Mira vs Hydro Flask: Which is the Better Bottle

The best water bottle is more than just a vessel you use to hydrate yourself – it’s a companion you carry with you always and everywhere.

This is particularly true for outdoor enthusiasts and all other people who need to frequently hydrate themselves while exploring the backcountry. 

And when it comes to water bottles, long gone are the days of disposable, plastic ones – with materials and features such as glass and stainless steel, spillproof and collapsible options, flip tops, and straw lids, there are a plethora of reusable water bottles to choose from. 

One of the most popular brands of these kinds of bottles is Hydro Flask – it’s an industry pioneer with millions of loyal followers everywhere around the world. But it’s also one of the most expensive ones, so I can’t blame you if you are looking for a Hydro Flask alternative.

For this article, I’ve decided to do a Mira vs Hydro Flask comparison. Specifically, I compared the 24 oz Stainless Steel Bottle by Hydro Flask- with a similar model made by Mira, a more budget-oriented brand. 

Mira vs Hydro Flask – A Product Overview 

Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle

Coming at a fair price for a stainless steel model, this bottle sports a simple design and does not hold onto flavors – always a big plus in my book.

While certainly not a flawless product of this type, Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle is a very good choice for folks who need a cheap flask for around-town use.

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Hydro Flask 24 oz Stainless Steel Bottle

One of the brand’s best-selling models, this hip bottle sports an extremely simple yet very stylish design and costs $20 more than its rival for a couple of good reasons.

It is lightweight, durable, very easy to use, and provides superb insulation that keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for hours on end. It’s a great stainless steel bottle in every sense of that word.

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Mira vs Hydro Flask – The Comparison 

The Insulation

For the price it comes at, Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle is surprisingly good when it comes to maintaining the temperature of warm and cold beverages. However, the model is more suitable for use with cold drinks – the hot steam can burn the mouth even before you take a sip since the bottle’s narrow rim conducts heat. 

The TempShield insulation of the Hydro Flask bottle, on the other hand, is one of the best on the market and does its job very well. While it doesn’t keep hot drinks hot for 12 hours, as the manufacturer claims (it does so for about 8 hours), it is more than capable of keeping one’s cold drink cold for the duration of one entire day. 

Overall, I can safely say that I’m impressed with the insulation properties of both bottles. This is particularly true for the Mira model – the bottle costs significantly less than the Hydro Flask model but it maintains the temperature of various beverages just as well as its rival.

While discussing insulation, it’s intriguing to think about how other brands compare in this aspect. For instance, the debate of Hydrapeak vs Hydro Flask is another comparison enthusiasts often delve into, given the rising popularity of both brands.

The Durability 

Most insulated, stainless steel bottles are always at risk of getting chipped and scratched. While it’s true that they look great when they’re new, these bottles usually end up with a few (or more than a few) scratches after a couple of years of use. 

And when it comes to durability, Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle certainly isn’t among the most rugged products of this type I’ve had a chance to use so far.

In fact, out of all the stainless steel bottles I’ve tested, this one is among those that ended up with the most chips and scratches. After a couple of months of use, the paint on the main body and around the bottle’s lip will start to rub off. 

The Hydro Flask bottle, on the other hand, was built to last – just like all other drinkware designed, manufactured, and sold by this renowned company.

If you decide to fork out $20 more and go for this bottle instead of the one offered by Mira, you can expect it to remain relatively unscathed after months of heavy use. And if your Hydro Flask bottle does end up with a couple of scratches and dents, they won’t affect its performance. 

The Ease of Use

The Mira bottle I’ve decided to compare to a Hydro Flask model in this article has the capacity of 25 ounces, but it’s also available in 17 oz and 12 oz variants. In my opinion, the 25 oz version is not the most comfortable product of this type out there – it feels a bit too wide to sit conveniently in one’s hand. 

Furthermore, Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle lacks a carrying handle, unlike most of the products of this type available on today’s market. Cleaning this bottle, on the other hand, can be quite tricky due to its slender, tall shape. The model’s long body and narrow mouth make it challenging to reach its bottom. 

Hydro Flask’s 24 oz Standard Mouth model, which I’ve featured in this comparison, sports a smaller capacity than its wide-mouth cousin made by the same company but it’s also lighter and more versatile.

While it’s true that the model’s carrying handle feels somewhat narrow, I don’t think anyone will have issues with comfortably fitting at least two fingers into the handle. 

While the model’s narrow mouth allows quick & easy hydration with the cold drinks, it also makes it tricky to drink a hot drink immediately upon filling the bottle with one, just like in the case of Mira’s model.

The reason behind this is simple – the narrow rim conducts heat and you can easily burn your mouth on it. Finally, this narrow opening also makes cleaning and filling the bottle with ice cubes somewhat difficult. 

The Weight 

It goes without saying, but Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle is not something you’ll want to use for fast & light backcountry escapades. Not only is the model heavier than its rival, but it’s also super tall, which is, in my opinion, even more distracting than the model’s weight. It is, therefore, more suitable for around-town use. 

When compared to many of the previous Hydro Flask bottles I’ve had a chance to use, the 24 oz model I’ve featured in this comparison has a lighter feel due to its slightly smaller capacity, narrow width, and sleeker shape. While it’s not that much lighter than the 25 oz bottle offered by Mira, it’s certainly a more portable option. 

The Taste

As I’ve said above, the towering stature of the Mira 25 oz Stainless Steel Bottle makes cleaning this model somewhat tricky.

As you can already guess, this allows flavors to stay inside the bottle longer than you’d want them to. But still, the bottle sheds flavors fairly quickly if you do your best when it comes to cleaning and rinse it properly after each use. 

The Hydro Flask model does pretty well in this department, in my opinion. I filled the bottle with water, Emergen-C, tea, and coffee, and giving the model a wash or two makes the flavors dissipate fairly quickly.

I especially like how exposed the threads on the bottle’s lid are – that’s where the flavors tend to linger the most and cleaning this part is, fortunately, as easy as it gets. 

Mira vs Hydro Flask – The Verdict

For the price it comes at, the Mira bottle is a steal – there’s no doubt about that. It’s a budget option that actually does keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for hours on end and this turns it into a phenomenal choice if you’re looking to save money but still want something decent. 

Obviously, Hydro Flask’s offering beats Mira’s model in almost all departments and stands as a better choice if you can get over the fact that it costs around $20 more. This bottle is extremely popular for a good reason – it is well-insulated, relatively light, and sports a simple but reliable and stylish design that just works.

If you want to see how Hydro Flask compares against some other brands, check out my Yeti vs Hydro Flask comparison or my Healthy Human vs Hydro Flask comparison. And if you want to see what other options are out there, besides stainless steel bottles, check out my post on the best collapsible water bottles.