BPA Has been in the news a lot lately, even prompting legislation in states such as California. Luckily, manufacturers have responded to growing customer concerns by producing a variety of BPA free options. Here are the top three water bottles by the top three canteen manufacturers, plus a fourth favorite thrown in:

Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Klean Kanteen makes the number one BPA-free Water Bottle in this author’s opinion. It was one of the first water bottles on the market specifically designed deal with the problem of off-gassing. Klean Kanteen utilizes stainless steel, thus bypassing the need for any suspicious plastics (except in the cap!). Stainless steel takes the environmental quotient to the next level, as this durable material will last for many years. Our testers could only find two small items of constructive criticism with Klean Kanteen. First, the painted models tend to chip rather easily when subjected to a few months of a rugged lifestyle. This issue might be solved by having your Kanteen powder coated the next time you need to paint your bike frame. A powder-coat for your water bottle will not only provide a durable finish, but it will also match your bike! Or you could choose the unpainted, bare metal version, another attractive option. And finally, some of the more stubborn water bottle users (such as the author) might be tempted to put hot beverages into their metal Klean Kanteens, which they were not designed for. Scroll down to option 4 if you are tired of burning yourself with your tea.

2. The Nalgene Tritan Wide Mouth BPA-Free Water Bottle

Nalgene is the water bottle with perhaps the most historical cred. The company started out making laboratory equipment such as beakers and graduated cylinders. In the 70s, all those chemistry grad students took their Nalgene bottles backpacking, and as the greater population became more eco-conscious, the trend caught on. Nerds influenced culture way before there was an iPod in everyone’s pocket! Now Nalgene is setting second-wave eco standards with its BPA-Free Models. From a practical standpoint, Nalgene  bottles may insulate a little better and weigh a little less than stainless steel, and they are clear with volume measurements etched on the sides. This is important if you want to use your water bottle for, say, capturing and examining weird newts or measuring the volume of your urine down to the milliliter. If I may throw in a word of caution here (and if you will excuse my use of scientific jargon) even the BPA-free Nalgene bottles are still plastic, and still may contain wicked-bad resins or be subject to gnarly off-gassing, especially if you are dousing them with hot tea. That said, my grandfather was blowing up the lab with Nalgene equipment, my dad brought his Nalgene bottle with him when he was smoking too much pot and hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and now I am using my Nalgene bottle to make a buck or two on the Internet. A sign of the times?

3. CamelBak BPA-Free Better Bottle with Bite Valve

Ditto almost everything I said about Nalgene except the historical stuff. Though CamelBak does offer the imagery of having a big hump on your back like a camel, which I can say a few twisted individuals are really really into. Also, it seems like there is something inherently kinky in the phrase “Bite Valve,” no?

4. Klean Kanteen Wide Mouth Insulated Water Bottle

Finally, this baby will keep your mojito cold and your hot toddies hot! This item is not such a big seller on Amazon, which goes to show that there are not nearly enough alcoholics shopping on Amazon. Or at least not a lot of alcoholic backpackers, but that makes sense because booze is heavy. Which weighs less for the same amount of party: a case of PBR, or a quarter ounce of weed? Weed was invented by backpackers! I, however, commute and camp by bicycle, so I can excuse an extra layer of stainless steel to keep my beverage of choice the right temperature while the wind is whipping across it. So please please please buy your schlock from Amazon after clicking on one of my links instead of those fools who reviewed like 12 water bottles by sending them into outer space, etc. We already know this site is a bold faced experiment in capitalism. I really really want one of these insulated water bottles. Puhleeze?