When I posted my water review I wasn’t expecting much interest. I just did it because I thought it would be something fun but the response was much more than I was expecting. A lot of you requested I add more details like the sodium content or where the water comes from so I went ahead and did that. I just finished a long and very cold session in front of my fridge tasting all the water and taking down notes. Since the last review I went and purchased some more water brands and I think I managed to get one bottle from everything available in the market except for the bakala waters (random unknown brands you won’t see anywhere else).
For each bottle of water I’ve now written what kind of water it is, where it’s from, the sodium content and the taste. Water to me should have no taste but some brands (like the bakala ones) have a strange flavor for some odd reason. So when you read “none” keep in mind that’s a good thing.
Finally before I share the results, most of these brands of water can be found at your regular super markets except for the following:
10 Thousand BC and Icelandic Glacial are only available at Dean & Deluca.
Fiji I’ve seen only at Dean & Deluca and sometimes at Sultan Center.
TSC, O2GO and Metro Mint only available only at Sultan Center.
Isbre isn’t available anywhere yet but will be released in the Kuwaiti market this March.
The review did reveal some surprises. The biggest for me was TSC. Turned out to be bottled in Lebanon and contains only 2.3mg of sodium. I think TSC could actually be re-branded Rim water since both are bottled in Lebanon and both contain the exact same amount of Sodium. But that’s just my theory. Between locally produced water the two I would choose over other brands are Arwa and AlRwadatain. From the more expensive brands Highland Spring seems to be the best deal and also contains just 6mg of sodium. Check out the results below.
10 Thousand BC
Pure Natural Glacier Water
Canada
Sodium: 0
Taste: Snow
0.75litre
KD4.950
Evian Special Edition
Natural Mineral Water
France
Sodium: 6.5
Taste: None
0.75litre
KD2.000
Icelandic Glacial
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Iceland
Sodium: 12
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD1.950
Voss
Natural Artesian Water
Norway
Sodium: 7
Taste: None
0.8litre
KD1.250
Fiji
Natural Artesian Water
Fiji
Sodium: 18
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD1.150
Metro Mint
Mineral Water
USA
Sodium: 0
Taste: Mint flavor, not good
0.5liter
KD0.890
Isbre
Glacier Mineral Water
Norway
Sodium: 0.5
Taste: None
1.0litre
KD0.650
O2GO
Distilled and Oxygenated Water
USA
Sodium: 0
Taste: Lemon flavor, not good
0.5litr
KD0.650
Vio
Natural Mineral Water
Germany
Sodium: 11
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.490
Volvic
Natural Mineral Water from Volcanoes
France
Sodium: 11.6
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.390
Highland Spring
Natural Mineral Water
Scotland
Sodium: 6
Taste: None
1.5litre
KD0.340
Ultra
Salts Free Water
Jordan
Sodium: 0
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.175
Rim
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Lebanon
Sodium: 2.3
Taste: None this time but previously had issues
1.5litre
KD0.150
ABC
Bottled Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 10
Taste: Plasticky, not good
1.5litre
KD0.120
Bambini
Water for babies
Saudi Arabia
Sodium: 0.3
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.120
Abraj
Pure Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 7
Taste: None
0.3litre
KD0.080
Masafi
Pure Natural Mineral Water
UAE
Sodium: 10
Taste: None
0.5liter
KD0.070
Al Rawdatain
Natural Mineral Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 10
Taste: None
0.5litre
KD0.060
TSC
Natural Spring Mineral Water
Lebanon
Sodium: 2.3
Taste: None
0.5ml
KD0.060
Aquafina
Pure Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 16
Taste: None
0.6litre
KD0.055
Arwa
Bottled Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 4
Taste: None
0.5litre
KD0.055
Nestle
Bottled Drinking Water
Saudi Arabia
Sodium: 18
Taste: None
0.33litre
KD0.050
44 replies on “The Ultimate Water Review Part 2”
This looks more like a thesis…
you are eligible to be called a water scientist..
What does that mean ?
More Sodium = what ?
What is the average ?
Hey Mark,
Your commitment to all of your bloggies (aka groupies) is astounding. Thanks so much and great job on the water report.
Wow….I wanna watch the movie ‘Water Boy’ now…
H20!! xoxox
thanks Mark, I think im going to buy arwa since low sodium n cheaper 🙂
So the lesser the sodium, the healthier the water?
Frankom: Supposedly less sodium in water is better. Will try to find an article about this.
Long time im looking about water if what is good but its cheap.. and finally i read this.and i saw arwa water,which im drinking this for almost 5 years. I try to drink another water like abc ,aquafina but the taste i dont like .bec theres something. And i dont know theres a different taste most of the water. Aside from arwa i like rim water.
You need sodium in your diet. Too much sodium though is bad for you. Check the below, got it off Yahoo Answers:
First off all you have to understand that sodium is bad for you in large amounts, and good in small amounts. Sodium helps to maintain the proper balance of fluids in the body. Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium kept in your body. When sodium levels are low, your kidneys conserve sodium. When levels are high, they excrete the excess amount in urine. If your kidneys can’t eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume, in turn, makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, increasing pressure in your arteries. And this strain can lead to all sorts of cardiovascular diseases.
Dammn aquafina and nestle have so much sodium!=(
Aquafina is the water brand I drink from all the time =\
Thanks =)
-N~
Anything below 20 is safe:
On the other hand, the American Heart Association has consistently maintained(for at least 20 years) that a person whose sodium diet is restricted to 1/2 gram per day total intake, should not drink water which contains more than 20 milligrams/liter of sodium.
https://www.aquatechnology.net/frame43251.html
Perhaps a table would make these numbers more appealing.
ABC + Abraj = Sewers Water Purified
Ultimate water comes through the tap water…
Can anyone measure it for stuff/shite?
u remind me with some one was wearing a shirt with big logo “save water Drink beer” hehehe
why the hell would you name a brand of water “Rim” ? reminds me of rimming… if you know you what i mean..
So considering the fact the less sodium + no taste = best water and in accordance to the details you’ve listed above: 10T.BC and Ultra are actually the best/healthiest of them all?
Actually they put sodium in water for hydration purposes.
In places where it gets hot and you also sweat a lot, i.e. Kuwait…they add extra sodium to the water. This helps your body retain the soium that you lose when you sweat and helps keep you going longer. Sooo, if it’s super hot and you’re working out or burning lots of energy the extra sodium in water can help you. BUT if you’re just sitting around and inside with the air on then less sodium water would be just fine.
Personally, I don’t like the taste of water with a lot of sodium in it…it just doesnt taste like water should,it almost taste artificial
BTW, Mark..I really enjoy your blog!!
TSC water is supposidly the same source as RIM water. I remember the first round that TSC got was pretty good, then the second had a strange after taste especially a day after you open the bottle.
and A.Albaz, the name Rim is the English pronunciation of the name “Reem” which is a female name, many of the Arabic water brand names are like that like Arwa, Hana, Riwa.
10 Thousand BC, Pure Natural Glacier Water from… Cananda?
lol even sounds like a place from 10,000 BC!
Personally I am always on the lookout for sodium content of water which is why now I use Rim (delivered to my house) because i have small kids. I use Aquacool large bottles for cooking (not reviewed),When I asked them about mineral content they had no idea what I was talking about. The Nestle of Lebanese origin used to be recommended by our pediatrician for extra fluoride for when kids are teething (after 6 months of age) but I am shocked at the sodium content the Saudi one has.
So basically I will stick with Rim:)
lol fixing it now
Sign of the times. It’s just goddamned WATER! Take a blind test with a filtered tap water, I bet you wont be able to spot the difference. You’ll also reduce your carbon footprint and save the environment in a small way.
You can get sodium from a variety of sources, you don’t need it in your water. It works your kidneys more and is generally not good. That’s why doctors usually tell you to drink purified tap water.
And wtf @ the Lebanese water recommendations LMAO
Mark, what about Sohat, and Tannourine? Considered by many the best of imported commercial water, at least of the affordable ones 😛
They weren’t available when I checked in the supermarkets.
I like Evian, Highlands, and Sohat… when at Dean & Deluca I get Fiji… but out of which, I find Evian to have an after taste! Not bad, and not pleasant! Just an after taste. Now I want to try water that tastes like snow LOL! I bet its awesome!
Fiji 18 .. waw
Evian has magical number .. 6.5
Just a quick remark, did you make sure the units of measure for the sodium content were all the same? ex. mg/l or mg/100ml.
Because once I read the sodium content for an unknown water company and I was surprised to only see 5mg of sodium. (turned out to be 5mg/100ml!)
will double check all the numbers again
Where is the SOHAT صحة!! the first middle east bottled water! you neglected it twice!
I couldn’t find a bottle in any supermarket. It’s currently not available in the market. It happens once or twice a year I think.
on a different topic…
any reviews of various bank accounts (draw accounts)….should be interesting to poll to find out which account has more customers..
Hey thanks for this Mark! Not a fan of aqua gulf?
I think they sell aqua gulf at the bakalas, i didn’t spot it in the supermarket.
hi mark i really like your blog and good job man…bs laish moo kateb review 3aan abraaj water ba3ad ? thanx
I did, its in the list above:
Abraj
Pure Drinking Water
Kuwait
Sodium: 7
Taste: None
0.3litre
KD0.080
Hi..we drink Hayat at home..any analysis done on this brand?
This is water:
https://www.finewaters.com/Bottled_Water/Italy/Panna.asp
everything else is a tagzoora
I like OGO water (Oxygenated water from Netherland) which is found in Sultan Center and most of Coops but you didn’t include it in your analysis.
It would be great if you can include it to see where it fits among the other.
I only purchased and reviewed water that was available. OGO water wasn’t available at Sultan Center, carrefour or the coop I visited.
rim water is the best,,,i’ve actualy visited their plant,,,its realy amazing and 100% natural,,
thanks Mark. this is very useful info. I had been searching for low sodium content water in Saudi Arabia have and your info really helped.
The unit used to measure the sodium content in Aquafina is parts per million (ppm) which is 10 times smaller than that of mg/dL, in essence Aquafina has only 1.6 mg/dl of sodium which is significantly less than other brands.
https://www.watertreatmentguide.com/conversion_tables.htm
i go for abraaj,least in sodium + the cheapest.. abraaj abraaj abraaj!
I would like to turn your attention to a very serious matter.
Fluoride:
please check this subject out and how the whole world since the 1950’s are trying to fight the globalist chemical weapon in water “Fluoride”.
Abraaj water bottles used to list Fluoride in their components and they removed it but i believe it still contains it.
Rawdatain:
https://www.alrawdatain.com/water_prod.html
they have a separate line for Fluoridated water. that’s how decent they are and the even named it “Fuo rawdatain”.
Our tap water is facing the same problem Im guessing but who is checking.
I say if Jordan can do Ultra Zero everything, we can do it too.
and btw Aquafina ! is not pure drinking water and i dont think there is such a thing as pure drinking water. Aquafina is purified water so therefore recycled and check the bubbles in the bottle before even opening it.
Fluoride Hitler used in the public’s water to make everyone miserable and hype-tempered and this is why in our world and region everyone just wants to kill everyone.
we are tired of the fashion and food blogs someone please enlighten people on how we are dying and getting sicker from things like our water. and Mega companies are not stronger than social media.