Klean Kanteen - TKWide Water Bottle
Mike Lipay
Reviewer Information |
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| Email: | mike-at-pahiker-dot-com |
| Age: | 67 |
| Location: | Plum, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5' 6" (1.6 meters) |
| Weight: | 162 lb (73.5 kg) |
| Background: | I’ve been hiking since ’65 with occasional backpacking trips (backpacking became a love affair in the early 80’s). My first sleeping bag weighed in at 8 lb (3.6 kg) by itself! These days my loaded pack only weighs about 15 lb (6.8 kg) sans food. While most of my adventures are in the Northeast I’ve also been spending a good deal of time in the desert Southwest and most places in-between. My trips tend be in the cooler months - September through May - as I’m not much of a hot-weather person. |
Initial Report - November 28, 2021
Product Information |
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| Manufacturer: |
Klean Kanteen Products |
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| Website: |
https://www.KleanKanteen.com |
| Model: |
TKWide |
| MSRP: |
$39.95 USD |
| Colors: |
Blue Tint, Marigold, Black |
Manufacturer Measurements (Loop Cap) |
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| Volume: |
32 oz (946 ml) |
| Weight: |
20 oz (567 g) |
| Height: |
9.9 in (25 cm) |
| Diameter: |
3.65 in (92.7 mm) |
| Opening: |
2.6 in (66 mm) |
Personal Measurements |
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| Volume: |
38 oz (1.1 L) (volume measured to bottle neck) |
| Weight: |
20.5 oz (580 g) empty; 54.5 oz (1.5 kg) full |
| Weight: |
20.5 oz (580 g) full |
| Height: |
9.9 in (25 cm) |
| Diameter: |
3.58 in (91.0 mm) |
| Opening: |
2.6 in (66 mm) |
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Initial Impressions
The Klean Kanteen TKWide water bottle is a stainless steel insulated water bottle. It comes in different sizes and colors, the one tested here is the 32 oz (1 L) bottle in black. There are several options for bottle lids: Twist Cap, Chug Cap, Straw Cap, Cafe Cap, Loop Cap, and the Insulated Wide Cap, tested in this report are the: Twist Cap, Chug Cap, and the Loop Cap, weight wise the difference between the caps I will be testing is negligible (less than an ounce, only a few grams).
 The TKWide water bottle is vacuum insulated. Unlike normal threads the TKWide water bottle uses a new design intended on increasing the thermal efficiency of the bottle, they look like small points around the inside of the bottle.
Caps:
 The Loop Cap is simply a thread-on cap that has no openings. To drink the cap must be completely removed from the bottle. The cap includes a bale-style handle for carrying the bottle. It has a bail-type handle for ease of carrying, the handle folds down to the side of the cap to be out of the way when not needed.
 The Chug Cap has a spout on the top with a twist on/off cap to protect the contents from unwanted things getting in, and from the contents splashing out. This cap enables large amounts to be drunk without completely removing the cap. This cap has a loop-style handle that protrudes from the rear of the cap, it is in a fixed position so it neither rotates nor folds out of the way.
 Finally, the Twist Cap has a straw that reaches to the bottom of the bottle. Actually, the straw comes in three pieces: the upper straw is built into the cap and is exposed by twisting the cap (hence the name) counter-clockwise. To protect the straw from exposure twist the cap clockwise. The second part is stainless steel and must be inserted by the owner into the bottom of the cap; then the third part (a silicone straw) is pushed into the bottom of the metal straw, then cut to length to fit as near to the bottom of the bottle as possible. This is the only cap where Klean Kanteen warns not to use with hot or carbonated beverages, no reasons is given for the warning, but I will adhere to it. It also has a bail-type handle for ease of carrying that also folds out of the way.
I have several water bottles, most of them in the 16 oz (0.5 L) and 32 oz (1 L) sizes, which I use depending on the weather conditions and availability of water along the trail. When I selected the 32 oz (1 L) TKWide bottle I did so based on the other bottles I have of this size, after receiving it I should have gone with the smaller 20 oz (0.59 L) bottle. The reason for this is that the larger bottle is much wider than either my hip-bottle carrier or my backpack pouch can handle, also the weight of the bottle once filled is too much for a mesh pouch to handle, so I will have to carry it by hand. On a side note, the bottle is also too wide for the cup holder in my vehicle, though I’m not sure that the smaller bottle would be any different in this respect.
Initial impression is that I will probably use the Chug Cap during the colder months, since it can be used with hot beverages, without having to remove the entire cap. The Twist cap I see preferring the rest of the year as being easier to drink from while actively hiking (not having to bend my head backwards to drink), I find sipping through a straw more natural for me.
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Field Report - February 3, 2022
First Test
"Always test an item before it's used in the field." That's something I do regardless of the item, even water bottles. I've had bottles before that when laid on the side have leaked, bottles where I found the caps would pop off, so I test before I head out.
The TKWide Water Bottle has performed great in these pre-hike tests. My first test was to fill it up with a hot liquid (in this case hot chocolate), considering the time of year this was more important to me than how it would keep cold liquids. I will usually fill up the bottle with something hot the first day, then replenish it with more hot liquids when I break for lunch, dinner, or in the morning before I strike out for the day. It's important that the beverage stay warm until the last drop, or at least until I top it off.
The day began at 8 am by filling the TKWide Water Bottle with hot chocolate, then putting on the Chug Cap, after that every half hour I would take a swig from the bottle and assessed its temperature, as this is how I expect it to be when I'm on a hike. For the first two hours the hot chocolate was just as hot as when I filled the bottle - barely able to drink it without fear of burning my mouth. After that the temperature did start to go down, no surprise since hot liquid was being exchanged for cooler air. The day ended at 9 pm when I took the Chug Cap off and downed the remaining few ounces of hot chocolate, by this time the hot chocolate was just above the temperature inside my mouth and still felt warm going down. So, 38 oz (1.1 L) lasting 13 hours was impressive. Of course, this was done inside where the ambient temperature was about 66 F (19 C) so cold temperatures did not come into play, that I will see in the upcoming trips.
| Dates |
Location |
Distance / Altitude |
Weather |
| Dec. 11-12 |
Laurel Highlands, Pa |
15.5 mi (25 km)
854-2468 ft (260-752 m) |
28-45 F (-2 - 7 C); calm; cloudy. |
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First trip out with the TKWide water bottle and I've already found likes and dislikes. It's really nice to have 32 oz (0.9 L), I can fill up in the morning and be good until when I set up my campsite (at least in the winter). The bad side to this size is the weight, full the bottle is heavy, and with only a bail wire handle I can feel it on the fingers. The bail wire only allows two fingers for support, so I have to switch fingers and hands so my fingers don't get too sore. The wide mouth makes filling easy, and the Chug Cap makes drinking easy as well. |
| Dec 26, 2021 |
Laurel Hill State Park, Pa |
11.9 mi (19 km) / 1,917-2,465 ft (584-751 m) |
38-41 F (3-5 C). Brisk breeze at 5-8 mph (8-13 kmph) gave a windchill of 32-38 F (0-3 C), cloudy. |
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At the start of the hike I filled the TKWide up from the stream and was able to drink from it the entire hike without having to refill, that I really liked. I added some powdered iced tea mix, just because I can drink cold tea better than ice cold water. The water stayed cold the entire hike (not surprising considering the temps). The drawback of the bail wire handle remains, a full bottle is difficult to hold with two fingers because of the weight, after drinking about a third of the tea it wasn't as bad. |
| Jan 7, 2022 |
Ferncliff Natural Area, Pa |
4.5 mi (7.2 km), 1,155-1,309 (352-399 m) |
19-18 F (-7 to -8 C); wind-chill 4-6 F (-16 to -14 C); windspeed 12-14 mph (198-23 kph) |
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This was a nice cold weather trip, an excellent chance to test the insulate qualities of the TKWide bottle. I filled the bottle up with hot chocolate before the hike, temp was measured at 150 F (66 C) when the Chug Cap was put on, an hour and a half later when I started the hike it was still very hot (since it was just in my car all the time). The hot chocolate did cool down quicker than prior trip, by the time the hike was over (4 hours later) the remaining drink was at a comfortable level, but no longer hot. |
| Jan 28, 2022 |
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, Mile Marker 57-65 |
16.2 mi (26 km), 2,425-2712 ft (739-827 m) |
-1 to 13 F (-18 to -11 C); windspeed 5-15 mph (8-24 kmph); wind-chill -21 to 5 F (-29 to -15 C) |
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Bitterly cold day, what better day for some hot chocolate? Loaded up the TKWide with a full 32 oz of that heavenly liquid. As in the past the TKWide did an excellent job of keeping it hot throughout the trip. By the time I finished there was just a swallow left, the temp of the hot chocolate was just a tad over mouth temp, so still a refreshing drink. |
Notes:
"I’ve been playing around with the length of the straw in the Twist Cap and I found that a length of 8-5/16” (21 cm) reaches far enough into the bottle so that only a minimal amount of water remains and the straw does not touch the bottom of the bottle. To get to this length the metal straw needs to be removed from the cap and the metal straw inserted into the silicone straw. Measurement is from the top of the metal straw to the bottom of the silicone straw, cut the silicone straw at this point.
Out in the field
Klean Kanteen's website says their 32 oz bottle will keep liquids hot for 24 hours, cold for 83 hours (Loop Cap). I assume the bottle remains full and unopened for those periods, my usage thus far indicates less time for hot drinks, about 9 hours (Chug Cap) at my lowest temps (-1 F, -18 C) and still decently hot. During this time I took a drink an average of once every half hour. The Chug Cap is not as well insulated as the Loop Cap, but I am pleased with the 9 hours I am getting. Final series of tests will be using the Loop Cap (Twist Cap cannot be used with hot liquids, and it's too cold now for me to drink cold liquids).
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Long Term Report - April 11, 2022
| Dates |
Location |
Distance / Altitude |
Weather |
| Feb. 17, 2022 |
Laurel Hills Hiking Trail, SW Pa. |
9.4 mi / 2,436-2,690 ft
14.8 km / 743-825 m |
16-20 F (-9 to -7 C); calm breeze, not much of a wind chill; cloudy; no precipitation. |
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I filled the bottle with hot tea and used the Loop Cap, since it is insulated and doesn’t have an opening this cap did the best at keeping the tea hot throughout the hike. Even the last few drinks the tea was hot enough to require blowing a bit to cool it down before drinking.
While stopped for lunch I shoved the TKWide deep into the snow and let it sit there for the entire hour. Even with this submergence into the snow the tea kept its heat marvelously. |
| March 12-14, 2022 |
Saguaro National Park, Az |
12.4 mi / 2,915-4,686 ft
20 km / 888-1,428 m |
Cool nights (49-54 F / 9-12 C); warm days (78-80 F / 26-27 C); Windy, sunny, no precipitation. |
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I am glad I got a chance to test the TK Wide bottle in something other than freezing conditions. During this test I used the Twist Cap and drank through the straw. In the mornings I would fill up the bottle from a nearby stream then monitor its temperature as the day progressed. The 32 oz bottle would, typically, last me until about 4 pm, when the day would reach its full temperature. Even with just a few swigs of water left the TK Wide bottle kept the water at a refreshingly cool temp. I would then fill up again and have cool water through the heat of the day until bedtime. |
Additional Testing Notes:
In addition to hikes I've been using the Klean Kanteen TKWide Water Bottle as a everyday bottle. My doctor suggested drinking 64 oz (2 L) of water a day to stave off further kidney stones, that equates to two of these bottles per day, so a nice way to assure that I'm getting the fluids required per day while giving the TKWide a good test. On the final go-round of testing I stuck with the Loop Cap as this is the most insulated option. The TKWide managed to keep water both cold (I prefer cold water to tepid) the entire day; likewise it kept my tea hot the entire day, even in temps that never rose above freezing. With the exception of the size/weight I have been more than pleased with the performance of this insulated bottle. The heft of the bottle is understandable since it is made of a high quality stainless steel, and I've appreciated the quality of the bottle every time I dropped it on pavement, boulders, and gravel - the TKWide shows no signs of any damage (even the paint shows no scratches!).
One odd thing that I have noticed is with the Chug Cap - it retains flavors, not forever but for a couple weeks. It does this with hot drinks, not cold, but for a couple weeks I kept tasting the flavor of a mint tea that I accidentally poured into the bottle (picked up a mint tea bag in a restaurant by mistake), same with hot chocolate and other hot drinks. It does disappear after a while, but it can be annoying when drinking other liquids and both flavors merge.
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Summary
What I like about the Klean Kanteen TKWide Water Bottle:
- The insulated bottle is tops. It has proven very useful in the winters here in the Northeastern states.
- Being made of stainless steel is also a plus, as I do tend to drop bottles and have cracked more than one bottle on the rocky paths and ledges where I tend to hike. Thus far it shows no damage after being dropped (accidentally) three times.
- The wide mouth is also a plus it has been easier to fill from my water filters than a narrow bottle.
- Another plus with the stainless steel bottle is that it cleans nicely in a dishwasher. I have cleaned it this way both at home and in hotels during road-trip hikes.
What I don’t like about the Klean Kanteen TKWide Water Bottle:
- Size. Other large bottles that I have go for height over diameter, the TKWide went the other direction, making it too wide for my cup holders, bottle holster, or backpack pouch.
- Weight. This is a heavy bottle, too much so for the pouches on my backpack to handle.
- The other weight problem is with the loop handle on the Chug Cap, it allows for only two fingers and with a full bottle that is a lot of weight on those fingers (3.4 lbs, 1.5 kg).
- Twist Cap. I like the Twist Cap, don’t get me wrong, but its inability to be used with hot beverages is a drawback.
- Chug cap retains flavors of hot drinks for a short time.
Acknowledgement
This ends my Long Term Report, I’d like to thank Klean Kanteen and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test the TKWide Water Bottle.
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