Why Water Bottles With a Straw Are Better Than Water Bottles Without One

Noora Ahmad, Staff Writer

A row of different water bottles. Photo//Shutterstock, Irina Popova st

From Hydroflask to Gatorade to Yeti, it may seem like you could drown in the vast sea of reusable water bottle brands and models. To narrow your choices down, you can start off by answering one essential question: straw or no straw?

The straw is an important factor in marketing such water bottles, as a straw or lack thereof may lead a loyal customer to make their decision or be deterred. However, I can assure you that a water bottle equipped with a straw is the superior of the two choices.

One reason to prefer a straw is they don’t require as much movement of the bottle itself to receive water.

White water bottle being held up. Photo//Shutterstock, Lalandrew

Secondly, forcing ice cubes into a bottle with a thin-necked opening may quickly prove to be inconvenient, compared to the ease of dropping the cubes into a bottle with plenty of room for a straw. Further, drinking from a straw-less bottle may tip the ice out of the bottle when you’re drinking – such a tragedy that wouldn’t happen with a built-in straw.

Lastly, you are more likely to ingest water through a straw, rather than use energy to screw off the lid and take a sip. The ease of drinking through a straw, compared to the edge of the bottle, leads to greater water consumption overall.

At the end of the day, it’s up to those to decide what bottle to get. They all serve the same purpose in storing a beverage for sippage – some are just more convenient than others.