Hidrate Spark Steel Edition PRO 946ml Straw Deep Blue

Very good product, works well. For medical reasons I was told to drink more water by my consultant. This water bottle did the trick and I’m drinking water regularly through smart reminders.

Amazing bottle, keeps my drink cold overnight with no problem, tracks my water intake and reminds me to drink (I’m autistic so this gives me a level of independence on that). Great quality and sturdy design

Bottle is good, design is not my favourite there is other non smart water bottles out there that looks so much better this imo. Slightly annoying that you have to put down your bottle every time to make sure the bottle measure precisely or when you refill. I wish there would be a button you can press to start the measurements.My biggest issue is with the mobile app tho. I am a night owl, that means I am awake way past midnight. The app doesnt let you change when the day starts or finish, so most of the time if I dont drink anything after midnight and wake up 9-10 am I am already behind of schedule and to reach my daily goal I have to drink so much so quickly that makes me feel so bad. I wish I could tell the app that my day ends 2am and starts at 9 am so I am not forced to drink so much, just to catch up with my daily intake. (the app starts the day at 6 am, like there is no way I am going to wake up at the middle of night just to drink, unless there is a plane to catch I am sleeping till 9) So yeah, recommended but not a perfect product imo.

What can I say - be patient, let it calibrate, let it sync and don't sweat being a couple of mil out.Manage your expectations and definitely charge the puck until the LED lights are solid.Been using for 3 days now and am totally happy with my purchase.Reminders are perfect and drinking goals throughout the day are achievable and well managed by the app.I have the 500ml and possible should have gone slightly larger as I do find myself refilling a lot during the day but that's the point right? To reach your water consumption.Once I take a couple of glugs, I set the bottle down and wait and the base glows which shows me it has measured my last consumption.Also be patient when refilling, set the bottle down and wait for it to confirm the calibration, this is seconds unless you have placed the bottle on an uneven surface or the liquid is still sloshing about. Be gentle and you'll be fine.If you want to measure your water intake to the milliliter then this bottle isn't for you.If, like me, you went for weeks without drinking any water then this is a must have if you want to start feeling less lethargic almost immediately. Be prepared for more trips to the toilet too. It is inevitable..

Terrible instructions, isn’t charging, app isn’t measuring intake, you literally can’t get a mouthful out of the bottle unless it’s full. Terrible product

Love it! Only downside is you can't use with hot liquids or carbonated drinks but I only really use mine for water anyway as I use it to try to be healthier! I love that you can change the colour of the light, I have mine on rainbow! Whenever I drink from it (and I've had mine for ages now) I wait to watch the bottle glow! Nobody can even continue a conversation until it's glowed I get so excited like a little kid! The app is easy to use and you can add hydration from other sources of you've drank from something other than the bottle. I love that you can buy spare parts for it incase of damage or wanting to clean (ei buying spares of the part that holds the water so you always have a clean one to hand)! The app notifications can get annoying but you that's personal preference and you can change them in the app really easily! I rarely leave reviews but this was totally worth it! I did worry it would be a waste of money but I already own three metal water bottles so figured I might as well give it a go!

UPDATED Review After Further UseI was a bit hesitant to purchase this given it is the most expensive smart water bottle on Amazon (and probably on the market). After reading the other reviews, I took the plunge. There are good and bad points.For clarity, I am not affiliated with either Amazon of Hidrate and am not receiving anything in return for this review. I paid for the item myself and felt compelled to lay out my thoughts.The WobbleYes, it does wobble a little bit but not anything that would make you think it would fall over or be unstable. It’s so small that I wouldn’t bring up the fact aside from another reviewer on here mentioned it.The sensor needs the bottle to be upright on a flat surface to take readings, so if it’s in a car cup holder, this will cause problems. Not something that’s affected me as I’m in lockdown, but it is something to note.Materials & CleaningOverall it feels solidly built and relatively light, but time will tell if it can handle the rigours of day to day use. I purchased the version with the straw lid and really like this. It feels safe and that there would be no way the straw could come open without you physically interacting with it intentionally.The case is easy to grip and quickly dries with a cloth. Note: Some parts are cloth clean, and others and hand wash only.Charging & BatteryIt has a proprietary charge cable which I can see causing problems if you lose it or it breaks. You can buy replacement parts on the official store so should you need to replace this you will have that option. It would have been nice if it had been a universal charger connection like micro USB. Charging from opening the box it came in took a few hours to full.Calibrating The SensorCalibrating is simple through the app, and you have to calibrate before first use. When calibrating, it has to be empty first then filled at the next stage. One thing to note is there is no fill line you are just advised to fill to the bottom of the thread at the top of the bottle.Sensor LoosenessAll the magic happens in the sensor that sits inside the underneath of the bottle. This sensor is an all in one unit that simply twists a quarter turn and sits in place in the base. There is one problem I have found, and it seems others have as well. The sensor sometimes comes loose. This is not “wiggle” lose as in when it is in place but lose as in it unscrews slightly.I didn’t really think this was an issue as I just made sure that it was locked in place every time I refilled the bottle.BUTI then realised that the unit was misreporting the total volume of liquid/consumption. To fix this problem, you have to recalibrate. This is a pain as it means you have to empty the bottle in order to recalibrate then refill it again. If it has incorrectly taken readings, you also have to go into the app and delete them.As you can tell, this means a simple process becomes annoying and a painfully repetitive user experience.Hidrate AppThe app overall is easy to use with a great UI and the bottle is simple to connect to via Bluetooth. I’ve yet to see how long the rechargeable battery that is sealed in the base will last from a charge. Connecting the bottle the first time is quick and easy.MyFitnessPalOne thing it is lacking is the ability to pass your consumption info to other popular food/liquid apps like MyFitnessPal (which is where food and drink are logged).The app does link to Apple Health, Fitbit, UnderArmour Fitness and Health Mate. The problem is that with MyFitnessPal being the most used app for this type of consumption logging, this device is missing a massive part of the smart app market.The whole idea of a smart water bottle is to log and track consumption which comes up against a brick wall with this lack of handshaking between apps. Again bad user experience having to manually enter this end of day data into MyFitnessPal.I just don’t understand why the team behind this product would go to the effort of connecting to the API’s of all these other apps but then not bother with the most used one on the market.Bluetooth Connectivity & LED LightFrom a technical point of view, the Bluetooth beacon on this isn’t that strong, so you will need to be in pretty close proximity to the bottle to sync. This probably won’t be an issue for most people as you will have your phone next to your bottle on your desk etc. I assume this is by design to use less battery power.It can take up to about 20 seconds for it to trigger a sync after the bottle has been drunk from. Again probably not an issue for most and it isn’t for me. What is a problem is the LED light reaction.For testing, I have mine set so that it will activate the light when I drink from it as well as a reminder if I need to drink more and then when I hit my overall goal for the day.Having tested it for a while, the “blink when you drink” is hit or miss. Even with placing it on the counter afterwards, so it’s flat, it doesn’t always blink. I have tried recalibrating, and it’s still the same.I hope this gets fixed in a firmware update as this is one of the biggest USP’s on this product.Bottle SizeI purchased the larger of the two models and would recommend this version if you are trying to decide which size to go for. Being a middle-aged guy of decent health my goal is four bottle refills a day (as suggested by the app).Only for Cold WaterOne important thing to note! Unlike thermos flasks which are vacuum flasks, this can’t take hot liquids.Ok ok, I know it’s described as a water bottle but the marketing is a bit iffy in promotion it being able to keep liquids cold and that you can use ice but doesn’t highlight specifically that no hot or warm liquids can be used as you can in a normal vacuum flask.On the occasions when I wanted a thermos, I thought this would cover that base, and that factored into my purchasing decision. It was only upon reading the instructions that come with it, I noted it says you should only ever put cool/cold water and no other type of liquid.CommunitySo the one thing I must say is that the official Facebook group has lots of active users/helpers on there and the admin is a representative from the brand who does his best to respond to all comments and questions. This is refreshing to see.Money Grabbing CompanyThe thing that I can’t get over and is a total money grab... not only is this at the top end of the market cost-wise, but the manufacturer has the audacity to then charge you further for the full functionality of the LED ring in the base.I approached Hidrate and enquired as to why they were charging for the simple LED studio function, and their response was that “this specific function was added after the bottle was released to market”. Not really a great answer.If the company were a software house and selling the app or it was a “freemium” app that covered all bottles I could maybe understand this. What I don’t understand and really annoys me is, again, their branding and advertising in no way advise you there is an additional charge on top of the bottle cost if you want to unlock all functionality of the product.It’s like buying a car and then finding out you have to pay to use the windows after you’ve driven it off the lot.Pretty disgusted at this move and if I’d know, it may have swayed my decision to that of not buying it. It feels like a cheap move in the hope that as you have purchased the product and have it in your hand, you will feel obligated to pay the extra cost to line their pockets.SummaryAt the end of the day, this is an expensive smart water bottle that has shortcomings. Some of these will be fixable through future app and firmware updates, but some will need replacement parts or a redesign.If all functions of the app were free then maybe that would help with accepting some of the smaller “quirks”.Hidrate listened to the feedback from previous products and made this model which shows they are receptive to their customers (as also proved by the Facebook group admin), but as with new tech, early adopters are the guinea pigs.The question is, for the most expensive smart water bottle on the market are you happy being a guinea pig tester for a product that has been deemed suitable for the market by the manuifacturer but fails to live up to the advertising and hype?

Total game changer - love it. I was concerned as it is a pricey item but it totally lives up to expectations.