I wanted to say no. I really did. But having not lost a bottle at all over the previous year and, aware that she's getting to that age having the must-have thing sometimes really matters to her now, I agreed grudgingly to give it a try. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, right? The bottle also makes quite a noisy slurping sound when you drink from it with the Air Pod engaged. According to Air Up this is intentional, but I can't imagine how infuriating it must be for a teacher to have 30 of these things being slurped in their classroom. It's probably a good thing I'm not a teacher. Stainless steel is a reasonable option for a sustainable water bottle as it’s 100 per cent recyclable. Plastic uses oil and water in the production and releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, but can be more environmentally friendly if it is recycled.

They’re essentially tiny granulate cubes made from natural plant and fruit extracts which are low in calories and free from sugar, artificial flavours and sweeteners. The bottles are made with a perfectly sized drinking hole to drop these cubes inside and flavour the water – hence the name, Waterdrop. I was surprised at just how disappointing I found the Watermelon, Peach and Wild Berry flavours. They tasted incredibly synthetic to me – more like cheap sweets than fruit. I’m a long time fan of Chilly’s Original Bottle and I’ll admit I was dismissive when the Series 2 bottles first came out. They’re objectively less attractive than the classic design of the Series 1, with a more rugged, squat appearance and a loop handle. But I’m here to tell you I’m a convert. To make matters a worse, at the time of writing the plastic pouches the Air Up Pods come in aren't recyclable at all, although Air Up does say it's working on changing that soon. When you attach an Air Up Pod to the top of your Air Up bottle, the pod releases a scent as you drink, giving you the impression that the water is flavoured when it hasn't actually had anything added to it.Manufacturers say the bottle will keep water cold for up to 14 hours and we definitely noticed it still being pleasingly refreshing at around the ten hour mark, although at that point the water was finished. The lip, for me, is well sized. If it’s too large, you risk spilling water all over you clothes; too small and it’s not a comfortable fit for the mouth. Chilly’s is just right. I also find that, while some steel bottles can leave a slight lingering metallic flavour, these ones don’t. I like the textured feel of the bottle, which makes it a little less slippery than some steel options and prevents it feeling too cold or hot to the touch. Water stays hot for a long time – though I’m not sure about the 12 hours claim – and remains cold throughout the day; ideal if you’re on a long walk or a hike. That said, Air Up is not for everyone, especially those who drink a lot of water and need a larger water bottle capacity (the plastic version holds 22 ounces while the stainless steel version holds 28 ounces). One tester said, "I wish it were available in different sizes, so I didn't have to refill it so often." If you've seen the Air Up water bottle on social media, you may already know that it's a water bottle that utilizes flavor pods to enhance the taste of your water without actually adding any flavoring to the water itself. The pods are placed on the water bottle and when you take a sip, the flavored air bubbles travel through your mouth to your nose where your brain interprets it as flavor. They were pretty mild, though, and the flavour diminished faster than I was expecting. It took less than a day for the flavour I was getting from each sip to lessen.

Any BPA free water bottle, like all the ones above, are safe. Exposure to the industrial chemical BPA is believed to cause health problems, as I have explained in more detail in the introduction, but thankfully manufacturers are extremely cautious to avoid it these days. Glass and stainless steel are both naturally BPA free. If you’re particularly safety-conscious with your water, consider buying a filtered water bottle.A key consideration is the premium you pay to get on board with this craze. Not only are the bottles more expensive to buy than competitor brands such as Chillys, but there's also the ongoing cost of the Air Up Pods. Without a pod attached, the bottle doesn't work - you'll need to keep an empty pod attached if you just want to use it as a normal water bottle.

Warm soapy water and a bottle brush will clean all sorts of water bottles including metal, glass and plastic. I recommend that you use fragrance-free soap, as bottles made of silicone and plastic can take on the scent of the soap. For straws, use a pipe cleaner. If a straw is removable, soak the straw at least once a week,” says Byrne. I’m often a little wary of water bottles with straws because I’ve previously found they become rather unhygienic. This water bottle uses antimicrobial drinking surfaces and a stainless steel telescopic straw, which comes with its own cleaning brush. It’s just as well, since it can’t go in the dishwasher.

Effective help for families and drinkers

Fill your water bottle with water to the capacity line, then attach the mouthpiece with the straw to the bottle. When you sip from Air up, scent-flavored air bubbles travel through the straw into your mouth which produces a bubbling sound and means it’s working. As the scent-flavored air bubbles rise it is perceived as taste. Air Up was founded by Lena Jüngst and Tim Jäger, two German university students who, during their studies, read Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters, a book by neuroscientist Gordon M. Shepherd that posits that the sense of smell is a more powerful component of flavor than previously thought.