Thermos 24 oz Icon Water Bottle with Spout Review

We’ve come a long way since the days of standing in line to sip at a public drinking fountain, and if the lack of those facilities is any indication, most people would rather bring along their own bottle to stay hydrated throughout the day. Luckily, many of those fountains now include bottle refill stations, so you don’t have to find a machine, concession stand, or restaurant whenever you want to take a sip, provided you’re packing your own travel water bottle.

Here at Pack Hacker HQ in Detroit, we have bins overflowing with water bottles of all shapes and sizes, including insulated water bottles, collapsible water bottles, glass water bottles, and any other drink container you can think of. So, it’s safe to say we feel pretty knowledgeable about this category of travel essentials and were happy to get our hands on the Thermos 24 oz Icon Water Bottle with Spout. With more than a dozen colors, the option to customize it, and the promise of keeping your beverage cold for 24 hours, we’re excited to see how it stacks up to the competition. Will it become our new favorite or be relegated to collecting dust in the bin? Let’s find out.

The Rundown

The Icon Water Bottle looks like the Thermos you grew up with after a glow-up. That is to say that Thermos has taken what has worked for about a century and updated it for modern times.

We’ll start with what you’re probably expecting from Thermos: insulation. The brand’s vacuum insulation technology is supposed to keep your drinks cold for 24 hours, and we have to say that whenever our tester went to take a sip throughout the day, her water seemed to be the exact temperature as when she last popped open the lid. Whether it was ambient temperature or cold to start, that’s what was still inside after hours sitting idle. We also tested the bottle for 24 hours, starting with ice water. While no ice remained after a day, the water was still frigid, so we think that meets Thermos’ definition of “24 hours cold.” Good on them!

The Icon Water Bottle isn’t meant for hot liquids, probably due to the Spout cap on top. While the bottle itself is 18/8 stainless steel, the cap is plastic, with a silicone gasket and a plastic drinking spout. Pouring hot liquids out of a top that Thermos calls a “high-flow spout” is probably a bad idea, even if you don’t mind your plastic spout getting a little hot.

Unfortunately, while you can get the Icon in different sizes and with different types of caps, it doesn’t seem as if you can buy a separate lid to switch up the drinking experience, which we think is a bit of a miss since the Thermos would likely keep your coffee just as hot as it keeps your water cold, and we like to switch things up once in a while. That’s also disappointing because it seems users just about everywhere like this bottle—until they drop it accidentally. The plastic flip-top keeps your spout germ- and dirt-free but is susceptible to cracking and breaking under the right circumstances. We didn’t put that part to the test, mostly because it definitely looked like it would break, and we wanted to test out the rest of the bottle.

It is OK to put it in the dishwasher, which we appreciate, though it’s just as easy to wash by hand as there aren’t too many pieces to take apart, just the cap and the silicone seal if you fill it up with cherry Koolaid or something else you don’t want to taste later.

The cap also includes a large stainless steel handle and a smaller stainless steel lock that you can flip up over the button on the cap to keep it from opening accidentally. That button is quite easy to depress when you want to take a drink, so the added security is appreciated. We also appreciate that the lid flips all the way back so it doesn’t bop you in the nose when you’re taking a drink. When you’re through, just push it back on top, and it clicks into place.

The stainless steel exterior features a soft powder coating that we’re testing in River Rock, an ever-so-slightly greenish gray that’s neutral without being boring. However, as of this review, there are 16 other available colorways, so you’re bound to find one that speaks to you.

The Thermos brand logo is printed on the front in an indented trapezoidal shape. The only issue we have with that is that we’re clearly scarred from denting too many bottles; every time our tester’s thumb found the indentation, she had a mild panic that she had damaged the bottle. No worries; it has held up in testing, and that dent is supposed to be there.

One of the reasons it probably has not slipped and fallen to our concrete floor is that the stainless steel base has a non-slip grip that does a better-than-average job of holding tight wherever you place it. Even if you bump it on purpose (for testing, of course), it simply rocks a bit and resets itself.

Packability

We’ve had no issues commuting with this bottle daily, using it for work, or working out. However, there are a few things you should know before deciding to take it on your next trip.

To start, it is on the heavier side. Coming in at 12.8 ounces, it’s not the lightest water bottle we’ve tested, although it’s not the heaviest either, considering that it can hold 24 ounces of liquid. You’ll definitely feel the difference in carrying a travel daypack if you stick it in the daypack full instead of empty, but that happens with a lot of travel water bottles, so it’s not necessarily something we can hold against the Thermos Icon.

The bottle is also wide, with a 3.2-inch diameter. It fits into every cup holder and bottle pocket we’ve tried, but it is a tight fit in some places, so keep that in mind if the side pockets on your favorite bag are small or the cup holders in your vehicle are smaller than average.

Quick Comparison

The Thermos 24 oz Icon Water Bottle with Spout reminds us of a YETI Rambler 18oz Bottle. It’s the same height and diameter, and it keeps drinks at the right temperature for about the same amount of time. However, there are a few differences—some in YETI’s favor and some for the Thermos—that you should consider.

First off, as heavy as the Thermos Icon is, the YETI is heavier at 19.2 ounces, and that’s for an 18-ounce capacity instead of the Thermos’ 24. The Thermos also has a non-slip base, which is more useful than you might think. However, the YETI can accommodate hot or cold beverages, which the Thermos cannot. Furthermore, you can get different or replacement lids for the YETI, and that doesn’t seem to be the case on Thermos’ site.

So, whether the Thermos Icon 24 oz Water Bottle with Spout is your new favorite drink container or not will depend more on where you want to take it and what you like to drink. It’s not for you if you like having one bottle to conquer them all, from coffee or tea to water and other cold drinks, but if you just want something to keep your drink icy cold all day long and don’t mind lifting a bit of weight, it could be for you.