The human body cannot live without water, that is a proven fact, but it can live even with just a little bit of water. Another fact is, many of us do not get enough real water into our bodies. The Hidrate Spark 2.0 wants to help you stay hydrated with real water. Often times we skip the water in favor of coffee, tea, Red Bull, or a favorite soft drink. We justify over consumption of these drinks because most of them do contain water. But the benefits of just water with no additives are great and we could all use more water in our systems. Read on for our full review of the Hidrate Spark 2.0 smart water bottle.
Specifications
The Hidrate Spark 2.0 has the following features and specifications:
- Customized hydration goal
- Hydration history
- Keep an eye on friend’s progress
- Fun notifications
- See bottle’s last paired location on a map
- Sync with FitBit and Apple Watch
- Sync with Apple Health Kit, Google Fit, Jawbone Up, and Under Armour which includes MyFitnessPal & MapMyFitness
What’s In The Box
- Hidrate Spark 2.0 smart water bottle
- Finger loop for carrying bottle
- Extra batteries
- Instructions and warranty
Design
The Spark 2.0 water bottle design is actually very well done. I’m not sure just how much you can say about a water bottle design but I do like the angular lines of the bottle. I feel like these lines give the bottle an overall better grip. The feel of the plastic is also grippy and I like that they included a finger loop to carry the bottle with. The bottle comes in a variety of colors and all of the materials feel premium and feel the same. Overall it’s a solid design and it doesn’t feel cheap at all.
Ease of Use
Not much to say about ease of use other than if you mess up using a water bottle, you may have other issues. There is one thing of note though: be sure to set up the app before filling your water bottle.
App/Software
The app is pretty basic but it is where you will set up your Hidrate Spark 2.0. Be sure your bottle is empty and that you’ve downloaded the Hidrate app. Create an account to start and then you can add your bottle. It’s pretty simple and the app walks you through set up. Once you have the bottle paired to your phone and filled up, there’s nothing left to do here. You can connect other apps like Apple’s Health app and Google Fit. This will share the data from the bottle to your other health apps in case you want to centralize all your health data.
The data is sent to the app from the Spark 2.0. All of the sensors that collect the data from the bottle are in the long stick that is connected to the cap. The bottle has its own memory as well which will store the data should you not be around your device for syncing. Once you get near your device again, the data will sync and everything will be updated. The long stick with sensors also houses an LED light inside. The app keeps track of how often you’re drinking and if you’ve gone too long without taking a drink, the LED light will glow to remind you to take a drink. You can also add water if you drank some not using the Spark 2.0 so you can count it towards your app goal.
Overall the app is pretty straightforward. There are some settings you can play around with but nothing crazy. The app just basically tracks how much water you’ve consumed. It also sets your goal based on your personal information like age, weight, and height. The app experience was a good one, I think Hidrate did a good job of putting together a good app.
Battery Life
The battery used in this is a watch type battery and I’m not sure how long it will last. Usually watch batteries will last from 6-12 months and the Hidrate Spark 2.0 comes with extra batteries which I thought was a nice addition.
Price/Value
Priced at $54.95USD some may feel that’s a lot of skin for a water bottle. The value is going to depend on how much you think you need something like this. I think the bottle is well designed and made from quality materials. So as far as value for what you physically get, I think the price is slightly high but not far off from fair. The real value will be in its function for you and that’s what you need to determine.
Wrap Up
No, a smart water bottle isn’t for everyone. There will be some out there who scoff at such an idea and offer up the notion that it’s silly to make everything “smart.” But there are people who can benefit from a reminder to drink more water. Just like using a calendar or a notes app, the Hidrate Spark 2.0 is a tool to help achieve a goal and it’s an effective one.
