Overall Score
- Ease of Use 65%
- Durability 70%
- Seal 80%
- Maintenance 60%
- Insulation 80%
Key Takeaways
Design Forward Bottle
An early version of the bottle won a Red Dot Design Award in 2016.
Surprisingly useful Features
Includes a Duraprene© finish and rubber bottom.
Functional Top and Mouth Piece
Allows for moderate flow and limits spills.
Fantastic Insulation
Design Honors
No Sweat
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Overview
Corkcicle first entered the scene with an innovative in-bottle wine chiller that resembles an icicle. Since then, the company has branched out into other lines of insulating and cooling gear. Striving to take everyday products and improve them with innovative designs, Corkcicle started making insulated water bottles which they call “sport canteens”. With over a decade of experience keeping drinks cold, it is no surprise that one of their early bottle designs won a Red Dot Design Award in 2016 for using a proprietary third layer of insulation that allowed their bottles to perform better than the standard vacuum sealed competitors while actually having a thinner wall.
The HydrationReview team was impressed by the aesthetics of their bottle which the company refers to as a “canteen” but unsure if its function would stand out in a crowded field of reusable bottles. Naturally, reviewers found pros and cons to the bottle over the testing period but overall were pleasantly surprised with its performance.
It was clear from testing that Corkcicle is still a design first company and did not just churn out a bottle to ride on the coattails of their more famous products. The team also appreciated that their founder and original designer, Ben Hewitt, is still leading the company. If you are interested in the story of how the company got started there is a short interview with Ben featured in a local Orlando newspaper.
Corkcicle offers their bottles in a number of pastel colors and three sizes: 20 oz sport canteen, 32 oz sport canteen and 64 oz sport jug. This review focuses on the 32oz size.
Ease of Use
At first glance, the Corkcicle Sport Canteen resembles a standard vacuum sealed water bottle but reviewers quickly found it had a number of features to distinguish it that showed an attention to detail in the design process. The majority of these features were positive. One reviewer summarized it well:
“Someone with experience actually using water bottles must have designed this because the features actually make sense and work in practice. There are no gimmicks.”
The first thing to jump out was the mouthpiece. There is a plastic cover that flips back to reveal a “chug cap” controlling the flow out of the bottle and providing structure for the lips. Reviewers found it worked well and provided a good rate of flow: more than a straw but less than drinking straight from the bottle.
The bottle’s walls are also thinner than many standard vacuum sealed bottles which gives it more capacity than a similar bottle with the same dimensions. As mentioned in the temperature control section, the wall design did not have an impact on the temperature performance.
The tapered shape with a smaller base makes it easier to slide in and out of a hydration sleeve, partially compensating for the rubber bottom that will often snag on fabric. Unfortunately, even with the tapered base, the 32oz bottle is still too big for a cup holder.
Most 32oz bottles can be slightly unwieldy and the Corkcicle is no exception but the small design touches definitely make it more manageable to use.
Durability
Corkcicle bottles have integrated several unique features to withstand wear and tear. The first is a Duraprene© finish that is supposed to be scratch resistant and dishwasher safe. Oftentimes manufacturers have to make tradeoffs between durability from drops and safety in the dishwasher with many choosing to use coatings that are not dishwasher safe. Amazingly, this finish is supposed to accomplish both. In testing, it performed well but was not a silver bullet. Users were still able to scratch the bottle with gentle drops on surfaces like concrete. Feedback found on social media corroborated this finding.
The second feature is a non-slip rubber bottom which shields the metal from direct contact with the ground. Our reviewers thought this was a great idea since many of the worst dents on bottles are sustained on the bottom. Furthermore, when a bottle is dented on the bottom it will not sit flush on a table and is nearly useless. In practice, the rubber bottom was helpful in most cases. The only major drawback was it became harder to remove from a backpack sleeve because the rubber catches on the fabric.
When compared to other vacuum sealed water bottles, Corkcicle performed above average, which is reflected in our score.
Seal
When tested in all of the standard positions, there were no leaks discovered. The only caveat to these results is that the top has to be firmly closed. With a flip top open we noticed users were not as diligent about closing the bottle as they were with screw tops. Additionally, one must exercise caution when pulling the bottle out of a bag, in case the top catches on another object and is forced open.
Maintenance
The sport canteen is dishwasher safe, landing it some points in this category but the narrow mouth is not conducive to scrubbing or any abrasion to remove residue. We recommend using a bottle brush after putting electrolytes or any other substance that might leave unpleasant flavors.
Insulation
Given Corkcicle’s origins making wine and beer cooling devices, the review team had high expectations that the bottle would score well in temperature control testing. Their insulation is advertised as “keeping things cool for 25 hours, or hot for 12”. Our testing revealed a high performing bottle but did not completely match the description provided by the company, landing it in the top 50% of insulated bottles.
There appeared to be the most heat and cool loss around the neck and cap where insulation was limited. Unlike Yeti or Hydro Flask this bottle did not have an insulated cap, likely accounting for much of the temperature loss.
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Go Deeper
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