I received two metal bottles from I ordered from Amazon. A Sigg and a Kleen Kanteen (KK).

The Sigg is 1 liter and made out of aluminum. The diameter of the bottle (3.15") is slightly too big for my car's cup holder, but fits my fanny pack pockets. The outside has some cool purple paint (comes in different colors/designs). There's a coating on the inside to protect the water from the aluminum; this coating is proprietary, so they won't tell you what it is. It does say not to use the bottle for long term storage, which makes me nervous, as does the aluminum.

The KK is 27 Oz and made out of stainless steel. The diameter is too small for the car/fanny pack (rattles around), but fits nicely into a bike bottle cage. The 27 Oz is less than I prefer, but is probably OK for most purposes.

Both seem like high quality items, which they should be for $20 each. Both have loop top screw on caps (KK has other options too) with gasket seals. KK's top is made of stainless steel on the side that touches the water, whereas the Sigg has a plastic top (nylon?). The top on the Sigg has a fine thread, which can cross thread more easily. The size of the opening on the KK is larger, which I like. Both have a smooth edge that's easy to drink from. Both pass the turn upside down test (no leaks).

I rinsed both out with hot water several times, then put distilled water into each from my Waterwise distiller. The KK does impart a slight metallic taste, whereas I can't detect any added taste from the Sigg. I can also smell the metal from the KK. I don't know of any health problems from stainless steel, and in fact my distiller is made from stainless steel, so I'm not sure what to think about the added taste. It may be more of a smell than a taste from the KK, since when I pour water that has been in the KK overnight into a glass, there is very little taste difference.

If KK made a 1 liter bottle with the standard diameter (about 3 inches, like plastic bottles), deciding which to use would be a no brainer for me. With the different trade off's, I'm not sure which I'll end up using, but probably the KK; the aluminum and coating just seem like they have too many potential health problems over the long term. KK does make a larger 40 oz bottle, but the diameter is too big for me at 3.5 inches.

4 stars

These are really wonderful bottles. Great for kids and adults. They are reusable, very durable and help keep cold drinks cold and warm drinks warm. Instead of those cheap plastic bottles that make your water taste like the bottle, these add no taste or odor, due to a special lining. You save money because you can refill them and they will last for years. Great for kids sports games-there are so many unique designs, no confusing them with teammate's drinks. Each member of our family has their own unique bottle. Great way to do your part for the environment by using less plastic and petroleum based products. 5 stars

I've been lusting after an aluminum water bottle for quite some time, and finally got this SIGG. I am very pleased, so far. It comes to work with me every day. True to the descriptions, your water will taste neutral after being in this bottle. I have not tried storing any other liquid in it, however, and so cannot testify to its taste properties with juice or anything other than good old dihydrogen monoxide. I would recommend this bottle to anybody, however don't go bashing it around like you can with a Lexan bottle. Aluminum can dent fairly easily, but that's the price you pay for lightweight. SIGG Switzerland rocks! 5 stars

I've been going on and off of a water only drink regimen for months now. Since starting to pack my husband lunch everyday, I've made him take one Nalgene 1lt bottle to work everyday. The night before, I put it in the freezer to freeze filtered water, then in the morning, fill the rest with filtered water...giving him cold water until 2ish. It's gotten him to like drinking water so much that he ends up refilling his Nalgene bottle at least one other time.

I say all this to say, we'd grown out of the 2 Nalgene bottles I had. So I went searching for something other than the bottles we had. Both were wide mouth bottles. This presented a problem. Since I'd freeze water, when it started to defrost and come loose, when drinking a solid mass of ice would come barreling towards the opening leading to a watery mess. This happened to my husband in a few meetings.

So then I tried a narrow mouth Nalgene bottle. This solved the previous problem, but we found it was hard to clean. Also we would have to smash ice cubes into it if we forgot to freeze water the night before, which after filling with 15 ice cubes or so, would leave a sore palm.

Though this bottle also has a narrow mouth, I figured we'd give it a shot. I still have the same complaints about cleaning, but this metal (aluminum?) bottle presents a whole host of new issues for me.

* First, it's barely 1lt. This is must be figured by filling the bottle to the very brim. Comparably, if you fill a Nalgene 1lt bottle to its brim, it could come very close to 38oz.

* Second, it's no where near as durable as my Nalgene bottle. I can take my Nalgene bottle and bang it against a sidewalk to break up ice without a second thought. I dropped this Sigg bottle on my tiled kitchen floor, and it has a dent! Forget about banging it against a sidewalk.

* Third, the paint is cheesy. It feels like regular latex. I'm not going to test my theory, but I do believe if I got one breach in the paint, I could peel it away. This bottle could surprise me, but that's the impression I get from paint.

* Fourth, the metal radiates the cold. This doesn't happen with my Nalgene. So, if the bottom half of the bottle contains frozen water, the outside top half of the bottle will be cold...this doesn't necessarily mean the water in the top half will be cold.

But I supposed it's fashionable. I got the camo Sigg.

If you don't have an aversion to plastic, I'd still recommend the Nalgene for a rugged water bottle.

## I just read the FAQ and discovered the manufacturer recommends not freezing the bottle. I've already frozen it twice.

So to recap, I can't drop it, I can't freeze it, I can't scratch it, and if lost in the wilderness I can't use it to boil water. 2 stars

I've been using a refillable plastic water bottle for gym visits etc., but if I forget to empty it, it quickly develops a stale odor which I get a big whiff of every time I take a gulp. I could buy bottled water and have "fresh" every day, but I find that level of plastic consumption indefensible. I found an ad for a steel water bottle, and was poised to buy it, but it was made in China, and my understanding is that Chinese manufacturers may use recycled metals with little consideration of their origin--they may even have traces of radioactivity.
So I jumped on this one, which is manufactured in Switzerland. It can be washed in a dishwasher, but wouldn't need that if used exclusively for water. My daughter uses it to take to school, and our only complaint about it is that despite its reported double-wall construction, it doesn't hold liquid temperature well--heat and cold tend to be conducted quickly. 4 stars