There are inventions created to save time, like the electric can opener, a device designed to make your life easier but somehow ended up bigger, slower and more unwieldy than that which it sought to replace. And then there are inventions that can save your life, like the new HydraCoach, an intelligent water bottle designed to calculate personal hydration. Outdoor enthusiasts Craig and Kelly Perkins created the HydraCoach as a response to Kelly’s close call when she was hiking down Half Dome in Yosemite and ran out of water. Of course, water is always important when exercising, but in this case, it was life-threatening, as Kelly was on her first hike following a heart transplant operation only 10 months earlier.

The HydraCoach is also helpful whether you’re at the gym or merely sitting at your desk—no more running back and forth between the water fountain and that elliptical machine or your office. What you lose in watercooler gossip, you gain in clear health advantages. “The benefits of proper hydration are sought after by athletes, fitness and outdoor enthusiasts, people trying to lose weight, the elderly, individuals on medication and everyone who is generally health-conscious,” explains Brian Anderson, president of Sportline, HydraCoach’s parent company. Here’s how it works: just enter your weight (no fibbing!) and the smart water bottle will track and calculate your real-time water intake. This in turn motivates you to reach and maintain optimal hydration: think programmable drill sergeant. We can all drink to that (hydracoach.com). —L.O.