FAQ: Spillproof lids on water bottles explained. Is 1 better than the other?

Want to understand what spillproof lids are? As Australia's leading water bottle retailer, we have a LOT of choices when shopping. To make the task less daunting, we have a REFINE SEARCH personal shopper service in each category of our store. In our water bottle category, one of the options says LEAK / SPILL. This allows you to choose two things with the lids, whether it's leakproof and/or spillproof. We wanted to dedicate a blog post to explaining exactly what each of those terms means, because spillproof lids can cause some confusion

Leakproof water bottles

When the lid is closed on a leakproof bottle, you can safely transport the bottle around without the contents of your water bottle leaking out. This is not the case with spillproof lids. Virtually all the bottles in our store are leakproof with a couple of exceptions where there's something in the lid that either a) makes it too easy to bump open in a bag, b) there's some time of valve to facilitate water flow or c) they're just not designed to be transported full.

Spillproof lids on water bottles

When a lid is spill proof, it means, while the lid is in the open position, if you tip it over, water won't gush out. You may get a couple of drops, but you don't spill everything out. It's handy in 2 situations.

KIDS - this is how all sippy cups are designed. There are 2 in photo above, one from Thermos (front row right) and one from Klean Kanteen (front row middle). Both sippy cups have a silicone valve to restrict water flow. Kids need a strong sucking motion, which they're used to from baby bottles, to get a moderate flow of liquid, but not so much that they'll choke as they drink.

The Thermos Foogo Sippy Cup has handles and is insulated stainless steel. The Klean Kanteen is for kids a little bit older, with no handles. It's not insulated but it's food grade stainless steel as well. As your child gets bigger, you can simply upgrade to the Sports 3.0 cap and get a lot more use out of this one.

BIGGER KIDS OR ADULTS - as you get older, the spillproof feature is more about convenience than necessity. You might be in a yoga glass, or driving, or have a bottle sitting on your desk. There's countless situations where it's not convenient to be opening and closing a bottle yet you may accidentally tip one over. In this case, a spillproof valve on a water bottle is a great asset.

Front row left, we have the ecococoon bottles. They have a one way valve that releases water as you suck. If you're not sucking, no water comes out. It come in 3 sizes, 350ml, 500ml & 600ml and is vacuum insulated stainless steel. A protective cap screws on when you're not drinking. They are a similar valve system to the Camelbak bottle (back row right) which work on the same principle. In the 'open' position, there's a silicone valve in place that only releases water as you suck.

The Camelbak Podium Bottle was designed for cyclists. They keep the bottle in the on position, grab the bottle while they're riding, squeeze (or suck) and a jet stream of water comes out. When the bottle is back in place, the water stays IN the bottle. Ask any cyclist what happens when they use a traditional pop top sports bottle, they get a wet bum. The Podium is the NO WET BUM bottle!

The other two bottles in the picture are the Camelbak Groove (back row left) and the Camelbak Eddy (back row middle). Both bottles use the same bite valve principle as the Camelbak hydration packs. When you bite on the valve, a split on the end of the valve opens up and allows you to suck water through. These bottles both have straws in them so you don't have to tip your head back to drink. The Groove bottle has an in-built water filter so you can fill up on the go and have great tasting water. Both bottles are available in both BPA Free and stainless steel options.