I Tried the Giant, 116-Ounce Water Bottle That Keeps Showing Up on Instagram

For as long as I’ve had a desk job, I haven’t had a problem with drinking enough water. On a normal week day, I fill up my perfectly normal-sized 20-ounce Ello tumbler (pictured left below) four times on average, not for any scientific reason but because that amount just feels right to me. It’s also a great excuse for me to get up, stretch my legs, interact with my coworkers, and avoid excessive snacking when faced with the ceaseless question: Am I hungry, thirsty, or bored?

For my 5-foot frame, drinking 80 fluid ounces in one day is plenty of water. It’s more than the oft-recommended eight 8-ounce glasses per day (64 ounces), and hovers near the Mayo Clinic’s suggested 92 ounces for women and 124 ounces for men. I’m not dehydrated by any means. So why did I buy a 116-ounce water bottle with motivational slogans marking every hour from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.? Instagram made me do it.

Buy: Giotto Large Motivational Water Bottle, $21

I first saw the Giotto Gallon Motivational Water Bottle on Sophie Weill’s Instagram (she’s the founder of Nude Nation Relations). As part of her New Year’s resolution to drink more water, Sophie bought the giant jug to hold her accountable while reaching her hydration goals. Via Insta Stories, Sophie documents her daily progress with her absurdly large water bottle. (This morning, it even had its own seatbelt during her morning commute.) “Rachel Liverman, the CEO and founder of GlowBar is the one who turned me on to it,” Sophie told me. “And Liz Tran, the founder of Reset.” And that, my friends, is the magic chain of Instagram events that led me here.

The first thing I noticed about this water bottle after ordering it on Amazon is that it is LARGE. Like, comically large. Photos do not do it justice, but just know that I placed it in its very own tote bag to transport it during my 1.5-mile walking commute to work. If you’re wondering, 116 ounces is 7.25 pounds, and that is a lot to willingly lug, so I decided to fill it up when I got to work (rather than carry it full). I get to work at 9, though, so I was already starting two hours behind schedule! (You have to hit each motivational marking by the hour that’s noted!)

Once I got to the office, I filled the jug up all the way to the 7 a.m. mark (no cheating here!), avoided some judgmental stares on my walk to my desk, and got to drinking. By 10 a.m. I was already ahead of schedule, at the “Remember Your Goal” mark. Go me!

As you would imagine, this level of water consumption leads to a lot of bathroom breaks. I will spare you the details, but just know that the notes I took to document my experience are more of a pee log than anything else. While I was not getting up to refill my water bottle at any point during the day, I was getting up more than enough times to go to the bathroom. Because when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Sure enough, one of my deskmates warned me of a college friend who went to the hospital for drinking too much water in a short span of time. (Yes, this is a thing that can happen.) I panicked and ate a large handful of very salted almonds to convince myself that I was doing something to restore my body’s natural chemistry and resolved to drink more slowly. I had a few meetings that I didn’t want to carry my water bottle to, though, so I remained ahead of schedule.

Another takeaway is that this ginormous water bottle is extremely cumbersome. In order to comfortably drink from the straw, I had to rest it on my lap. The straw, however, does not reach the very bottom of the bottle, so there was a frustrating amount left, making the ending of this experience very anticlimactic.

Overall, I would not recommend this water bottle to any person who already drinks a decent amount of water. I could not reasonably lug this to the gym (for both practical reasons and fear of judgment), leave it on my bedside table, or even carry it around with me all day. It really made me miss my smaller, more portable option. Also, I felt compelled to finish the bottle even though I know that 116 ounces is far too much for a person of my size.

I do however think that, if you struggle with water intake, are curious about how much you typically drink in a day, and/or need some extra motivation in the form of these encouraging phrases and time tick marks, you might enjoy giving this water bottle a glug (or several dozen slugs).

Do you drink enough water during the day? Would you try this water bottle?