The Mycenaean

Like most Owala customers, I heard about the Owala water bottle through social media. 

The viral FreeSip bottle features a dual mouthpiece that combines a regular mouthpiece and a straw. 

On top of the unique mouthpiece, customers can mix and match different color combinations when buying their water bottles.

Despite their fun features and cute look, there have been two main complaints about the water bottles; supposedly, they get moldy in the crevices within the mouthpiece, and they aren’t good at keeping your drinks cold.

I’ve had my Owala water bottle for about 3 months now and for the most part, I love it. 

It’s really useful that the lid locks so there’s no risk of spilling and I love having the two-in-one mouthpiece option.

Personally, I haven’t had any issues with mold inside the water bottle itself. That being said, I do have to clean my water bottle often so the rubber stopper that covers the mouthpiece doesn’t get dirty.

“I really notice that it holds mold really well. Especially when I wear lipgloss or chapstick, mold like, hold on to the mouthpiece… It can be really annoying,” said Molly Syer, junior.

For me, the main issue has really been the bottle’s inability to keep my drink ice cold for longer than a few hours. This might sound fussy or snobby, but for the amount of hype the water bottle’s received, I feel like it should have better insulation.

Kaelyn McCann, senior, said, “I love my [Owala] water bottle, but it doesn’t really keep ice very well. It can keep my water cold, but my ice melts really quickly.” 

Despite the issue with keeping my water cold, the water bottle is great for it’s price. 

In comparison to the viral Hydroflask (about $50 for the basic model) or Stanley Cup (about $45  for the popular model), the Owala bottle is much more affordable and, in my opinion, much cuter, too.

Overall, I think the viral Owala water bottle is accurately depicted by online reviews but is still very much worth the hype.