A few weeks ago I accidentally discovered a product that is a contender for my favorite product of 2017: the MyHydrate Hydration System. In short, it’s a water bottle that tracks how much you drink in a 24 hour period.

The perfect gadget for any endurance athlete (or anyone) that struggles to consume adequate amounts of fluids every day or to track water consumption. Intriguing, for sure. My intrigue heightened when I saw it has on-board display that tells you how much you consume and functional reminder to drink if you go too long without taking a sip. Simple and functional with a bit of sparkle thrown in; what’s not to like?

I’ll be honest, as I hovered my cursor over the “Buy Now” button, I was dubious. As it was January and my resolution to curb whim purchases of every product that looks intriguing was still fresh and strong, I didn’t immediately start the sales process. Rather, I clicked through the post or ad (can’t remember which it was now) to the vendor’s site to get more information to determine if it was truly worth the purchase price of $39.99.

In addition to the product’s features (which I’ll discuss further later), I learned that people who own the bottle seemed to like it, and that it made the “Must Have Christmas Gifts” lists of a couple of reputable sources: Everup and Entrepreneur Magazine. My cursor, once again, hovered on the “Buy Now” button, but I decided to learn more about the company and went for the “About Us” button instead. When I read that they worked closely with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to develop the project and that part of every purchase is donated to the ADA, I promptly ordered one.

Side note: I lost my mother, a sixth generation diabetic, much too early to that terrible disease, Duane’s mother is a fifth generation diabetic, and one of my siblings was recently diagnosed as being diabetic. I’ve run marathons and done century rides to raise money to help find a cure. It’s a cause I’m happy to get behind and made the purchase a no-brainer for me.

The purchase process was quick and easy and it arrived in my mailbox as promised. I tore into the package, washed it quickly, and read the insert to figure out how to make it work. The instructions seemed so simple that I went to the MyHydrate website to confirm how easy it is to use.

When it lit up with my first push of the button and the water flowed out nicely, I was hooked. Later during the day after I had not taken a drink for about an hour, a nice soothing chime sounded reminding me to drink. Duane happened to be in the office with me and was instantly intrigued, picked it up, asked me how it worked, and promptly asked if I’d gotten one for him too. Back to the website I went, and found a sale on a “family pack” that included diffusers.

Throughout the day, I saw Duane looking at it through the corner of my eye and he asked for periodic updates about what I thought about it. I began to worry that only having three would be an issue as in, who would be the odd man out when two of them are in the dishwasher! A first world problem, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless. The next day, I had a forth bottle on its way. This time it was a stainless steel limited edition bottle.

We’ve both used the bottles every day since and it is awesome! Now on to the review part of this post.

MyHydrate Features

Simplicity is what makes this system great. It’s easy and fun to use. I realize that’s a subjective statement, so here are the specific technical features of the product:

• Unique smart disk: The disk uses both sound (that can be silenced) and LED lights to encourage intake as well as optional gentle, intermittent beeps (automatically adjusted by ambient temperature) to remind you to drink.
• Tracks water intake: LED lights track your progress throughout the day and reset itself every 24 hours. Or can be manually reset as desired.
• Spill proof: Press the drink valve to drink, release to close it automatically. As an added benefit, the carry handle folds down to cover the drink spout, further protecting against spills and from dirt and debris.
• Food-grade materials: The spout design has no crevices nor requires drinking straws and the 26 oz bottle is BPA-free, FDA approved impact resistant and dishwasher safe plastic.
• 30 day money-back guarantee: Just contact customer support if you’re not happy with your purchase.

MyHydrate Greatness

Here is why you will want to drink from this water bottle:

• It holds a good amount of liquid. With a 26 oz capacity, I don’t find myself stopping to refill nor do I have water sitting around for hours on end.
• It is easily portable. The circumference is about the same as a normal sports bottle so it fits in you hand or bag’s bottle holder easily. The carry handle is easy to loop a finger through when you’ve got a lot in your hands, or to attach to whatever you need to attach it to with the addition of a carabiner (not included).
• It fits in most vehicle cup holders.
• The stainless steel thermal bottle really works. I’ve had ice last overnight, through morning coffee and into my third refill. It’s comparable to our Yetis during this time of year. (It’s not sat in the car for a couple of hours in the Texas summer heat while I do a workout, yet!)
• The reminder tone is unobtrusive and pleasant. And you’re able to turn it off while in a meeting, sleeping, or other occasion when you need silence.
• It resets itself after 24 hours, making it easy to capture the water you drink throughout the night. Or you can reset it manually if you drink more than 64 oz or just simply need to reset it.

MyHydrate Weaknesses

Weaknesses is probably too strong of a term, but nothing is perfect. As you’ll see, these are fairly minor issues with the system.

• The bottle and lid are dishwasher safe, but the smart disk is not. I know at some point I’m going to forget that and send it through a wash cycle. But it’s simple to take off and put back on, so not a huge problem. And I bet customer support can help you replace it should that event occur.
• The smart disk is battery operated, so at some point you’ll need to replace it. I reached out to their friendly customer support and learned that the battery typically lasts about 5-6 months. It’s a standard 2032 lithium battery that is readily available and seems to be easy to change out. This is more of a good-to-know than a true weakness.
• The plastic bottle sweats. As I frequently carry a water bottle in my purse or gym bag and often lose the coaster on my desk under papers or books, this is really the only true disappointment I have in the bottle.
• The stainless steel thermal bottle works almost too well. Admittedly, this is a tongue-in-cheek weakness. But I do find myself refilling it often because I do tend to drink ice cold water more quickly than room temperature water.
• The lid and tracker doesn’t fit on a sports-type water bottle, so I’m not able to use it on my bike. Again, not an issue for most. But it would be nice as endurance athletes tend to pay close attention to how much liquid they consume while running or on a bike.
• It doesn’t connect to your smart phone, so you actually have to open an app and record how much you consume in the day. Definitely not a deal breaker!

How to Get Yours

As you’ve hopefully surmised, I truly like this product. Its benefits are fantastic while the things that could be improved are minor. This is one of those simple devices that can make a real difference in one’s pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. And your purchase helps to provide diabetes education and research to one day find a cure. Should you want to get one, you can visit the MyHydrate website or the MyHydrate Facebook page. The purchase process is easy. And the customer service is great.

Full disclosure: The purchase links provided above are not affiliate links and we do not receive any compensation from your purchase of the product. The fourth bottle in our collection was provided for review by MyHydrate. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review. However, I’m not giving the review bottle back. 😉