Stanley’s New Water Bottle Looks Nothing Like Its Tumblers (and Comes in 9 Cute Colors!)

If there’s one thing I always have in my bag or by my side, it’s my emotional support water bottle. As a college student, I’m either running around, doing homework, or staring at a screen, so making sure I stay hydrated is so important. 

Having a water bottle that is affordable, cute, and also fun to sip out of is even better. That’s why when I saw Stanley’s new Flowstate Spring Bottle, the brand’s first model with a built-in straw, I was so excited — a chic new water bottle to up my hydration.

Stanley’s new 20-ounce Flowstate Spring Bottle costs $30, has a built-in flip straw, and is designed to keep your drinks ice cold for up to 35 hours thanks to the double-wall vacuum insulation, according to their website. 

For me, making sure the part of a water bottle that I’m sipping from stays clean is very important, and this one ticks that box. The locking lid and quick-flip button help prevent spills, but also keeps the sip area clean between uses, even if you’re tossing it into your tote bag with all your other stuff. And, since there’s a lanyard attached to the bottle, you can carry it around campus easily.

If you’re used to traditional Stanley tumblers — a generally larger bottle with a handle (they range from a 60- to a 14-ounce capacity), exposed straw, and a narrow bottom designed to fit in a cupholder — you may be slightly surprised by the look of the Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottles. This bottle is designed for more on-the-go hydration, with a sleeker body that’s meant to be natural to hold in your hand. It weighs just over 1 pound and measures almost 10 inches tall by 4 inches wide, and the product description notes the bottle will fit into most car cupholders.

It comes in a slew of incredible colors, too. When I’m looking at a water bottle, I want to absolutely love the look of it — and I adore the colorway for Stanley’s Flowstate Spring Bottles. The new arrival colors are Daffodil, Peach Rose, Soft Orchid, Purple Dust, Coastal Teal, and Blue Sky. There are also three “core colors”: Cream, Rose Quartz, and Black 2.0. 

There’s no doubt that there are so many options in the water bottle world, and in the Stanley Instagram post announcing the new Flowstate Spring Bottle, among the comments calling it “game-changing” and “so cute” are several comparing it to an Owala water bottle. 

I took a closer look at both products to find some of the similarities and differences between the Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle and Owala FreeSip:

• The Owala FreeSip has some solid-colored options, but is known for its multihued color blocking bottles (there are currently 33 versions available for the 24-ounce FreeSip on the Owala site).
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle comes in nine solid colors, with no color-blocking options. 

• The Owala FreeSip has a leakproof lid that flips open and locks, where you can either sip upright using the built-in straw or tip it back to take a bigger sip through the wide-mouth opening. 
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle also has a leakproof flip-top lid and a covered sip spout with an “internal straw” that you sip from. 

• The Owala FreeSip is “triple layer insulated” and claims to keep drinks cold for 24 hours.
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle has “double-wall vacuum insulation” and claims to keep drinks cold for 10 hours if the beverage is cold, and 35 hours if it’s iced.

• The Owala FreeSip has a hard plastic carry loop at the top of the bottle that flips up when you need it and clicks closed when you don’t.
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle has an attached carry lanyard on the side to comfortably tote your bottle around.

• The Owala FreeSip comes in 24-, 32-, or 40-ounce options, each of which have slightly different dimensions, but does not note on their website if it fits into every car cupholder.
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle only comes in a 20-ounce option, but notes on their website that it “fits most car cupholders.”

• The Owala FreeSip costs $30 for the 24-ounce, $35 for the 32-ounce, and $40 for the 40-ounce.
• The Stanley Flowstate Spring Bottle costs $30 for a 20-ounce bottle.