We have been on the search for good reusable water bottles that don’t leak and that we like for a long time. Last winter we discovered the Contigo 17 oz. AUTOSEAL® Swish water bottle and it has been a favorite of Alicia’s ever since. Contigo offered us the opportunity to review some of their products and we decided we’d like to try their Contigo 24 oz. Addison Water Bottle with AUTOSPOUT™ and do a comparison of the two.
Comparing these two water bottles helped us better understand what we each like in a water bottle. These were a good choice because we have very strong, very opposing preferences so we each liked one of the bottles significantly more than the other.
Drinking Mechanism
The Contigo Addison AUTOSPOUT™ has a spout that pops up connected to an internal straw that you suck on to get the water out. The Contigon Swish AUTOSEAL® has a button that you push to open a sip hole, and you just tip the bottle and the water runs into your mouth. I have always found that sucking on straws or water bottles tends to aggravate my TMJ (pain in my jaw) and that I never drink as much when using something I have to suck on. On the other hand, Jon tends to drink more when presented with a straw or a sippy top of some sort.
Plastic Versus Stainless Steel Both bottles are made of BPA-free plastic that is designed to withstand high impacts, not stain or retain odors. We have been using a lot of stainless tele sports bottles, but we like the plastic better because they are not as cold to the touch and the plastic bottles keep the water colder. It is also helpful to be able to see at a glance how much water is in the bottle without having to open it or guess by the weight.
Noise (Or the Lack Thereof)
An amusing difference between the Contigo Addison AUTOSPOUT™ and the stainless steel water bottle with a Kleen Kanteen spout that Jon had been using is that when Jon sucked on the Kleen Kanteen top it made a lot of (sometimes embarrassing noise) while the Contigo bottle is silent!
No-Spill
Our hands-down favorite feature of both the water bottles is that they really don’t spill – and they’re easy to know for certain if they are closed. You wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would) the number of times we thought a bottle was closed when it either wasn’t closed completely or was cross-threaded and leaking. I am notorious for these sorts of problems and the Contigo Swish AUTOSEAL® Water Bottle has been miraculous for me. This is the feature that has made their Travel Mugs and Kids Cups favorites of ours as well. I really do just toss it in a bag and go!
The Contigo Swish AUTOSEAL® also has a locking mechanism that prevents the button from being accidentally pushed while floating around in a bag or kicking around the floor of the car.
Carry Ring:
The Contigo Swish AUTOSEAL® bottle is very sleek, nice to look at and nothing to catch on the inside of a bag. However, that means it doesn’t have a way to carry it with one or two fingers or by hanging it off the outside of a bag or hook. The Contigo Addison AUTOSPOUT™ has a very nice double finger loop which is very easy on the hands. Jon’s old bottle had a single loop fingerhold and when full, it was a bit heavy for one finger to carry. The two finger loop is comfortable much better for carry a full water bottle. Jon also uses a caribeener for clipping the water bottle onto the outside of his backpack, so it comes in really handy.
Dishwasher Safe
Both water bottles are dishwasher safe, we often wash them on the top rack and we have not had any problems with the silicone sealing, the o-rings or any of the other parts. Overall we’ve been very pleased by their durability.
We’ve found the Contigo Swish AUTOSEAL® bottle to be surprisingly robust, I’m fairly clumsly and for the number of times I’ve dropped it, I’m actually surprised that I haven’t broken or cracked it yet – but I haven’t!
In the event you do have a problem you can order replacement Contigo lids so you don’t have to throw out the whole bottle if something does get broken.
Wide Mouth
One thing we have learned to look for in water bottles is a wide mouth. The wide mouth makes it easy to add ice or to clean with a brush if it is needed. Jon really loves ice in his water, so this is a really important feature for him!
Contigo provided us with the 24 oz. Contigo Addison Water Bottle with AUTOSPOUT™ to review but we did not receive any other compensation to do this review. See GLC Product Review Policy for our detailed review policy.
Happy Greening!
Alicia & Jon
Other Contigo no-spill posts:
- Green Christmas Guide Giveaway: Reusable Coffee Mug & Superba Coffee – Giveaway (until 11/18/12)
- No Spill Reusable Coffee Mugs
- Packing Disposable-free Kids Lunches
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I like the bottles but hate the amount of packaging they come with, particularly the 3 packs sold at Costco. Won’t buy again due to this.