Hydro Flask Trail Bottle - Black Sheep Adventure Sports

Hydro Flask Trail Bottle Review

Hot drinks are essential when in the mountains in the winter. The problem with most insulated bottles is they can be very heavy. The Hydro Flask Trail Series of bottles, also called the Lightweight line, keep you warm and hydrated and with 20% less weight than their ever-popular standard bottles.

Overview

Material: 18/8 Stainless Steel
Sizes Tested: 709 ml (24 oz.) and 1.18L (40 oz.)
Other Sizes Available: 621 ml (21 oz.) and 945 ml (32 oz.)
Weight: 284 grams (24 oz bottle), 402 grams (40 oz bottle)
Country of Origin: China
Colors Tested: Celestine (24 oz) and Obsidian (40 oz)

What are the Hydro Flask Trail Bottles?

The Hydro Flask Trail Bottles are lightweight insulated Stainless Steel bottles. Hydro Flask claims they are 20 percent lighter than their previous generation bottles. Coming in at 284 grams for the 24-ounce bottle and 402 grams for the 40-ounce. That compares well with the listed weights for their regular bottles at 390 grams for the 24-ounce and 499 grams for the 40-ounce. I have weighed the Trail Series bottles at home, the weights for the regular bottles are listed on the website. I do not have these bottles to independently weigh.

18/8? Isn’t that just 9/4?

Nope. If we were talking regular fractions, we could call this 9/4 Stainless Steel. 18/8 Stainless Steel is 18% chromium and 8% nickel content. Why this type of steel? It is considered the best Food Grade Stainless Steel. The chromium in the steel helps prevent rust and corrosion while the nickel gives Stainless Steel its durability. For more info on Stainless steel head on over to Made In Cookware.

There is some flex to the sides of the bottle but I think you’d have to give it one heck of an impact to make a dent. The bottom of the bottle is bare metal and I would love it if it had a rubberized bottom to keep the bottle from sliding and lessen scuffs when placed on less-than-smooth surfaces.

Wide Mouth

Hydro Flask Trail Series compared to a Nuun Container

I prefer wide-mouth flasks and bottles. They are much easier to fill and I like to gulp my drinks, I’m no sipper. I often add electrolytes, tofu, and miso, or other solids that are much easier with a wide-mouth bottle.

The smaller-sized 621 ml ( oz.) bottle has a “standard mouth” aka smaller opening that may suit some users. They are less prone to spilling while drinking under movement but can be a little trickier when adding electrolyte mixes, Swiss Miss, or ice cubes.

Hot and Cold

The Hydro Flask Trail Series Bottles feature TempShield®️ double-wall vacuum insulation. Hydro Flask suggests this keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours and hot for up to 12. I haven’t filled them up individually and set a timer to test these claims. I do know that I’ve put hot tea in the bottle in the morning and four hours later gone to take a sip on the mountains and screamed in pain as I burned my tongue. They do their job and they do it well.

The Lid

The lid on all the Trail Series bottles is a plastic one with aluminum pivots. The handle is soft and flexible. It is soft in the hand and remains flexible even when cold. As the lid is the only part of the bottle your fluids will touch, it is BPA-free. It screws on and off smoothly and does not squeak when doing so, unlike other bottles.

Sizing

1L Nalgene, 709 ml, and 1.18 L Hydro Flask Trail; Series Bottles

The two Hydro Flask Trail Series bottles we tested were 709ml and 1.18L. They are taller than a standard Nalgene but they are also thinner. I found they slid into a backpack along the backpad easily thanks to their slim profile. This way they were protected from external bumps as well.

Overview

Saving weight on essential backcountry gear is always appreciated. The Hydroflask Trail Series Bottles kept tea and Miso soup plenty hot, sometimes even near boiling temperature, on all-day ski missions. They are not just 20 % lighter than their predecessors, but lighter than most other affordable stainless steel bottles on the market.

The wide mouth makes them easy to fill and they’ve both taken a full season of abuse and have very few scratches to show for it. They come in a range of

Who is the Hydro Flask Trail Series bottle for?

The Hydro Flask Trail Series bottles are for backcountry goers who are looking to carry warm liquids but have previously hesitated to do so because of either the sheer weight of traditional insulated bottles or the cost of titanium ones.