Super Sparrow Water Bottles Review

If there is one thing that can never miss in our packs is a good insulated water bottle.

Doesn’t matter if we’re on a relaxing city trip or headed for the deepest jungle, staying hydrated is important, and so is the quality of our water bottles.

We always look for something sturdy and light that won’t fail us when we need it the most. 

It’s for this reason that we exclusively use stainless steel bottles. They strike the ideal balance between weight and durability, and because they’ll probably outlive us we don’t have to constantly buy new ones. That means less expense for us and less plastic around the world!  

Recently we were approached by the brand Super Sparrow, who asked if we were interested in reviewing a few models. Being the gear nuts that we are, and curious to discover a new eco-friendly brand, we of course accepted!

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But first, a little about Super Sparrow:

Created in 2015, Super Sparrow was born out of a need for an affordable and sustainable replacement for single use plastic bottles. This brand is certified as climate neutral by ClimatePartner, ensuring that their products have as small of an impact on the planet as possible!

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We want to point out that this is not a sponsored post, so as always expect our 100% honest opinion. We also want to thank Super Sparrow for reaching out to us for this collaboration!

With that in mind, let’s get on with the review.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, and as Amazon associates we may get a small commission from qualifying purchases. We believe in only advertising products we trust in and use ourselves!

# First Impressions Out of the Box

Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Dark Green (To-Go Series) & Ultra-Light Stainless Steel, Oleander (Ultra-Light Series)

We decided to pick two models from Super Sparrow that we believed would best suit our activities and lifestyle:

• Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Dark Green (To-Go Series);

• Ultra-Light Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Oleander (Ultra-Light Series).

First things first, both bottles arrived very well packaged and protected by their individual boxes. Each bottle comes with a reusable polyester bag, which we ended up using to protect small items during our travels.

What stood out to us the most were the colours. Firstly, they were exactly as portrayed on the website, which doesn’t happen that often with many other brands. Secondly, they are really beautiful. The floral design on the Ultra-Light in particular is a real showstopper! 

All in all, our first impression was an extremely positive one, and we were excited to start testing them out!

# Accessories

The To-Go Series comes with several accessories included as a bundle:

• A sports cap;

• Two straws;

• A cleaning rod for the straws;

• A neoprene-like sleeve with a bandolier.

Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle, Dark Green (To-Go Series) & its accessories.

The quality of all the accessories is great, and the sports cap in particular really impressed us.

The problem we’ve had with other sports caps we have tried over the years is that they would inevitably leak if the bottle was tilted, resulting in the bottom of our backpacks getting regularly soaked.

The Super Sparrow sports cap has so far not leaked a single time, and with the addition of the straw that attaches to the inside of the cap (allowing you to drink without tilting the bottle), it is very practical to use! The cleaning rod also ensures that you can keep the straws clean. 

Remember that the straws are made of plastic, which means that, if used with slightly acidic drinks, they might retain flavours over time. 

Super Sparrow neoprene-like sleeve accessory.

And finally, the sleeve is a great addition to protect your bottle and keep your fingers from freezing off when handling it in very cold weather!

All of these accessories can also be purchased individually, and are compatible with the Ultra-Light models.

You can check out all the Super Sparrow accessories here!

# Materials

Stainless steel is one of the most versatile materials used for water bottles because of how tough it is.

It can easily take falls and bumps, plus it’s rust and corrosion resistant, which means that any slightly acidic drink (such as coffee, tea or sodas) won’t ruin the inside of your bottle and leave a nasty aftertaste! 

Super Sparrow bottles use two different variations of stainless steel:

• The To-Go model uses the classic 18/8 stainless steel, the same used by most brands. It doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals, it’s food-safe and extremely durable.

• The Ultra-Light, on the other hand, uses the less common 18/10 stainless steel. Along with the durability of 18/8, this type of steel is even more corrosion and rust resistant. If you often fill your bottle with drinks other than water, you’ll be sure that the steel won’t degrade or retain flavours!

When it comes to the type of steel, we don’t really have a preference. While the 18/10 is more corrosion resistant, we’ve both been using 18/8 steel bottles for the last three years with no issue whatsoever. In the end we wouldn’t consider the steel type as a major factor when choosing a water bottle.

# How tough are they?

Of course, because they are made of steel, these bottles sure can take a beating.

While we haven’t had the heart to really abuse them, we’re sure that they can easily take a fall without too much trouble. 

• One detail to keep in mind though is that the Ultra-Light is 30% lighter due to a thinner inner wall. That’s the part responsible for insulating your bottle, and the one more at risk of being damaged when dropped. The fact that it is thinner might also make it more fragile, so we would definitely be more careful about dropping that one! 

Another part of these bottles that we would recommend you’re careful with is the paint (see photo below). It was extremely easy to scratch with a simple butter knife, and looks like it would be easily ruined if the bottle was dropped on a rough surface. 

Scratches we made to test the durability of the paint. As you can tell, they are fairly visible.

While we managed to scratch the paint on our old Klean Kanteen in the same manner, the marks were much lighter and difficult to see compared to Super Sparrow. 

All in all, while they can without a doubt take a fall, I’d be extra careful to avoid that as to not scratch and ruin the paint, or damage the inner wall. It would be a shame, especially considering how good looking these bottles are!

# The Insulation 

The insulation is the most important part of, well, an insulated water bottle! If it can’t keep your drinks at the perfect temperature for as long as possible then what’s the point? 

Super Sparrow states that both bottles will keep a drink hot for up to 12 hours, and cold for 24. That’s about as long as a Hydro Flask, slightly behind a Stanley and about half the time of a Klean Kanteen. Having tested all of the other brands before, with awesome results, we were of course excited to test Super Sparrow!

In the early evening we filled both bottles with boiling water from the kettle and left them closed overnight. Exactly 12 hours later, we opened them… I will be honest that our expectations were not too high. Something about the lightness of the bottles lead us to believe that it would somehow negatively affect the insulation.

So you can imagine our surprise when instead of lukewarm or cold water we found it at pretty much the same temperature as the night before!

• We were intrigued. 12 hours were handled without too much trouble, so how far could they go? We decided to keep going, and 6 hours later we opened them again. While less this time, the water was still very hot, enough to make a more than decent cup of tea if we wanted! We went out for the evening, and when we came back we opened them one final time.

• A good 24 hours after we had boiled the water, it was now just above lukewarm! Of course, if we had been opening the bottle regularly then it would have cooled down faster. Even then, we were amazed at how well they performed! 
  

As for cold drinks, they did just as good of a job at keeping the drinks nice and chilly for way over the stated 24 hours. 

The quality of the insulation definitely caught us by surprise. While comparatively lower when looking at other brands (our Klean Kanteen managed three days in a row), it still performed above anything we had ever expected!

# Are they for you?

Whether or not these bottles are for you depends mainly on your lifestyle. 

• If you’re in the market for a new bottle to take on your travels around the world, or to just use at work or at home, then you should absolutely consider Super Sparrow! The light weight makes them so practical to carry around, and the awesome insulation means you can take a hot drink around with ease! 

• On the other hand, if you are in the need for a bottle to take on your camping and hiking trips in the Great Outdoors, we can’t fully recommend Super Sparrow. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not like we think these bottles wouldn’t be able to take it, quite the opposite. It’s just that when it comes to a bottle for the outdoors, we would rather go for something with a longer insulation time and a tougher coating of paint (even though you could protect them with the neoprene sleeve included with the To-Go Series). 
  

Again, if you want to use these bottles for your outdoor activities you can without any major issues. We’ll be sticking to our old and beaten up Klean Kanteens for our treks, but our Super Sparrows definitely will be coming with us on our trips around the world!

 # Which one should you choose?

If we had to choose a new bottle, having tried out both, we would definitely go for the Ultra-Light. It’s the one that most fits our needs, and the beautiful design, amazing insulation and extremely low weight makes it the perfect choice when travelling!

The To-Go model, however, does have the amazing bundle with all the included accessories. If you’re worried about the durability of the Ultra-Light (and want some extra goodies), then this one is a great alternative!

# Would we recommend them?

Yes, a 100% yes!

We’ve both worked in outdoor and travel retail for several years, and haven’t come across any brand so far that offered the same level of quality at such a low price range. 

Sure, you could invest a little more and get yourself a higher-end bottle, and if you’re planning on putting it through some rough trips we suggest you do that, but for travelling and day to day life they are close to perfect! 

So, those are our thoughts about Super Sparrow, an awesome brand that we’re glad we discovered! 

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