The Bink Water Bottle is good but not great — here are the pros and cons of the new Insta-famous bottle

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'Tis the season for another trendy water bottle to take over our Instagram feeds and pop up in our gyms. The Bink Water Bottle is a new addition to the cool girl bottle family, with rounded edges, a soft silicone sleeve, and hourly hydration goals.

We tested the Bink Bottle to see if it deserves a spot among Owala, Stanley, and HydroFlask. As of now, the Bink Water Bottle is only available at Target and on the brand's website. There are bottles from 10 to 12 ounces, and you can get a straw or flip cap. We tested a 27-ounce bottle with a flip cap so we could evaluate leaks and how comfortable it was to tote around all day.

Here's what we think: Like a lot of trending products, the Bink is good but not great and a little overpriced. The Business Insider lifestyle team agreed with us, saying the Bink barely edges out the Stanley Cup.

Check out more of the best water bottles we've tested. If you're looking for a better-performing social media bottle, read our Owala review.

The flip-top lid is leakproof

Credit where credit is due: the flip-top lid has some awesome qualities. As an accident-prone person, I'm always knocking things over, and the Bink bottle never spilled once. I flipped it over and laid it sideways in my bag without any drips or spills. The entire flip cap can be disassembled for washing by hand or in the dishwasher — though it takes some elbow grease to separate the parts.

The hydration guide wasn't intuitive

The silicone sleeve has two gaps that reveal the liquid inside, and on each side of each gap are slightly raised numbers spanning the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in two-hour intervals. However, this is not a giant jug that holds all the water for your entire day. The guide system relies on you drinking a full bottle (27 ounces in this case) in four hours, promptly refilling it, and doing that three times a day.

I liked how the silicone sleeve felt, but I'm also concerned about cleaning. The sleeve isn't glued to the glass, so there are gaps that crumbs and small debris could creep into. It is very hard to remove the sleeve and even harder to get it back on.

Glass doesn't retain flavor, but it doesn't maintain temperature either

The pro of glass is that it does not hold onto flavors, so you can easily switch from water to flavored drinks. The big con is that it does not hold onto temperatures as well as stainless steel or vacuum-insulated containers. I put ice and cold water in the Bink Bottle in the morning and the water was still cold two hours later, but the ice cubes were gone. If ice water is your way of life, this isn't the bottle for you. Plus, it's pretty heavy for a bottle without insulation.

What are your alternatives?

Among the trendy water bottles we've tested, a few have lived up to the hype. The Owala FreeSip bottle has an innovative dual lid that allows you to sip from the straw or swig through the wider opening. Plus, it keeps water icy cool all day.

If you want a tumbler, the BrüMate Era Tumbler far surpassed the Stanley Cup in our tests. We loved the silicone accents, metal straw, and locking lid. The tumbler's shape felt more ergonomic and less bulky to carry around during the day.

The bottom line

I definitely like this bottle, but there's nothing truly innovative about it. The lid is leakproof, the carrying loop is comfortable to hold, and I love the overall bubbly-cute aesthetic. However, the spout is small, the hydration tracking is a little confusing, and the bottle is surprisingly heavy. I'm not sure if $38 is a great price for a 27-ounce bottle that ranks in the middle of the pack.