I have to be honest: I had meant to give this water bottle away. It was given to me by Zojirushi at a press event and, given how many water bottles I have, it seemed silly to keep it. And yet, when I got home, I washed it and filled it with water, and now here we are.

Zojirushi, for those who are not aware, is a Japanese company that is well known for making many great kitchen appliances, most notably rice cookers. The brand also makes what I believe to be the best thermos on the market. This insulated water bottle is similarly well-made: It’s stainless steel with a vacuum seal that keeps liquid cold (or hot if you prefer). It’s slim and light, so it’s easy to carry around.

And yet, it doesn’t fit with my taste in water bottles at all. It has a screw top that takes two hands and a few seconds to open. That’s too long. I just want to crane my neck over, take a swig, and get back to writing. It also has no kind of spout or opening, which means you have to have to sip from it intentionally and not, as I said, swig from it or chug as much water as possible from it quickly. Doing either will make a mess. At 24 ounces, it holds slightly less water than of the other bottles I prefer, but that’s ultimately not much of a loss. It really is, in this case, simply not the right tool for my purposes.

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The next two, both from Yeti, are polar opposites. This one, the Yonder, is made from plastic, so it’s lightweight, and features a sport-style straw. I generally prefer a sport bottle with some kind of straw or nozzle, as opposed to an unrestricted opening. It gives you more control and encourages you to drink.

That said, the flow from this straw is a little weak, which makes it less satisfying when you take a quick drink. Even though it’s small, it usually takes me longer to finish the Yonder than some of the other sport bottles. You could say that a “controlled” stream helps you drink more and more comfortably, but I’m not sold.

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The Yeti Rambler, on the other hand, is an insulated steel bottle with a screw top that hides a large “chug cap” spout. It’s a heavier bottle and not a sport bottle, but it is somehow more satisfying to drink from. Again, I don’t love a screw top, because you’re forced to use two hands whenever you open it, but the “chug” spout does give you a controlled flow with a lot of water. I also like that the spout is removable, so you can fill the bottle more easily.

The water stays cold, too, because of the insulated walls, but I do find that it’s a bit heavy to pick up when I wake up in the middle of the night and need to grab the bottle from off the top of my headboard. I’m also afraid of accidentally knocking it off the headboard and giving myself a concussion. That’s not Yeti’s fault, but here we are.

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This is the big one. As in, this is physically the largest water bottle I own, even though it does not hold the most water. I think that’s by design: This 32 ounce version is the second smallest Takeya Sport, but it’s remarkably bulky and intimidating–there’s also a 40 ounce version, and a truly incomprehensible 64 ounce one.

But that’s why this bottle works for me. It carries a lot of water, so I don’t have to get up and get the next bottle for a while. It’s insulated with stainless steel so the water stays cold–important given how much water is in there–but weirdly doesn’t feel as heavy as the Yeti Rambler. (Because of the size, I avoid bringing this one to bed, so I’m not as afraid of it killing me.)

The Takeya has some nice details that I like. The concentrated sport spout has a small crossbar inside to block ice from coming out, which is great if you’re a fan of nugget ice (or, in my case, if that’s what you get from the office ice machine). It also has a large adjustable handle that’s well-balanced for this wide-bottomed boy. (That’s the bottle, not me, thank you.)

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My colleague and fellow tech critic Stefan Vazharov gave me this basic version of his favorite water bottle from high-design hydration brand Larq. Larq is specifically known for making water bottles with a built-in filter, as well as a smart water bottle that tracks your drinking habits with an app. Should I be tracking how much water I drink? Maybe, but I am simply too thirsty to stick to a single bottle, so I have to count the old fashioned way.

I have to give it to Larq, this is a well-crafted bottle. Despite its stainless steel construction, it feels fairly light in hand and has a slim profile that would lead you to believe it holds less volume than it does. This is a 1-liter bottle (or 34 ounces), making it the most capacious of the bunch.

The cap features a built-in spout that’s shaped to fit between pursed lips, and it generates a lot of water flow when you tilt it back. To balance hygiene and easy access, the spout has a flip-up cover that snaps closed. The cover, while a nice idea and in keeping with the Larq ethos, is my biggest gripe with the bottle, though. It feels flimsy, and did once flip open inside my backpack, dousing some gym clothes in water. (Luckily there was no tech in the bag that day.) As long as it’s upright, though, this is good drinkin’.

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This is a sentimental pick. I got this bottle about 12 years ago as part of my welcome package when I got into grad school and I’ve been using it ever since. I even replaced the straw and the spout a couple of times because I don’t want to let it go.

The best and worst part of this bottle is CamelBak’s signature bite valve: Just like the hydration packs, you bite down on the soft sport straw and it sprays water into your mouth. The action genuinely encourages me to drink more, especially when I’m “behind schedule” with my drinking.

At the same time, the silicone material of the bite valve gives this bottle a short lifespan. No matter how well you clean it, dirt will accumulate inside over time and the spout will start to break down, so you will need to replace it every few years. That’s plenty of time, but most of these bottles should last much longer if you take care of them.

Replacing parts can get a bit tricky, too, because Camelbak changes its designs often, and the replacement valves change with them. (I’ve been able to find old ones on eBay, but have also cut and adjusted newer straws to fit my old bottle.)

In other words, I see why other brands haven’t tried to copy the CamelBak spout, but I kinda wish some of them did. It’s the only bottle that I can really say “helps” me in my pursuit to drink more, and the only reason it’s number two is that I can’t say it’ll last forever.

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