This Tech-Driven Smart Water Bottle Held Me Accountable For My Hydration Habits

The puck of the Hidrate Spark Steel Smart Water Bottle ($70) will glow throughout the day to remind you to drink water. This feature is great for when you are sitting in one place, like at a desk. However, if you move around a lot and don't have the bottle in front of you constantly, you can miss a few glow reminders. But, no worries: with app-enabled notifications on your phone and/or smartwatch, you can still get reminders. You can customize the glow color, pattern, and frequency, all in the app. I would love to see the company add sound or alarm reminders in the updated or newer versions to help remind us to stay hydrated even if the bottle isn't in your line of sight.

The sensor puck tracks your water intake by measuring the amount of water in the HidrateSpark Steel Smart Water Bottle ($70). When you first get the bottle, you have to calibrate it so the puck can accurately detect the weight of an empty bottle, full bottle, and everything in between. The puck will send water intake data to the app via Bluetooth throughout the day, and you can view your progress in real time with numerical results. By far, this feature is what makes the bottle worth it! Seeing how much water I actually drank throughout the day was eye-opening and, in turn, motivating. Just like how you want to close all three fitness rings on your Apple Watch, the HidrateSpark Steel Water Bottle pushed me to complete my hydration goals. Although you can manually add water intake like traditional habit-tracking apps, the real-time data kept me accountable for my water intake, thus motivating me to reach for my bottle regardless of a glow reminder.

The HidrateSpark Steel Smart Water Bottle ($70) comes with an app that is the hub behind the analytics of your hydration habits and goals. The home section tracks your daily water intake and shows your progress, current target for the time of day, and how much you have left to achieve the daily goal. You can view your monthly progress in the history tab. You can share your progress and results with friends and join app-driven challenges in the social tab. Customize your glow reminders, your HidrateSpark smart water bottles, and more under the bottles or settings tab. You can even set up the exact times you wake up and go to bed, so the bottle doesn't randomly light up when you are asleep. The app calculates your hydration goal based on the specific parameters you put in, such as your age, weight, height, activity level, and if you are pregnant or nursing. However, you can manually decide your own hydration goals.

The big difference that mattered to me between the HidrateSpark 3 Smart Water Bottle ($60) and the HidrateSpark Steel is that the HidrateSpark 3 needs its batteries replaced after a few months, whereas the HidrateSpark Steel has a rechargeable battery. However, both pretty much have the same capabilities when it comes down to the specifics of the tech. If you prefer stainless steel bottles, colder water, or prefer rechargeable devices, I would go for the HidrateSpark Steel bottle. Otherwise, save $10 and get the HidrateSpark 3.

If you prefer straw lids, you can get the Hidrate Spark Steel Smart Water Bottle With Straw Lid ($70).