Community Blog

We are often asked whether stainless steel and/or aluminum bottles are effective to use with SteriPEN water purifiers. The answer is a resounding “YES!”

Stainless steel and aluminum water bottles have a lower impact on the environment than plastic, are sturdy so if you drop it along the trail,  your water bottle likely won’t break. A great choice for the weekend hiker & traveler. The obvious downside compared to hydration bladders and plastic containers is weight. If you decide to purchase an alumninum bottle, make sure it is  lined with plastic or baked-on epoxy. If you’re a coffee drinker and plan on using your stainless steel or aluminum water bottle, make sure it’s insulated to protect your hands from getting burned.

“Due to the reflective nature of stainless steel, and to a lesser degree aluminum, most commercial implementations of uv water purification devices  utilize stainless steel containers. Stainless steel and aluminum bottles work well with SteriPEN water purifiers.” –   Miles Maiden, CEO and inventor of SteriPEN.

All SteriPEN water purifier devices should be used with 1 liter (32oz.) or less containers. Note that the minimum diameter opening of any container to utilize with a SteriPEN Adventurer Opti or Traveler Mini must be 1.6″ (40mm).  For all other models, the minimum diameter opening is roughly 1″.

Brands of stainless steel & aluminum water bottles

Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottles

Klean Kanteen has been producing high quality stainless steel water bottles since 2004 and the company is very concerned with providing water bottle options that are BPA-free. There are many models to choose from. Below, we’ve matched up Klean Kanteen model water bottles with SteriPEN models so you know which work best:

All SteriPEN Models

• Klean Kanteen Classic (12, 18, 27 oz. bottles, 44 mm diameter opening)
• Klean Kanteen Reflect (27oz. bottle, 44mm diameter opening
• Klean Kanteen Wide (12, 18, 27oz. bottles, 54mm diameter opening)
• Klean Kanteen Wide Insulated  (12, 16, 20oz. bottles, 54mm diameter opening)

Sigg aluminum water bottles

Sigg brand aluminum water bottles are 100% recycleable and are available in many different models including: Sigg Wide Mouth, Sigg Design, and Sigg Classic & Sigg Steelworks. All models come in various sizes. Just remember 1 liter is the largest size bottle to utilize with SteriPEN.

Please note that in order to use  a Sigg bottle with a SteriPEN water purifier, you’ll need to purchase a Sigg Bottle Topper adapter that is available in our online store. SteriPEN Adventurer Opti, Traveler Mini & Freedom models will not work with a Sigg bottle because the bottle opening is too small for the optical water sensor to fit inside.

Works with SteriPEN FitsAll Filter?: Yes Works with SteriPEN Pre-Filter?: No

Nalgene stainless steel water bottles

While Nalgene is noted for their BPA-free plastic water bottles, they also offer a stainless steel water bottle as well. The Standard works with all SteriPEN devices. Please note that the Nalgene Standard is NOT insulated so you won’t be able to utilize it  for storage of hot liquids.

We’ll feature Nalgene in an upcoming post about BPA-free plastic water bottles.

Works with SteriPEN FitsAll Filter?: Yes Works with SteriPEN Pre-Filter?: No

LibertyWorks aluminum water bottles

LibertyWorks offers completely recycled aluminum American-made water bottles with an epoxy internal coating and are BPA-free. Bottles come in many sizes and designs with a unform size and shape.

LibertyWorks bottles have a 1.5″ diameter opening making them suitable for all SteriPEN devices. Ryan, at LibertyWorks today shared with us that they will be rolling out a SteriPEN adapter in mid-November! We’ll keep you posted.

Works with SteriPEN FitsAll Filter?: Yes Works with SteriPEN Pre-Filter?: No

Vessel Drinkware stainless steel water bottles

Vessel Drinkware offers 24 and 27 oz. non-insulated BPA-free stainless steel water bottles in a variety of colors and patterns. The opening on these containers is 1.75″ so these containers will work with all SteriPEN water purifiers.

Works with SteriPEN FitsAll Filter?: Yes Works with SteriPEN Pre-Filter?: No

Bottles for use with SteriPEN water purifiers

In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding addtional blog posts pertaining to using SteriPEN with hydration bladders, plastic containers such as Nalgene, and other types of containers such as canteens and glass. 

Do you know of other metal and stainless steel water bottles we haven’t mentioned that you think should be? Please provide a comment below or email me at tarchambault@steripen.com and we’ll consider it for addition to this piece.