Best hot water bottle 2024: For period pain, warmth and more

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Baby, it’s cold outside but the best hot water bottles offer a relatively cheap and effective way to stay snug this winter. Though perhaps not the sexiest of items, hot water bottles are unsung heroes – as well as keeping you toasty warm, they’re fantastic for soothing aches and pains.

Although they are by no means a modern-day invention, they have been kept up to date. As well as traditional hot water bottles, there are now also pouches you can pop in the microwave and rechargeable ones that start working at the click of a button. You can even get some that release essential oils, to help you relax.

Whichever style you choose, a hot water bottle makes for a practical and thoughtful gift that will certainly come in handy during winter.

Don’t forget to indulge in a bit of self-care, either – we advocate donning your favourite pyjamas, grabbing a toasty hot water bottle and sinking into bed with a good book.

While there are some other ways to keep yourself warm, without switching on the central heating – electric blankets and electric heaters, for example – a hot water bottle is still a simple and useful bit of kit. Here are the ones that left us aglow.

How we tested

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As chronically cold testers, we were perfectly positioned to put numerous hot water bottles through their paces. Testing took place as temperatures across the country went from jacket weather to chattering-teeth cold. We wanted hot water bottles that were easy to use – caps that didn’t get jammed, covers that were easy to remove – and ones that were comfy to cuddle. Extra points were given to bottles that were good value or had extra features that served a purpose.

Why you can trust us

Zoe Phillimore is a freelance journalist and editor who has been a regular contributor to IndyBest since 2021. She is an expert at testing a range of household products, including hot water bottles, for buying guides and standalone reviews. Zoe is chronically cold and has been on a quest to find a hot water bottle that is warm, nice to cuddle and doesn’t go cold in an instant since childhood. So you could say she’s been searching for around 40 years. But for the purposes of this piece, she narrowed it down to a few months of testing.

The best hot water bottles for 2024 are: