It is user-friendly mainly due to the ease of placement and the fact that you do not need to open the zipper every time you want to drink water. However, it does not keep the water cool and I would say it is just better than nothing, but that's it. If you are really interested in keeping cool water for at least a few hours, go for the zippered type. Personally, I use it with bottles that I have filled with ice halfway and it helps me not to freeze my hand and not to wet the rest of the items in the bag from the melting ice.