I am a long time Klean Kanteen fan. I have a treasured collection: a Klean Kanteen for every adventure! With the recent launch of the TKWide Insulated water bottles, it was time to add another to the collection!
Although friends often tease me for the clink of Klean Kanteen water bottles, coffee flasks and pint glasses hanging from my belt or backpack, I love them because they do what they say on the tin: they are BPA-free, 18/8 food grade stainless steel, easy-to-use and clean, sustainably-made and they help me live a plastic-free lifestyle.
First – the TKWide is quite a departure from previous Klean Kanteen designs, and seems to address some of the niggles with the old wide mouth flask, not the least the propensity for the Café Cap to leak if you didn’t close it up properly.
Having used the new TKWide Café Cap for a couple of weeks, so far I have no leaks to report! I wouldn’t recommend putting a water bottle in a bag alongside damageable items, but I feel as confident as I can be that the mechanism works. It is also easy to take apart for cleaning. The new Café Cap is more level than the previous design and means that part of the lid touches your nose as you drink and when you get to the bottom of your drink you need to arch your head back quite a way.
The new TKWide integrates the swivel loop so you get the best of both worlds.
There are currently four cap designs available in the TKWide range, so you’re likely to find one that suits your drinking style. Drinking from the TKWide without a lid on is also a more comfortable experience with the new smooth, rounded lip and wide mouth; it feels more like drinking from a mug than a flask. I use my TKWide for coffee, tea, hot or cold juice and soups. You can cancel residual flavours by filling the bottle with water and vinegar overnight and using baking soda and a bottle brush to give it a scrub the next day.
The water bottle has a new thread design for screwing on the lid, which is much easier to screw on with no need to match the threads. This design paired with Climate Lock Vacuum Insulation is behind Klean Kanteen’s claim that the TKWide range has an improved thermal performance; the 355ml keeps drinks hot for 11 hours and cold with ice for 38 hours. This compares with 5-6 hours hot and 24 hours cold with the previous Klean Kanteen Insulated wide mouth design. I haven’t tested it with cold drinks (since it’s autumn), but I often make a cup of tea in the evening and it’s still hot and ready to drink for the early morning commute.
Klean Kanteen TKWides come in 5 sizes from 355ml to 1900ml, the larger the capacity the longer drinks hold their temperature. If you want to take it even further, you can check out the TKPro range, which keeps drinks hot for up to 38 hours, cold for up to 100 hours and comes with a cup for a lid.
There has been a huge shift towards conscious consumerism and sustainable lifestyles in recent years. It’s not enough to reduce the number of coffee cups and plastic bottles that you consume on a daily basis, the reusable alternative must be environmentally and human-consciously manufactured. Klean Kanteen use the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals, developed by the non-profit Clean Production Action, to design the Klean Coat to be as environmental and human safe as possible. Beyond the production of the water bottles, Klean Kanteen is a B Corp certified organisation and part of the 1% for the Planet initiative, supporting organisations taking environmental action around the world. Businesses can always do more to make a greater positive impact, but Klean Kanteen are certainly leading the way.
With so many water bottles and drinks flasks available today, it is great to see Klean Kanteen constantly innovating and responding to customer needs. The TKWide range is tactile, slim, sleek, sturdy but lightweight. My shale black number is always getting compliments!
