I was on the prowl for a simple water bottle a few months back and stumbled on the SOMAwater bottle during my search. They made some waves when they first came out based on their no-frills approach to design, and their willingness to donate to charity: water for every filter they sell out of their flagship water pitcher product.
Sadly, these products aren’t available in Canada, so I picked one up while I was traveling in LA. After using it for a month, here is my SOMA water bottle review.
The simple packaging invokes what’s inside.
The back of the box contains some information on the charity they participate in, as well as some essential details of the product.
The box slides open to reveal the bottle in a small paper sleeve.
At 17oz. its a pretty decent size, but it would be nice for a choice on something a bit bigger as well.
If you’re looking for a SOMA water bottle a little bolder, it’s available in 3 other colors.
The cap is leak proof with an outer shell consisting of bamboo. Update: I've discovered that a lot of people are having quality issues with these caps after seeing the wood separate from the plastic.
It seals well — I haven’t been worried about carrying this full and sealed inside of my bag.
It has a soft silicone shell over the bottle so it grips well, and should protect the glass in case of a fall. The biggest problem with this bottle, and why I can't recommend it is that the silicone is rounded at the base, so I’ve found it tips over far too easily. If you so much as tap this thing while it's standing upright, it's bound to come crashing to the floor.
The bottle is made from BPA-free, borosilicate glass which just so happens to be shatterproof.
One thing I’ve noticed when looking online for bottles was the abundance of branding all over everything. The soft debossed SOMA logo on the silicone was one of the most subtle I found.
Final thoughts
Overall, I’m becoming a fan of SOMA. It’s nice to see some new products in a space where everything seems to look identical, and the charity donations are a nice touch. That said, this bottle has a crippling design flaw with the rounded silicone base, which means it tips over way too often. If they address this issue in a redesign, I feel like they would have a nice product on their hands, but as it stands (no pun intended), I can't recommend this based on it's existing design.
