When my daughter needed a new water bottle for school two years ago — or 20 years ago in pandemic time — she had mentioned something about a Hydroflask. So I looked and…holy sticker shock. 50 bucks for a 32-oz bottle with a straw lid! I’m all for spending money on good products that last, but not so much a $50 water bottle for a middle schooler who loses stuff.

Fortunately, she showed me an alternative to the Hydroflask on Amazon that was less than half the price, and it turns out, it’s a terrific bottle!  So good, that I bought one myself a year ago and I still use it daily.

If you’re shopping for camp stuff right now — and yay for camps reopening! — I highly recommend.

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Hydroflask alternatives: SLM water bottles do the same job for a lot less money and we love them!

The Simple Modern Summit water bottles basically do everything you need a water bottle to do, all while looking stylish as you want it to. It has vacuum insulation to keep water cold, it doesn’t leak, it doesn’t get banged up in my bag, the straw does what it’s supposed to do… solid.

It also comes in bunch of sizes from a handy 14-oz bottle to a massive 2.5L bottle, which still costs less than that 32oz Hydroflask. And of course there are plenty of fabulous colors and designs to choose from.

I personally have the faux marble. Cool, right?

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We found fantastic affordable hydroflask alternatives in so many cute styles. Save your $$$!

And if it matters to you — or your trend-defying kid —  an SLM bottle doesn’t come with any brand name baggage. For $21.99 it’s just…a good water bottle.

Imagine that.

Happy summer everyone and stay hydrated out there!