I love to be prepared for any activity, but I don’t always have enough room for essentials. Luckily, Ohyo has their Ohyo Collapsabottle to help save the day. Save the day? Yes, save the day. I‘ve found a lot of times with parenting and outdoor activities that there is a tradeoff between being prepared and packing light. The Ohyo Collapsabottle helps me do both.
The Ohyo comes in two sizes – 1000ml and 500ml, and both collapse by an accordion design. This means there is no risk of leaky joints where pieces fit together and there are not any pivoting or folding parts to wear out and fail. The benefit of the Ohyo is that it can be put in its compact form (“squished down”, if you will), placed in a bag and then expanded when it is time to use it. This collapsible feature for storage not only saves space in your bag, but is airport-friendly, which helps when navigating airport security.
Ohyo Collapsabottle 500mlNote that the two different sizes are designed a little bit differently. The 500ml size comes with a flip straw lid which is air and liquid tight when closed and helps keep the Ohyo in its compact form. When the straw hinge is open, liquid freely flows. This is important to note because if you let a young child use the Ohyo, they have to know it is not a “sippy cup” and if they hold it upside-down, they will get wet. The 500ml size is perfect to throw in your diaper/parent bag when you are out and about. This frees you from the “I‘m thirsty!” complaints that always seem to surface when you are furthest from a store or restaurant. When you find a water fountain, simply fill up the Ohyo and then go on your way.
In addition to being larger, the Ohyo 1000ml bottle sports an air and liquid-tight flip cap and integrated carabiner on a hinge. The 1000ml size of perfect for hikes, walks, running and cycling. The carabiner stows for quick attachment and the compact size (think of a hockey puck) allows for easy storage. I found the 1000ml size perfect for day rides and for trips to the dog park with my three dogs. When on the bike I would simply keep the Ohyo in its compact form in a jersey pocket, and when I reached a stop, I would expand the Ohyo and fill it up with water. The extra 1000ml of fluid certainly gave me peace of mind when rest stops were few and far between. For the dog park, I simply kept the Ohyo stored in its compact form in my Mountainsmith bag, and when it was break time for the dogs, I would fill it up from the water fountain and pour it in to a bowl that came with my Mountainsmith bag.
Ohyo Collapsabottle 1000mlEvery Ohyo is BPA-free (which is important to note especially when allowing children to handle and drink from a bottle or cup), dishwasher safe (a relief for those of us with children) and comes with a guarantee.
The only improvement I would make to the Ohyo design is to see if there is a way to integrate a carabineer in to the 500ml bottle. While I prefer to have my daughter keep her possessions inside of her backpack for cleanliness and security while at preschool, the “cool” thing to do is to clip as many things as they can to the outside of their bag. While this is simply a preschool aesthetic request from my daughter, I do wonder if it would make life easier to have an integrated carabineer on both sizes.
So far after a month of daily use the Ohyo 1000ml and 500ml sizes have proven to be durable, easy to use, easy to store and easy to clean. I cannot think of anything else you could ask from a bottle. If you liked this article, check out the useful parenting tips at Best for Mums.
For more information, please visit www.ohyo.me.
– Alex (Dos)