Sincro Design

Welcome 2011. Bring it on!! We are excited about the interesting challenges that the coming year will bring, marking the beginning of a distinct new chapter in our lives.

I thought I'd make a post about bottles. My interest in water bottles has been flared of late so here are some pics of ones I have run into recently.

I was at the Auckland (New Zealand) International Airport the other day where I saw this bottle, of what appeared to be water, being advertised. My first impression of the picture on the sign was that the bottle looked quite nice. Once I'd been through customs there was a stand with them for sale. I was in a bit of a hurry but stopped anyway to have a look at the bottle. The guys offered me a sample of the drink which turns out is an 'Aerotonic hydrating fluid' or something (translates to strange weak lemon lime infused water.) I kindly declined the sample and asked how much they cost. AU $5, Sold. The guy had started to give me the run down on how it would vastly improve my flying experience, again I kindly cut the conversation short, explaining that I really only wanted it for the bottle anyway.

The bottle of the 1Above has a cup which takes the form of a cap for the flask. It is pretty neat and felt like it would have been nice to drink from if I had had the chance (see down). From the 1 litre bottle I managed to down about 600ml during the course of the flight, worked well as a chaser for the nasty 'Lamb dish' (I use both terms very lightly) that we were served.

The bottle was equipped with a 'baggage clip' that was designed to clip onto the strap of your baggage as you made your way through the terminal, which would be great if it worked. As I went to retrieve my passport from my bag it tipped slightly and fell off meeting the soft embrace of series of escalator treads. The cap/cup cracked, luckily the actual flask did not - surprising really considering how thin the plastic is.

The next bottle is one we have all heard of, the Kor water vessel. My sister was kind enough to give me this one for Christmas and get it shipped to New Zealand while I was away (Thanks Chook :). I have always liked this bottle, theres a simple beauty about it, which combines clean lines with honest mechanism. The features of the bottle are well integrated into the design and considers the drinking experience rather well. I have a couple of little constructive ccritisisms. The first being that it is does not fit standing up on standard fridge shelves, tested in three fridges, obviously not a major issue but I don't think I should have to lay it down and risk damaging the polished clear plastic.

The second being the packaging that it was sent in. This order, 1(one) bottle, was sent in a box that was designed for 4(four) of these bottles! Considering the message of environmental conservation and moral responsibility that this company obviously tries to portray, it was disappointing to see it packaged in this manor. The box had writing which encouraged re-use then recycle, this seemed like a very weak effort in my opinion. I think it proves the lack of THOROUGH commitment to sustainable design that many companies attempt to sell. I'm not saying I am super sustainability conscious, but I'm not running around trying to claim I am, yet. /rant.

If you actually read that you're probably keen for some photos now.

The final bottle I have been looking at lately is the Water Bobble which can be purchased for the seemingly reasonable price of AU $15. This bottle uses a graphite filter to effectively remove contaminants from your drinking water. The bottle is about the right size for a sports bottle, is very light and is available in bright quirky colours. The only foreseeable issue is the longevity of the plastic bottle - it is only marginally thicker than that of your regular pet coke bottle. Still, it is cheap, fun and filters your water :)

A noteworthy inclusion to this post is one that I find to be a well balanced bottle on face value, I would like to see this bottle in the flesh or read a thorough review before purchase. Combining an interesting functional design with the added benefit of water filtration and at a nice capacity of 500ml, this Australian designed bottle appears to be a good choice.