The Contigo Purity is a 20 fluid ounce glass bottle with a stainless steel screw cap. Being glass, water tastes great from this bottle. It's also plastic-free, which makes it more intriguing for many consumers, especially with its small price tag ($15). It even looks pretty, but unfortunately, good looks wasn't one of our metrics. Outside the taste category, this bottle didn't score very highly. Get more details on how it performed below.
The Contigo Purity has a straightforward design with an unattached stainless steel cap, glass body, and silicone sleeve. It also comes with a fancy lanyard that more closely resembles a bracelet, which we were comfortable using when carrying the bottle by hand, but not when attaching it to our packs. We did enjoy drinking from its glass mouth, which is more narrow than the Lifefactory, yet still wide enough to fit most ice cubes. The silicone sleeve also provides a comfortable grip.
In our use of the Contigo bottle, we found a handful of minor annoyances that added up to make this bottle less attractive, despite its pretty looks. For starters, the steel lid makes a grinding sound/feeling when screwing on and off that got under our skin. More, the metal attachment point for the lanyard rubs sharply against your hand if you are not careful when placing or removing the cap. It was also the most wobbly bottle we tested, and the most top-heavy. We don't think glass bottles should be so easy to tip over.
The Contigo Purity did pass our leak test. However, their website says “DO NOT carry bottles containing liquid in bags to help prevent accidental opening.” We preferred bottles that were trusted not only by us, but also their company.
We found that drinking water from glass bottles, like the Contigo Purity and Lifefactory, provided the purest taste. Both products scored perfectly in our general taste test, and did not impart any flavors in our 24 hour taste test.
In our flavor retention test, the Contigo carried over only a trace scent and taste of the sports drink following hand washing and refilling with plain water. However, after cleaning the bottle again with baking soda and vinegar, it no longer had any remnants of the sports drink.
The Contigo bottle's thick silicone sleeve provides decent protection for its fragile glass body. We were pleasantly surprised that it survived our drop test on its bottom. However, the stainless steel cap, though, does very little to absorb the impact force. As expected, the Contigo Purity completely shattered in our drop test on its cap.
Using a bottle brush, warm water, and soap, it took us an average of one minute and thirty seconds to clean the Contigo Purity. We didn't incorporate removing the sleeve in the cleaning process, as this doesn't need to be done each cleaning. Being plastic-free and non-insulated, this bottle is the only one we reviewed that we are comfortable tossing in the dishwasher, cap, body, and all.
The Contigo weighs 18.5 ounces empty, making it the heaviest bottle in this review. The Lifefactory beats it out by 0.4 ounces, but also holds two more fluid ounces.
If you are looking for a completely plastic-free bottle to use at work and at home, this bottle is the best choice of the bottles we reviewed.
The Contigo Purity costs $15. While it doesn't provide a lot of bang for that sort of cash, it is important to point out that this bottle has no plastic, which is cheaper to produce. We find that it presents a good value for anyone looking to go plastic-free.
The Contigo Purity certainly has lots of room for improvement, especially in its ease of use and durability. It was rarely our bottle of choice (out of the ten reviewed) for any use. However, it does provide a decent option for consumers who want an affordable, plastic-free bottle.
The Contigo Purity only comes in the 20 oz size and does not have alternative caps. You can purchase replacements for the lanyard and cap on the company's website.
The Contigo Brush Kit includes 3 brushes suited to clean a variety of bottle types.
