The boundaries of eras, like those of empires, are notoriously difficult to define. For about 45 years, the Nalgene water bottle ruled supreme—its heels nipped maybe by bottles from Contigo and CamelBak, plus numerous sport bottles, but still the irrefutable leader.
Then in 2019, a coup: The VSCO girl brought the rise of the Hydro Flask bottle, a double-walled, insulated water bottle in bright, sometimes limited-edition colors that seemed ubiquitous, immediate, and, like any cultural revolution, absolutely purged of any memory of the past, invigorated, as it was, by the zeal of a younger generation.
And that’s when the water bottle wars really picked up steam.
Every year, older models seemed to be overthrown as allegiances to brands collapsed under pressures of innovation and, one assumes, marketing budgets. With new caps, wide mouth designs, and most importantly, straws—maybe exclusively straws—the world witnessed the irresistible, precipitous, and seemingly irreversible commoditization of hydration as brands such as Stanley and Owala ensorcelled throngs online.
