Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I consider myself somewhat of a hot water bottle expert, being the main caregiver for my 95-yr. old mother, who is cold even in July, let alone winter in CT. I fill a bottle at least a few times daily. We've purchased several different types of HW bottles over the years, always at one drugstore chain or another. This is our first Home Top, and after the first week of multiple daily fills, this HW bottle is, BY FAR, my favorite. First off, I like the uniform fill spout. There is no "filler flap", with a hole for hanging the bottle, that gets in the way of the funnel. Now, the funnel sits securely and evenly on the bottle. This allows me to hold the bottle safely at the neck w/ one hand and pour in the water from the pot with the other. Previously, I needed to hold the bottle at the neck using tongs because the funnel couldn't seat itself securely. 2nd, the inside of the filler neck is made of metal, rather than plastic like the others, and 3rd, the screw-in plug has a gasket on its bottom to insure a solid seal. The material is very thick, and for the cost of 1.5 HW bottles at the drugstore, I bought 2 of this clearly superior product. Re: the smell- it wasn't bad for us and we used the bottle within an hour of receiving it. YMMV. Update: The bottle above was purchased in March '18. It is now late March, 2019. After 10 months of excessive use (3-6x/day), sometimes with NOT recommended very hot water, the water bottle began to have some seepage. I consider this acceptable due to the "abuse" we've given it. I will buy again if necessary.