Aluminium vs. Stainless Steel Water Bottles

One of the most practical promotional products to hand out is branded water bottles. Its versatility and low environmental impact make it a fan favourite among all users. But whenever we showed our clients two of our most popular types of water bottles—those made of aluminium and stainless steel—they were in a tough spot. That's why we wrote this piece—to ensure you get the most out of your budget by selecting the most effective promotional drink bottles.

We've uncovered the differences between aluminium and stainless steel water bottles, as discussed below:

Aesthetics and Design

In terms of appearance, personalised aluminium water bottles win this category. They look better and are more stylish than customised stainless steel water bottles. However, if stainless steel water bottles are your prefered option, we can help you make them look even better with our cutting-edge branding techniques. We also apply it to aluminium beverage bottles. So let your brand's logo pop on one of our promotional water bottles.

Winner: Aluminium water bottles

Weight

Reusable water bottles are known to be portable. However, water bottles made of stainless steel are significantly heavier than their aluminium counterparts. This is because the material utilised to make stainless steel containers is more robust and solid. Therefore, choose aluminium water bottles if you only drink occasionally and want something to slake your thirst wherever you go because they are lightweight and portable.

Conversely, persons who participate in strenuous pursuits like sports and outdoor activities will benefit from using stainless steel water bottles. Even if you carry it through rough terrain, it can survive the harsh handling you put it through.

Winner: Depends on the user's lifestyle

Capacity To Keep Drinks Hot or Cold 

Okay, this round goes to the stainless steel water bottles. They offer more excellent insulating properties and lower thermal conductivity. This explains why it can keep cold drinks chilled for 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 12 hours. Of course, you can still use aluminium drinkware for cold beverages, but because aluminium has a low thermal mass, you shouldn't expect it to keep the heat for very long.

Also, because it has such a low resistance to temperature change, an aluminium bottle's walls allow you to rapidly sense whether the water within is cold or hot. Thus, when the beverage you're drinking is too hot, it offers you little protection.

Winner: Stainless steel water bottles

Possible Health Effects

We don't want either of them to win this round, but at Cubic Promote, we're all about transparency. So, here's what you need to know about the potential health concerns of using promotional water bottles made from stainless steel and aluminium.

To begin, the aluminium bottle's integrity may be compromised by the chemical and liquid reactions that occur between the aluminium and the contents. Because of this, aluminium bottles often have a protective coating that is either enamel, resin, polymer, or epoxy applied to their interiors. Therefore, it is essential to seriously consider purchasing aluminium containers lined with epoxy resins that do not contain BPA. Here is our article explaining why you should buy BPA-free water bottles.

On the other hand, stainless steel is more non-reactive to liquids than aluminium. Unfortunately, due to the metal content in the bottle (iron, zinc, and copper), stainless steel water bottles tend to impart a metallic taste to the water they contain. After several washes, this usually goes away, but it always depends on the kind of customised stainless steel water bottle.

Winner: It's a tie!

The Verdict

When selecting a promotional products, everything comes down to personal preference. Preference of your recipient or the water bottle user. Do they want a trendy-looking bottle that can help them stay hydrated? Consider customisable aluminium water bottles. If they want a water bottle that has a long shelf life and can retain both heat and cold exceptionally well, then custom stainless water bottles are the best option for them to go with.

Author Profile: Charles

Charles is the owner/operator of Cubic Promote. Charles has over 15 years of experience in the promotional product industry, making him an expert on not only the products in our range but also marketing strategy implementation and the industry as a whole. Visit him on LinkedIn.