What’s the Deal With Okapa’s $300 Water Bottle?

“What does it do? will?” my friend asked as we sat on the chrome-pink table, staring at the cylinder to see the future. “It’s just a water bottle,” I said.

“It doesn’t filter your water? Keep track of how much you drink?” he asked. I shrugged. “No, I think it looks great.” My friend was asking because Okapa, a brand with only one product, sells it The flagship water bottle is $295.

Context, the highest end water bottle Around $50, or $100-150 with fancy features like self-cleaning UV lights, built-in filters or app connectivity to monitor your drinking habits. When a brand charges much more than market value, it’s usually for two reasons: either it’s a luxury product meant as a status symbol, or it solves a consumer problem that no one else is cracking.

Okapa claims to do both. Its Instagram bio says “Luxury Hydration,” and it’s tapping the fashion world to find its clients, partnering with a small designer for a New York Fashion Week runway show. But, in addition, Okapa claims its bottle redefines hygiene and sustainability, using materials commonly found in medical and aerospace applications.

In fact, Okapa says it took eight years of R&D and more than 10,000 prototypes to achieve the “micron-level precision” of its bottle, securing more than 70 patents worldwide in the process. Incidentally, if you’re wondering what okapa means, or where it came from, apparently, according to the company, it’s a mindset. “We call it ‘The State of Okapa’ where the unthinkable is being realized,” says the website Bamff. The site then adds that the bottle itself is “a technical feat of engineering without reason.”

Hardy Steinman, founder of Okapa, is no stranger to the luxury market, or indeed hyperbolic product promises. cut his teeth Marketing and sales for high-end watch brands in the 80s and 90s Hublot In the US, the Swatch Group is then being relaunched Hamilton See global brands.

However, do those medical and aerospace materials really make a difference in a water bottle? Can a water bottle really redefine hygiene? I tested it for about two months and talked to a medical toxicology expert to find out.

Initial thoughts

Before I even got my hands on the water bottle, I looked at the website. It has a retro video game aesthetic with pixelated text and sliding transitions. Even the user manual is illustrated in the same playful style. And I’m a sucker for a company that puts so much intent into branding design and overall vibe.

When I unboxed the water bottle, I was even more sold. These things are beautiful. The lines are clean, the dot pattern is eye-catching, and the finish has a soft matte sheen that looks and feels expensive. I found the pinkish-yellow colorway (“peach copperware”), but there are eight in total, ranging from black to bright red. Each has a name that sounds more like a character from a budget sci-fi movie than a color, such as “Red Rumble” or “Mitsy Pinkoo.”

With such a distinctive design, will my fancy water bottle be the envy of my peers or strangers? Can they say so much? I’ve toted it through airports, to spas, to work events in New York City, and on trains in Europe. I put it in my hand, waved it from my fingers, fished for praise. I didn’t get any.

Test experience

Water bottles are a pretty basic product, so the engineering and detail of the Okapa bottle surprised me. First, it’s really satisfying to drink from. A push of a button opens the lid and lets out a clear little “pop” as the spring-loaded top returns. It’s smooth to open with one hand, and as you tilt the bottle to get every last drop, the cap stays neatly out of the way instead of flopping forward to catch you on the forehead.

The mouthpiece fits perfectly when you purse your lips, and the Swiss-made Grillmead plastic feels softer and more premium than most. It also has a locking mechanism that works exceptionally well. Even when I forgot to engage the locked mode, the cap didn’t open in my bag. (I once destroyed a laptop when an oval opened mid-commute, so I appreciate a trusty latch.)