Ocean Bottle Review

Disclosure: I paid full price for all products I reviewed and this article isn’t sponsored in any way, but it does contain affiliate links, which I earn a small commission from if you buy something using them. There is no additional cost to you, and I will never include affiliate links to products I don’t genuinely recommend. Unless I’m running low on funds for my next superyacht - then I’ll write whatever biased shit I need for that sweet cash ;)  

Design

My first thought when I saw the 1L Ocean Bottle in person was ‘that is BIG’. Admittedly, my Chilly’s series 2 wasn’t loooads smaller, but the difference is noticeable and there are other slimmer options out there. Having said that, it is actually lighter than the Chilly’s at 443g, or 230g for the 500ml version. It’s sleek, comfortable to hold, and there’s a variety of matt colour options; some with contrasting coloured bases that I’m a big fan of. The 500ml version is less notably chunky, and there is also a cheaper, uninsulated, 620ml Lite version which is slimmer still, although a bit less premium-looking. I recently discovered there’s actually an older 750ml Ocean Bottle Original too, giving a nice array of capacities, but I’m not 100% sure what makes it different, and why it isn’t just listed as another size.

Functionality

In terms of insulation, the Ocean Bottle performs admirably, with one test (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FW4xATcTlM) showing 5 degrees Celsius heat loss per hour over 3 hours, from 73.9°C to 58.6°C. This is substantially better than many competitors in this review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueMTDG_syZI, in which a Chilly’s bottle saw an 8.1°C drop in 3 hrs, and a Nespresso flask 9°C.

It’s similarly good at keeping liquids cool and, unlike most rivals, is dishwasher safe. It also unscrews in two places, providing two different sized openings to drink of fill up with. This also allows the top section to be detached and used as a separate cup, which I thought was quite a cool design feature.

The bottle can also be bought with a variety of lids, including a standard screw top, a sports straw, and a 360 ‘brew’ lid design for coffee, but great for any drink really. This gives it a nice level of flexibility, and makes it better at replacing a coffee cup or flask as well as just a water bottle.

Environmentalism

Aside from being a great insulated bottle, the big selling of the Ocean Bottle is its positive impact on the environment. While any reusable bottle minimises disposable bottles and cups being thrown away, and the Ocean Bottle likely isn’t the least impactful in terms of its manufacture, every sale is used to fund the collection of 11.368kg of plastic. That’s equivalent to about 1000 plastic bottles. The bottle itself is made 65% recycled materials, is BPA free, and solar panels have been installed by sub-suppliers to reduce the impact of its supply chain.

Revenue is also used to fund other environmental schemes across Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as social programmes providing healthcare, education and nutritional support to local communities. Ocean Bottle claim that funding these schemes and the aforementioned plastic cleanup amounts to 15% of their overall revenue. Check out their 2023 impact report here.

Another big thing to note is their 10 year warranty, which not only covers manufacturing defects, but also parts which have been accidentally broken during used (although shipping must be covered by the customer in this case), and even lost parts (although only one part per bottle). This should minimise the need to fully replace the bottle.

Ocean Bottle are also seeing a lot of positive impact through partnerships with brands, helping them to also get involved in funding environmental schemes, and although I’d be wary of whether they are simply helping companies greenwash, interviews like this one, where they specifically discuss this, do reassure me.

Value

TLDR: The Ocean Bottle is extremely expensive, costing £45 for 1L and £35 for 500ml, plus shipping, with Amazon offering even higher prices. Competitors like Chilly’s, Hydro Flask, and Stanley offer similar or larger bottles for less, and lesser-known brands like SHO have likely comparable insulation for much cheaper (£18 for 1L). Despite its eco-friendly recycled plastic build, the Ocean Bottle’s plastic parts feel less premium than expected for the price. However, it comes with a notable 10-year warranty, discounts are available for students and certain workers, and 15% of revenue supports environmental programs, somewhat justifying the high price. There’s also a cheaper, non-insulated, Ocean Bottle Lite.

£45 is really fucking expensive for a water bottle. Even the smaller 500ml is £35. Plus shipping. And if you think you can dodge that by buying through Amazon, that a big fat no – the bottles are even more expensive there (£48 and £40). The 750ml Original version is £40 on the Ocean Bottle website, and not available on Amazon.

For comparison, Chilly’s series 2 undercuts slightly at £42 and £32 for 1L and 500ml, and their series 1 comes in at £24, £29, and £39, for 500ml, 750ml and 1.8L, respectively. Standard Hydro Flasks are about £30 for 532ml or £36 for 709ml, and Stanley’s are £43 for 800ml, £45 for 1.2L, or £38 for their 600ml slim bottle.

Prices for all of these vary based on the exact style, with those listed above being the most ‘standard’ bottle sold by each company. Realistically, all of these are wildly expensive for what is effectively just an insulated container for water, but Ocean Bottle is right up there at the top, but with actually less capacity than the equally priced Stanley’s.

This makes Ocean bottle a hard sell, particularly when there are plenty of less trendy brands that still do a decent job of keeping liquids insulated. The SHO bottle, for example is £18 for 1L, and only £14 for 500ml. While in some product categories, no-name or less well known brands are somewhat risky, there’s plenty more like that on Amazon with great reviews and insulation comparable to their bigger competitors.

But based on its price, you’d think at least that the Ocean Bottle build quality is phenomenal, and in a way it is. But I did find the hard plastic base less grippy and premium-feeling than my old Chilly’s series 2. And while that had a pretty much full-metal design, aside from the plastic anti-microbial mouth piece, the whole top section and lid are plastic on the Ocean Bottle. Now, these uses of hard plastic are a consequence of the use of recycled plastic in the build, but when you’re paying for one of the most expensive bottle on the market, what would otherwise be a tiny nitpick does become a bit disappointing.

However, there is the previously mentioned non-insulated 620ml Lite version for £27, as well as several discounts (covering students, 16-26 yr olds, and blue light workers in the UK). There’s also that nice 10 year warranty, which certainly improves the longevity of the bottle and improves its value.

And of course, part of the revenue goes towards environmental programs. I was curious whether the price of the bottle was simply inflated to allow Ocean Bottle to spend on environmental causes without impacting their bottom line, but from looking at the publicly available figures from their balance sheet, Ocean Bottle had an accumulated loss for the end of the 2022-23 financial year, and was mainly running off funds from investors. They may now be operating at a profit, since this is an accumulated figure from previous years and also doesn’t include 2023-24. But this does indicate there may be good justification for the high pricing considering the substantial portion of their revenue that is donated, rather than reinvested in the company. Additionally, if their overall impact is good and the price is one people are willing to pay, I’m not going to complain if they’re making money from their business, regardless of whether the price could be cheaper.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives

Chilly’s actually sell a 90% recycled stainless steel version of their series 2 bottle for the same price as their standard versions. However, Ocean Bottle’s steel is also 90% recycled, and although the overall bottle is only 65% recycled materials, Chilly’s don’t disclose their overall percentage, and also don’t fund any additional environmental schemes with their revenue.

S‘wheat is a lesser known bottle, innovatively made from wheat straw. This makes their production very sustainable. They also promise to plant a tree for each bottle sold, although this doesn’t quite match Ocean Bottle’s commitment to funding environmental schemes. I am intrigued by its wheat-based construction and completely plastic free design, and will definitely review it fully if I get a chance to. It does only have a capacity of 550ml, however, and isn’t insulated.

EcoVessel donate 5% of their revenue to environmental non-profits, and sell a variety of insulated and uninsulated BPA-free bottles, although there is less information about the sustainability of their production. They do come with an impressive 100 year warranty though.

Conclusion

Overall, I’d highly recommend the Ocean Bottle. As a company, they really do seem to be sincere in their aims and having a genuine positive impact, rather than being another greenwashing corporation. I would highlight, though, that if you already have a perfectly fine reusable bottle, getting another is not really a sustainable purchase and only produces more waste, regardless of where the profits go.

The bottle is also a premium, well-designed product, despite elements of plastic in its construction. The main negatives would be the bulk of the 1L variant, which isn’t wildly different to competitors, and its price; which again is similar to competitors, but at the top end of the spectrum. However, with its generous warranty, that’s hopefully a price you only need to pay once. The cheaper Lite version is also worth mentioning again, with its slimmer and lighter build and more middle ground 620ml capacity. It’s an excellent option if you don’t need an insulated bottle, if still much more expensive than competitors.

You can find their website here: https://oceanbottle.co/collections.