Keeping kids hydrated is essential but getting them to drink enough water when they’re away from home is a task and a half. That’s where the best kids’ water bottles can help.
It’s recommended that children drink between 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, so it’s best to look for a water bottle with a large capacity, or one that is easy for kids to open, refill and close properly themselves.
Anyone with a school-age child will understand the struggle of finding a water bottle that is truly, 100% leak-proof. I’ve fished out far too many soggy drawings from waterlogged school bags after a leak to even consider including any bottles that don’t keep their promise.
It’s important to consider what material your kids’ water bottle is made from. All the ones in my roundup are made from either stainless steel (an excellent choice for easy cleaning), food-grade safe silicone or BPA-free plastic. While the reusable plastic bottles tend to be lighter and cheaper, bottles made from stainless steel are more durable, so work out well if you tot up cost per use.
Let’s face it, the easiest way to make sure your child actually drinks enough is by buying a water bottle they love the look of. That’s why my roundup is filled with colourful designs and a few cute characters for good measure.
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The best kids’ water bottles for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Yeti rambler Jr: £28, Yeti.com
- Best for school – Thermos Disney Toy Story alien bottle: £24, Johnlewis.com
- Best for sports – Smiggle energize spritz insulate stainless steel drink bottle: £20, Smiggle.co.uk
- Budget buy – Asda George flip top bottle: £3.50, Asda.com
- Best with a straw – Brümate leap: £22.95, Amazon.co.uk
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Yeti rambler Jr
Rating: 5/5
Best: kids’ water bottle overall
Why we love it
- Hardwearing
- Leak resistant
- Great choice of colours
- Keeps water cool all day
Take note
- A little pricey
I’ve found it, the holy grail of kids’ water bottles. The Yeti rambler Jr includes all the features of the outdoor brand’s adult-sized drinks bottle, in a smaller, kid-friendly size. It’s the best kids’ water bottle I’ve tested, designed to handle anything your child can chuck its way – ours has survived multiple drops and is still looking great.
The flip-top cap is easy for even young children to open and close themselves – just make sure they know to fully close the cap to prevent leaks. My 10-year-old took this to school every day for over four weeks, and we never experienced even the slightest leak.
The straw cap made this easy for my young tester to quickly hydrate during basketball sessions, and I was so impressed that the rambler Jr kept its promise of keeping water cold, even six hours after filling.
It’s easy to clean (it’s safe to stick in the dishwasher), comes in a range of colours and has a wide carry handle. One of my favourite things is that there’s the option to personalise your bottle – having your child’s name printed on a water bottle is a genius idea, particularly if they’re prone to leaving their bottles at school or clubs.
It may be up there as one of the priciest kids’ water bottles in my roundup, but this is exactly the kind of robust bottle that can be passed down to siblings, so fully worth the spend.
Key specifications
Buy now £28, Yeti.com
Asda George flip top bottle
Rating: 3.5/5
Best: budget water bottle
Why we love it
- Very affordable
- Cute design
- Lightweight
Take note
- Hand wash only
- Not as durable as others in my roundup
If you’re after the best budget water bottle or buying for a child who tends to lose their bottle on a weekly basis, this bargain from George at Asda should do the trick. My six-year-old tester was instantly won over by the cute axolotl design and character lid, which reveals a pop-up drinking straw when it’s pushed back.
The small size and 390ml capacity makes it perfect for little kids, although my tester did find the sliding lid mechanism a little stiff initially. It quickly loosened with use, and when using two hands (a thumb on each axolotl gill) she was able to slide it open and close easily.
Incredibly lightweight – the lightest of the roundup by far – it can easily be packed in bags for days out without weighing your child down, and we experienced no leaks during testing.
If you’re after a simple, no-frills water bottle that little kids will want to use, this is ideal – and at just £3.50 too. We tested the axolotl design which was out of stock at the time of writing, but the water bottle is also available in a cute dinosaur, unicorn or lion design.
Key specifications
Buy now £3.5, Asda.com
Brümate leap
Rating: 5/5
Best: kids’ water bottle with straw
Why we love it
- Easy for kids to use
- Fits in cup holders and backpack pockets
- Biteproof straw
- Leakproof when used correctly
Take note
- Lid must be closed correctly for it to be leakproof
I was sceptical about how leakproof an exposed straw drinks bottle would be, but the leap bottle from Brümate fully won me and my testers over. If features a clever twist lid mechanism, where you rotate the inner circle to open and lock the lid – something both my testers thought was very cool and got the hang of immediately.
I can confirm this bottle proved to be 100 per cent leakproof during testing, even when accidentally left upside down in a backpack during a 4-hour drive.
My six-year-old loved the feel of the silicone sleeve, which sits over the stainless steel cup and it was the perfect size to fit in cup holders and side backpack pockets. If you’re fed up of the plastic straws on your kid’s water bottles ending up covered in tiny nibble marks, this silicone version is a far more durable bite-proof choice.
The bottle did a great job of keeping water cool on hot days and we all loved the bright colour options available, too.
Key specifications
Buy now £22.95, Amazon.co.uk
Klean Kanteen rise
Rating: 5/5
Best: sustainable kids’ water bottle
Why we love it
- Very durable
- Smooth flip top opening
- Gorgeous colourways
- Keeps water cold for a full day
Take note
- Quite large for little kids to use
There’s a lot to love about the brightly-coloured rise water bottle from Klean Kanteen. It’s a great size, yet still feels lightweight, and the flip top with wide tilted spout makes it easy for kids of all ages to open and drink from.
I like that that the straw is made from metal – I preferred this to having a plastic straw sat in water all day, plus it feels more robust and is easier to clean than plastic. Both my six-year-old and 10-year-old testers loved the cool two-tone design – our colourway isn’t available any more, but there are so many bright designs to pick from.
Clever kid-friendly touches like a reinforced base (perfect for preventing dents when dropped) and easy-to-carry handle make this a brilliant choice for school kids, but what I loved the most was the brand’s dedication to sustainability. It’s a certified B Corp company and is certified Climate Neutral in operations, with the bottle made from 90 per cent post-consumer recycled stainless steel.
We’ve been using Klean Kanteen bottles for months now and I’m always amazed at how new they look, even with daily use. This may be one of the priciest bottles in my roundup, but it’s definitely worth it.
Key specifications
Buy now £28, Kleankanteen.co.uk
Asobu seal bestie bottle
Rating: 5/5
Best: kids’ water bottle for style
Why we love it
- Huge choice of cute character designs
- Silicone base to stop bottle slipping
- Hidden straw for easy drinking
- Leak resistant
Take note
- No carry handle
It’s not often a water bottle elicits squeals of joy, but just look at this thing of beauty. The Asobu seal bestie bottle comes in a whopping 33 designs, each featuring a different animal, but it was the ridiculously cute grey seal that we all fell in love with.
Don’t presume this bottle is a gimmick; it’s actually a fantastically well-made double-wall vacuum insulated stainless steel water bottle that kids of all ages will be desperate to use. You just twist off the silicone head and inside is a silicone drinking spout and straw, which can be removed if you prefer to simply sip from the bottle.
There’s a knack to closing the lid – you have to push then twist, something that took my testers just seconds to master. Once the lid was on, we had no problems with leaking whatsoever.
The bottle has a decent capacity and kept my tester’s water cool all school day long. It’s free from PFAS, BPA and phthalates, but above all the bestie looks so good. Everyone wanted to know where we go this bottle from – I think it would make an excellent gift for tweens and teens.
Key specifications
Buy now £29.99, Asobubottle.co.uk
Thermos Disney Toy Story alien bottle
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: kids’ water bottle for school
Why we love it
- Easy for kids to open and close
- Comes with name stickers
- Useful carry handle
- Leak resistant
Take note
- No built-in straw
Thermos flasks are a classic for a reason, and this child-friendly water bottle is hard to pick fault with. My six-year-old loved the easy push-button lid, which kept the drinking spout clean and covered, as well as doing an excellent job at preventing any leaks at all (this tester is usually a prime offender for coming home with a waterlogged school bag).
Unlike the others in my roundup, this bottle doesn’t have a straw, but it didn’t bother my testers in the slightest.
It’s made from stainless steel and certainly feels built to last, but it also reassuringly comes with a 5-year guarantee. The flip-up carry handle with soft grip was a handy feature and made it easy for my little tester to look after her own water bottle on walks. I also loved the useful addition of name stickers, so you can easily label the bottle before sending it off into school wilderness.
The bottle is top shelf dishwasher safe, but I have noticed a very minimal amount of colour staining around the base. If you want to keep your bottle in perfect nick, I’d recommend hand washing, just to be on the safe side.
Available in a mix of Toy Story characters (including Woody, Jessie, Buzz and Lotso) my tester loved her Alien design – as did all her playground buddies.
Key specifications
Buy now £24, Johnlewis.com
Air up click
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: kids’ water bottle to encourage hydration
Why we love it
- Button-press to open
- Encourages reluctant water drinkers
- Lightweight
- Large capacity
- Leak resistant
Take note
- Flavour pods are an additional spend
- Doesn't keep water cool as long as others
If you’ve got a primary school-age kid, chances are you’ve heard of Air Up bottles. They have taken playground by storm, thanks to the clever flavour pods, which release a scent to trick the brain into thinking you’re drinking a favoured water. It really is a very clever concept and perfect for encouraging reluctant water drinkers to stay hydrated.
My 10-year-old loved the pods, but also loved using the Air Up click bottle on its own (the pods simply slide onto the spout, and you can use the bottle without them). It has a fantastic capacity, up there with the Red Equipment bottle, and while it didn’t keep my tester’s water cool for quite as long as some of the insulated bottles, it still did the job.
The click button lid was easy to open and, when closed, it proved reliably leakproof. My tester also really liked the loop carry handle and sporty, streamlined style.
Key specifications
Buy now £39.99, Amazon.co.uk
Red Equipment insulated stainless steel water bottle
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: water bottle for teenagers
Why we love it
- Includes two interchangeable lids
- Suitable for hot and cold drinks
- Durable
- Leak resistant
Take note
- Doesn’t fit in all cup holders
Red Equipment’s insulated stainless steel water bottle is a perfect buy for secondary schoolers. Of course there’s the large capacity – the most generous in my roundup – but there’s also the slick, simply styling that’s school-appropriate yet still cool enough for everyday use. We tested out the bitter orange colourway, but my 10-year-old also rated the plain silver stainless steel finish.
It comes with a choice of lids – a screw cap and a flip-straw sports cap. We tested both and while my 10-year-old preferred the ease off the flip-top for rehydrating during sports, both were fully leakproof. My tester was also a fan of the powder-coating which he said “felt nice” and stopped the bottle from slipping in his hands
The bottle can be used with cold or hot drinks (just don’t use the flip-top and straw with hot drinks) thanks to the double-wall vacuum, which claims to keep drinks hot for up to 12 hours and cold for 24. While I didn’t put this claim to the full limit, I was impressed that my tester’s water stayed cool all day long during a trip to a theme park.
Key specifications
Buy now £26.95, Redequipment.co.uk
Smiggle energize spritz insulate stainless steel drink bottle
Rating: 4/5
Best: kids’ water bottle for sports
Why we love it
- Cooling spritz function
- Large capacity
- Good-sized carry handle
Take note
- Hand wash only
A kids’ water bottle with a misting function is a genius idea! My two children instantly squabbled over who got to be “chief tester”, such was the pull of the spritz.
Alongside the pop-top spout for drinking, there’s a side trigger button which, when pressed, releases a gentle misting of water into the air – such a great touch that provided a welcome cooling mist for my 10-year-old during outdoor sports sessions. There was a line of kids queuing up to give it a try, too!
The BPA- and phthalates-free stainless steel bottle is a good size for older kids, holding 500ml of water, and it did a great job of keeping the water cold, even during a heatwave.
My tester was a big fan of the “space pizza” design, while I was impressed with the quality for just £20.
Key specifications
Buy now £20, Smiggle.co.uk
What is the best water bottle for kids?
As you can see, all the bottles in my roundup scored highly and there are some brilliant options depending on your child’s age and your budget. But it’s the Yeti rambler Jr which has to be the best water bottle I’ve tested. It’s utterly indestructible, a great size, keeps water cool all day and is leakproof. I also really rate the Brümate leap, which comes in a little cheaper, but still designed to last. Or, if you have the budget the Asobu bestie bottle makes the cutest gift.
How I tested kids’ water bottles
My six – and 10-year-old testers took a range of water bottles out on day trips, to school and to various after-school sports activities, to help me decide which deserved a spot in my roundup.
Testing over a month and a half, we looked for water bottles that did not leak – even when laid flat in school bags – bottles that were easy for the kids to open and close (and refill if necessary), plus easy to drink from, clean and carry around. I considered if the bottles offered value for money, while my young testers gave me their honest opinions on whether they looked the part.
During testing we looked at the following criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Sarah Dawson is a writer specialising in recommending the best parenting buys and products for kids, having tested everything from walkie talkies to kids’ smartwatches. To bring you her verdict on her top picks, Sarah recruits younger testers who put products through their paces during hands-on testing.
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