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We love to travel and explore new places. Okay, that’s probably not a big surprise if you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time. But we also try to be good stewards of the environment, which is a challenge when traveling. Fortunately, traveling while being environmentally mindful is getting a little easier, though it does still take some planning and may not be the easiest route available. One of the ways we do this is by carrying a collapsible water bottle with us.
One of the struggles of travel, depending on where you’re headed, is that it might not be the best idea to drink the local water. We’re extremely fortunate in that where we live in the rural Midwest – we have our own well and do everything possible to protect it so we can drink straight from it. Finding otherwise in the world was troubling for us. The thing is, most of us need water to…you know…live. Our answer to this dilemma is usually to drink bottled water to avoid any water-borne contaminants or illnesses (even the tiniest slip-up can be a disaster, like the end of our trip to Spain). This seems reasonable, but it’s hardly the most environmentally friendly answer. The pile of plastic water bottles left in our wake was not an option we were willing to be okay with.
Silicone Water Bottles
After much trial and error with different types of water bottles, we finally found a solution that we’re more okay with that is compact and travel friendly: the Que collapsible water bottle. To be sure, there are all kinds of reusable water bottles in stores these days, but we’ve found that not all of them are as travel friendly as they claim to be. We’ve tried various hard plastic and metal reusable water bottles (we’re nervous about traveling with glass water bottles), but those can be bulky, so we usually end up clipping them to the outside of our backpacks. That’s all fine and well, but after smacking everyone with it as you go down the tiny plane aisle, there’s just something about seeing your water bottle rubbing up against the floor of an airplane to make you reconsider some of your life choices. (Honestly, do you know what’s been on that floor?) Plus…it’s still plastic which is not environmentally friendly at all, or it’s metal, and man those are heavy!
Que the Answer
Fortunately, we stumbled upon a better option: silicone. More specifically, we found collapsible bottles from Que Bottle and have been happy with our purchase for a few different reasons. First and most important, because they’re silicone, they’re reusable and easy to rinse off. Silicone is also lightweight, which, as we’ve said before, is always packing-friendly. They’re also squishy, which means they can fit into all kinds of places easily enough without breaking, getting crushed, or crushing something else. And lastly, the unique corkscrew design means you can collapse them down when they’re empty or half full so they end up about half their regular size. This makes them even easier to toss in a bag, backpack, or carry-on for later. We’ve also found these are pretty easy to clean (toss in some soap and hot water, put on the lid, give it a shake, then rinse out), which is nice for our longer adventures. Since silicone is non-porous, they don’t get that dirty inside and are easy to wipe clean. There are two stainless steel lid options available, both of which screw on tight so you’re sure they won’t leak. One lid has a ring that we can clip to a backpack while it’s in a water bottle pocket, while the other is a flat lid.
The only thing we don’t like about them is, because they’re made of silicone, they don’t have much structural rigidity, which means they can flop around a bit. That just means you need to keep a firm grip on them while filling them up and taking a drink. Wink.
Armed with our travel-friendly Que collapsible water bottles, first on our agenda when we get to a new place is to find a grocery store and buy gallons of spring water that will last both of us a few days instead of tiny plastic bottles that only last a couple of hours. We store the larger bottles in our car or residence and use them to fill up our Que Bottles while we’re out and about. Then we make sure the large containers get recycled or returned to the store when they’re empty. Other tactics: if you ask nicely, often bartenders and restaurant workers are happy to refill our bottles from their filtered water behind the bar, and airports often have filtered refill stations near the drinking fountains. All of these options let us reduce the number of water bottles we’re using while away from home, and that makes us feel a little better about the impact we have – or don’t have – while doing the things we love and exploring the world.
