Product Review: Contigo Ashland Water Bottle

The Ranting Chef does not get paid or receive any revenue from manufactures or retailers of products reviewed. I occasionally receive products that I am asked to use and see what I think. I take a look, try them out and tell you all about them.

When I was visiting the International Housewares Association show last March, the first booth I stopped by was Contigo. Contigo is a designer and manufacturer of water bottles and travel mugs. They had a new water bottle they were showcasing that wasn’t going on sale until June. I was lucky to get one early.

The Contigo Ashland Water Bottle is in many ways like the dozens of others out there, but it has a couple of key features that I think make it stand out.

Number one of those enhancements? The lock. The spout for the bottle opens with a push of the big button you see. Unfortunately when you are carrying it or it is in your bag, that button can get hit accidentally. Here is where the lock comes into place. It keeps the spout in place until you slide the lock over and then push the button.

The spout then pops up and is at a nice angle to the drinker. It is more than a straw which can flop around if you are walking while taking a quick drink. It stays in place.

Besides a handle, the Ashland comes with a carabiner clip. This allows you to hook it around something to help you carry it.

The last enhancement is the angle of the straw. Most water bottles it either stays in the center of flops around. This one is purposefully angled to the front of the bottle. That way when your liquid is nearly empty and you tilt the bottle, the straw will be in place for the last drop.

It all disassembles for easy cleaning.

My Take: As you can probably tell, I like this bottle. Over the years I’ve collected a dozen or so water bottles and they all are missing something. Many are missing many things. The Ashland water bottle from Contigo has all of those features that just work. I’ve tossed out many of my old water bottles and the Ashland will get quite a work out going forward. Take a look at it. You can purchase it here.