Vapur Water Bottle: foldable, rollable, wonderful

Airline restrictions on fluids in the last decade have made bringing water onto flights impossible. Even if we want to carry a bottle to fill ourselves during or after flights, every last piece of gear gets questioned for weight and bulk during packing. That includes some of the best bottles we own. We love them, but….

Then we discovered the Vapur water bottle – OK, so the team at Vapur calls them the “anti-bottle.” As commercials for a credit card say, we don’t leave home without them.

The Vapur Water Bottle  flexible, packable, rollable, washable, freezable, BPA-free, refillable flasks with a wider mouth plus an integrated carabiner-like clip for attaching to packs, bags and bikes. Since the introduction of the Element style ($10-$14) we use, the company founded in 2009 has expanded into other styles and a palette of colors. Then there are the kid’s Quencher bottles that we also covet with their variety of colors, characters and stickers so you can decorate them yourself.

Whatever your choice in style, the light-as-a-feather bottle  fits easily into a pocket or pack without a thought. Fish it out to fill it, drink ‘er dry, then roll it up and re-stash. Or start with a full bottle, knowing you can re-stash the little bugger with ease once empty. We particularly adore the way you can flip down the integrated clip to hold the bottle in its compact rolled position.

Our one complaint is how slowly a Vapur Water Bottle dries. You have to be sure to blow into it so it opens wide, and then turn it upside down. But it still takes time. Something about a constantly wet bottle makes us go “eeee-ick,” so we are sure to leave ours open to dry whenever possible. We also avoid putting anything other than water in it to avoid brushing and cleaning out residual sugars, but it is possible.

Still, we feel good about less plastic waste, and about the company’s donation of 1% of all sales to water-related and environmental causes.