The newest trending water bottle, Owala, is far from appealing. Not only are the water bottles hideous with their mix-match colors but, they could also be considered dysfunctional.

Owala produces color combinations that are outrageous. For example, styles like the Gemstone Chic consists of a burnt orange color, maroon, vibrant purple, light orange, sky blue and a dark teal. If that combination is hard to imagine I can assure you it’s not pretty. The brand focuses on these odd color combinations. Muted tones are available, but there are far fewer options. 

I find that these bottles come in odd shapes that do not appeal to me. For people that prefer a clean look the color and shape of these cups do not meet those expectations.

Students like senior Olivia King opted for a solid white Owala water bottle and was disappointed when two days after coming in the mail, the spring operated button broke.

“Literally two days later the button cracked in half, and wouldn’t close right after that. I don’t care to use it anymore so I just use my other plain water bottles.” King said.

The flaws do not stop there. Unlike other popular water bottles like Stanleys or Yetis. Owalas can’t hold hot water causing it to have fewer options for users. Hot water can cause pressure to build up in the closed off container and result in spraying. 

While several other bottles can keep water ice cold, ranging from 48 to 72 hours, tests show that Owala is closer to the 24 hour mark.

This generation seems to take interest in trending water bottles from the classic Gatorade squirt bottles to Swells then Hydroflasks and most recently Stanleys. Most of us grew up in this timeline of water bottle trends where everyone started buying them to fit in. In my opinion, Owala water bottles do not live up to expectations and should not be popular. These water bottles are just another social media trend that makes me question the judgment of others and wonder if it’s popularity is due to good marketing rather than value of the product.