KEEGO water bottle – the amazing flexible titanium alternative to plastic

Keego, an Austrian company, presented their latest squeezable titanium bottles at Eurobike, and they seem to be a truly innovative alternative to the ubiquitous plastic water bottles.
Before we get into the technicalities of how they achieved to make titanium squeezable and into the details of the bottle, let’s first look at the advantages of a titanium bottle over conventional bottles.

The issue with “plastic” bottles

Most conventional “plastic” bottles are made out of HDPE. HDPE is generally accepted to be one of the better plastics, safe for use with food and water (“One, four, five and two, all of these are good for you.” One is PET, two is high-density polyethylene (HDPE), four is low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and five is polypropylene (PP)).
However, all plastics contain some residual chemicals that were necessary during manufacture. These may include catalysts that assist the polymerization reaction, traces of unreacted raw material, and additives typically compounded along with polymer resin before forming the final product, such as UV-blockers, stabilizers, plasticizers, colorants, and antioxidants. Studies have found that HDPE does leach some oestrogenic chemicals (exposure to estrogenic substances can lead to endocrine diseases.)
In addition to chemical leaching, plastic bottles tend to degrade and become more mold-prone over time, another risk to taste and health.

Alternatives

There were not any alternatives until now, as bottles made of steel (or worse: glass) are rigid and not squeezable, making it impossible to increase the flow rate and hydrate fast during a ride or spray a dog that comes charging at you (an excellent defense tactic!). In addition, hard bottles are a no-no on group rides, as they’d pose a significant hazard if they get dropped or fly off going over a bump.

Keego’s squeezable titanium

KEEGO is based in Vienna, and their journey started in 2016 with an idea to make a bottle that does not expose its content to plastic. Their technological breakthrough came about in 2017 when they layered a thin inner layer of titanium with elastic polymers that provide the “bounce-back” action, making the bottle walls squeezable. The current generation is Gen 4 – they call it “Stage 4”.
The weight of a 750ml bottle is 86g (compared to around 75g for a plastic bottle such as the popular CamelBak Podium) for 750ml of volume. The inside is entirely titanium, which is easily cleanable and prevents mold growth.
The bottles come with an “EasyClean” cap with an X-cut that opens when the bottle is squeezed; push-pull caps are also available for purchase. Should you ride in muddy or dusty conditions, you can purchase a dust cap as an extra.
Three colors, Electric Blue, Titanium White, and Dark Matter (black), are available.

New in the line-up is a Fidlock version, that works with the magnetic Fidlock bottle attachment system.

The dark matter bottle can be personalized with text on the cap for an extra EUR 10.

KEEGO recently introduced their KEEGO Refresh program to recycle their old bottles by sending them in for a discount of 20% on a new bottle. They plan to start the actual recycling in March 2022, as for obvious reasons, they need to amass enough bottles for the recycling to become commercially viable.
KEEGO currently only ship within Europe (including the U.K.). I have enquired about worldwide shipping and will update here should they expand to other delivery destinations.
Are the KEEGO bottles expensive? You might think so, as EUR 39.90 is steep for a bottle (although that gets cheaper when you buy a second bottle at 50% off). If you consider these bottles can last you much longer than a standard plastic bottle, are safe to drink from, don’t impact taste even in the heat, and are easy to clean, then in my opinion, they are absolutely worth the extra cost. Their durability, long expected life, and recently announced recycling program make them the second product on YellowCrank to deserve a green THIS marker.
Read more about the bottle at KEEGO’s website: KEEGO.

Product	KEEGO
Price	EUR 39.90 (second bottel at 50% off; enquire for price for bulk orders)
Brand	KEEGO
International Shipping available	Yes, EU and UK
Company Location	Austria
Manufacturing Country	Denmark
Sustainability Info	recycling program, reduced plastic in packaging, long durability
Product / Company link	KEEGO

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