it had dropped to 150 degrees and after 10 hours the liquid was still a very warm 135 degrees.

The double wall stainless construction eliminates the glass insert that makes most insulated vessels so fragile. If I have dropped the bottle once I have dropped in 30 times. While there are some small dents they have had no effect on the bottle's performance.

The fairly wide mouth makes cleaning the bottle easy using any standard bottle brush. All the insulated bottles come with a loop cap but Klean Kanteen also offers an accessory Sport Cap. The Sport Cap replaces the loop cap and features an excellent leak resistant valve attached to a soft silicone spout for I handed convenience. An attached loop is great for a 1 finger carry or for clipping on a carabiner.

The Klean Kanteen Insulated Classic 20 ounce bottle is offered in 10 different colors. The Klean Kanteen insulated 20-ounce bottle weighs in at just over 12 ounces versus 6 ounces for an uninsulated 18-ounce bottle. I think the performance is well worth the extra 6 ounces.

I have found the bottle preforms great whether I am doing a day hike or ripping down trails on my mountain bike. The 20 ounce insulated bottle fits all standard auto cup holders and is sized to fit standard bicycle water holders. 

Price: $30.95