Ringing through the halls and clanging on the floors, it’s high school’s latest status symbol: the Hydroflask.
It’s 7:49am on a Tuesday morning as you’re entering Central High School. You’re shaking in your shoes, partly because of how cold it is outside (in April) but mostly because of the terror that awaits, and I’m not talking about class. As the clock strikes 7:50am, all the colors of the rainbow and the sound of clanging stainless steel fills the hallways, echoing all of the money spent on an insulated, sticker display. If you haven’t guessed it by now, yes, I’m talking about the famous Hydroflasks. They keep your water colder than the icicles on the rooftop of your house, but other than that, what else are they good for? Well, here’s what some of your fellow classmates had to say.
“It’s a handy water bottle that is durable as well as stylish,” Caden Lefler told me. “I love the fact that I am able to cover it in stickers and design it my way.” If having the option of choosing a variety of different bright colors wasn’t enough, the trend to cover these water bottles with stickers makes it appear even more colorful. Are there other reasons for owning these noise makers? “It’s hip,” Stephen Dewitt stated. It seems that if you don’t own a Hydroflask, you’re kicked out of the unspoken “cool kid” group. However, sometimes these water bottles are not all they’re hyped up to be. Remington Redetzke helped me see from a different perspective on Hydroflasks: “While they do keep my drinks cold, they tend to dent easily.”
I still remember the first day of school my junior year. I was filling up my water bottle with a now graduated senior, and her brand spanking new, purple Hydroflask. She asked me to shove it into the side pocket of her backpack once she was done at the water fountain. I happily agreed. There was an issue with the width of her backpack and the size of the pocket; it did not agree with the size of her water bottle. I gave it one hearty shove but it missed the pocket and came crashing down onto the floor. We were both in shock as she picked it up off of the floor. My life flashed before my eyes as we both saw a dent as new as her Hydroflask towards the top, which turned out to be a perfect spot for your thumb. Moral of this story: Hydroflasks are scary. Just kidding, they dent easily.
But hey, if you are a proud owner of one, then by no means is this article meant to call you out. Some of us are content with a water bottle from the dollar store. No matter what kind of bottle holds your water, we can all be cool kids, whether you own a Hydroflask or not.
Photo by Stephanie Hight
The Pine Needle 