FLSK drinking bottle review: a sleek and leak proof solution for hikes

FLSK drinking bottle: first impressions

Germany’s leading water bottle brand FLSK has just landed in the UK. The classic FLSK water bottle, which comes in three different sizes, is designed for portability, with a streamlined design that tapers at the top and is both easy to slide into an overstuffed backpack and simple to drink from. The stainless steel construction keeps your drinks ice-cold for up to 24 hours, or hot for up to 18 hours, and won’t leak no matter what you do.

For hiking, this bottle is relatively heavy. It’s also on the pricey end due to its high quality construction and materials, but if you like high-end goods then you’ll love the classy look of it.

The lid is easy to remove and the drinking spout is great for drinking from without spillage, but a bit narrow for extracting a tea bag so it’s not ideal for all hot beverages. This bottle also isn’t dishwasher safe, so make sure you wash yours by hand to keep it performing well, and remember you’ll need a long bottle brush to do so.

FLSK drinking bottle: in the field

I’m a bit biased when it comes to German designs – I automatically assume they’re going to be superior in quality – and with this water bottle, I wasn’t totally wrong. Though I can find a few bones to pick with its overall construction, I absolutely love the way this water bottle looks and feels and have been happy to take it along on a few day hikes in recent weeks.

Here’s how it performed:

Weight and packability

This bottle is actually a little heavy as compared to others. I tested out the 500ml which is the smallest. At 320g it’s heavier than most of the larger water bottles we’ve tested, but such is the way with double-wall vacuum flasks made from stainless steel and it’s comparable to any of the main competitors in that field such as Hydroflask and Yeti.

What I really love about this bottle however is its packability. I really hate trying to wedge a cylindrical bottle into a backpack that’s already stuffed to the gills, and the tapered design of this shapely bottle means I can just turn it upside down and slide it in to either the pockets or the main compartment. The size also makes it really easy to hold in my hand, unlike some of the battering rams I’ve tested in the past that come with an actual carrying handle because they’re so unwieldy.

Temperature control

This bottle promises to keep your drinks ice cold for up to 24 hours, or hot for up to 18 hours, and my informal lab test proved both claims to be true. It also insulated well enough to avoid condensation on the outside. The caveat to the heat-holding abilities, however, is that it’s not an excellent design for hot drinks. First, because the spout is quite narrow for pouring coffee or hot chocolate into or easily getting a tea bag out, and second, because it doesn’t come with a built-in cup to pour your hot drink into. As a result, I’m still using my hiking flask for hot beverages, but in fairness to them, I’ve never really used my bottles interchangeably for water and coffee.

Durability 

This is a sturdy bottle, though like all such bottles it will get dented if you drop it on concrete, especially when it’s full and heavy. I dropped mine on the trail and it has a minor scuff, but overall it’s as robust as they come.

Ease of use

One of my many pet peeves is water bottle lids that are difficult to screw on and off, so I’m delighted with how easy this one is to use. The narrow spout also makes it easy to drink from without dumping water all over my shirt. It isn’t dishwasher safe, however, and the narrow spout makes it difficult to clean by hand, so I’m saving it for water only.

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