Sigg Sport Bottles With Active Top Hands-On

Since the time we got our hands on Bobble's active filtering plastic-made water bottles, Sigg has introduced its new aluminum made, durable water bottles featuring a new smart drinking system Sigg calls Active Top. If you ever considered getting yourself a reusable water bottle, suffice to say you're familiar with this Swiss household name. Sigg has started the metal bottle revolution with its original aluminum bottles that featured the iconic screw-in loop bottle top designed in a way that lets hikers and mountain climbers attach their bottle to the rest of their gear using a secure carabineer clip. The new Active Top equipped Sigg bottles bring an even easier and secure way of drinking while at the gym, work and out in the great outdoors without taking your eyes off the prize. 

The new Active Top Sigg bottles have a sporty look and come in a variety of colors, styles and sizes ranging from the largest at 34oz (1L), 25oz (.75L), 20oz (.6L) and the smallest Active Top bottles geared towards children complete with cutesy colorful designs at 13.5oz (.4L). Sigg's 34oz and 25oz Active Top bottles carry the same price of $27, the 20oz at $25 and the smallest of them all is priced at $23. Sigg provided us with their 1L Siggnificant Black and .75L Dynamic White styled bottles for reference.

Sigg's new Active Top bottles are designed for plain water and even carbonated beverages alike. The bottles feature a rotating top that's essentially a smart closure and ventilation system with four set positions; close - air - open - clean. The Active Top's valve is designed to let air pressure out from stored carbonated beverages before reaching the Active Top's open position so to avoid a sudden burst of energy squirting you in the face.

The great thing about Sigg's Active Top mechanism is it allows you to drink from the bottle as you would drink from a cup using a straw without having to unscrew the cap off or tilt your head back when drinking out of the bottle thanks to the integrated silicone drinking straw. Attached to that is a replaceable rubbery bite valve that not only insures that the bottle doesn't spill liquid when knocked over if left in the "open" position, but also lets you control the flow much like the bite valve on a hydration pack. To drink you need to bite on the valve and suck the water out. Very awkward at first, but you end up getting the hang of it the more you use it. The mouth piece is protected with a plastic cap that sadly isn't attached to the top itself, so prepare to lose it.

While Sigg's classic bottles are widely available to this day, the new Sigg Active Top bottles are the next step forward in innovating an easier and more secure way of drinking liquid out of these durable bottles. Many considered Sigg bottles to be tried and true until the day it was revealed that Sigg used a liner containing BPA in all of their bottles. Not that Sigg advertised their bottles to be BPA-free, but it was a big disappointment that such a big company didn't do something about it until just recently while just about every bottle out there contains no harmful substances. Fortunately Sigg changed all that.

The good news is that now all of Sigg's bottles including the new Active Top sport bottles are completely made using BPA-free materials. That includes every single part that makes up each bottle and Active Top.

Unlike drinking from a straw where you've got a steady and smooth stream of liquid flow, the Active Top's mouth piece opens up a small slit where your liquid is sucked thru but at a fast stop and go motion rather than a fluid stream. It feels like the water is being sucked with pockets of air in between. If you ever used a plastic straw with a cracked slit in it to sip your beverage, this is very similar to it. We're not so keen on this new concept, but we guess it's just a matter of adjusting yourself to this way of sipping via the way of biting down to control the flow. We quite like the new Active Top concept. Sigg's new bottles are easy to use and look great. But they won't win the hearts of everyone with their bite valve which takes readjustment.

Twist the top to the desired position and each position will click into place. Turning the top to the "clean" position will let you pull the top apart for individual part cleaning when using anything other than plain water. Putting the parts back together is simple.

As for the durability of the finish on these bottles, the black paint on the Siggnificant Active Top bottle will end up getting scratch marks on it that show the silvery metal underneath. That's the cool thing about aluminum bottles though. Plastic looks awful when is gets scuff marks and scratches all over it, but these aluminum bottles only look tougher with some of the wear and tear that the metal surface shows with use. With that said, Sigg bottles have immaculate paint jobs. If you want yours to hold up better over time, the rougher textured finish of the Dynamic White Sigg bottle is a great choice. It's a lot more durable and offers more grip over Siggs smooth, shinier color finishes such as the Siggnificant black Active Top bottle.

One of the very few disadvantages we've encountered handling one of the the Sigg bottles, the slick 34oz (1L) Siggnificant Active Top bottle, was that without a convenient carry handle found on most competitor bottles it's less comfortable to carry around. If you plan on holding your bottle more often, we suggest you consider going for the narrower and much grippier 25oz (.75L) Dynamic Active Top bottle.

Interior coated with crack-resistant, leach-proof, BPA-free liner that prevents any chemicals and metal taste leaching into your liquid and is safe to use with energy drinks, fruit acids and carbonation.

Each Sigg bottles includes instructions on how to use, clean and replace the new Active Top mechanism and parts. The entire assembly can be broken down into separate parts for cleaning.