I keep a collapsible water bowl in my purse, and in our cars, and for years my choice was Canine Hardware’s Hydro Bowl — as I said back in 2009, “it’s small enough to fit in my purse or a pocket. Unfolded, it’s sturdy enough to stay reliably upright, it’s shallow, and its opening is wide and holds its shape pretty well. (Chloe gets spooked when her bowls close their jaws shut on her muzzle.) It’s also definitely waterproof.” After years of use, the Hydro Bowl finally wore out along its fold lines, and started leaking. That’s not a complaint — five years is a darned good run for any pet product — but the need for a replacement prompted me to take a new look at the collapsible pet bowl scene.

The problem is that a lot of collapsible pet bowls are really big, and Chloe’s a small dog, who only needs a few ounces of water or food at a time. She also, as I mentioned above, really doesn’t like it when a bowl acts like it might close back up on her while she’s drinking from it. And finally, after learning the hard way that all of our cats are allergic to plastic, I have no interest in finding out that Chloe is too. We avoid plastic pet products.

That’s a lot of requirements for a collapsible bowl, but Cycle Dog’s Trail Buddy Bowl meets them all. Here’s a picture of it in my hand, so you can get an idea of its size when it’s folded up:

The bowl’s exterior is made of recycled bicycle inner tubes, and a bit of inner tube is sewn into a handle that also secures the bowl when it’s folded closed.

And here’s a picture of it unfolded, next to Chloe:

The bowl itself is a BPA-free silicone, with enough “body” that it pushes outwards as soon as it’s unfolded — no fear of it gradually closing back up around Chloe’s snout.

It dries out very rapidly — typically, when Chloe’s finished drinking, I pour out the leftover water and then whack the bowl against my leg a few times to get rid of droplets. That leaves, at most, a thin film of water, which I either wipe off or let evaporate. A hard-working product made in the U.S. from recycled materials — what’s not to love?

As you can see, I bought the bowl in the Red Tri-Style pattern, which is what my local pet store was carrying. Now that I’ve seen the other options, I’ll be ordering the even cuter Brown pattern and Apple Green Retro Flowers pattern for our car kit’s water bowls. (The other options include a variety of solid colors, as well as a couple more patterns.)

Amazon link: Cycle Dog Trail Buddy Collapsible Dog Travel Bowl