In 2013, Hydrapak introduced its SoftFlask series of soft-sided TPU water bottles designed to collapse into your pocket. The design seemed handy, but we wondered why the company chose to use a rather big, bulging bottom on a design meant to pack small. It addresses this shortcoming with the all-new Stash. The Stash's collapsible TPU body is paired with a flat bottom that snaps together with the top, making the packed bottle even easier to transport.
When you're at home or in town, you finish up your water and then put the bottle in the dishwasher or recycling bin. But when you're out jogging or hiking without a recycling bin or backpack handy, you're basically stuck carrying around a useless bottle.
The SoftFlask provided a nice solution to that problem, and the 25-oz (750-ml) Stash adds an extra level of convenience. In place of the uneven base of the SoftFlask, the Stash has a molded flat bottom welded to its TPU body. The bottom allows the bottle to stand up and also snaps together with the top when you collapse the body down, creating a disc measuring 2 in high and 3.5 in diameter (5 x 8.9 cm).
When you think about the option of carrying an empty, full-sized 25-oz bottle around on the last two miles of your run or hike versus sliding a disc in your pocket, the Stash's advantage is clear. Stash discs can also nest together, so you can store multiple bottles more easily. Even if you have a backpack or vehicle, a few collapsed Stash bottles can save a whole lot of valuable space over hard bottles of the same volume.
The BPA-free, dishwasher-safe Stash bottles will hit the market in late fall (Northern Hemisphere) in blue, orange, green and smoke colors. Each will retail for US$17.99 and come with a 43-mm screw top and nylon finger strap. Hydrapak also plans to offer a twist-lock bite valve accessory.
Source: Hydrapak
