I started out with 500 mL swing tops. That seemed fine until I found that they didn't always seal properly causing inconsistent carbonation. Also, it's a bit much to drink in one sitting, especially if it's a really strong beer. I prefer a 12 oz. serving size. I can have two or three different homebrews in one night without getting trashed.
After abandoning the big swing tops, I switched over to capping recycled New Belgium 12 oz. bottles. No more carbonation issues and hey, it's free! Prefect, right? Well, it was until I wanted to submit some beers to competitions (they should be unmarked and the NB bottles have raised lettering on the neck). I also tried shipping some homebrew bottled in NB bottles to some friends and all 4 boxes I packed up were damaged in transit (the New Belgium bottles are pretty thin).
I spent a few weeks trying to figure out a brand to switch to as my new recycled bottle source but couldn't come up with one that met all of my criteria: no markings, sturdy, 12 pack boxes with dividers, enough variety to not get bored of, etc. No dice, nothing seemed perfect for me.
Now I'm just picking up cases of 12 oz. amber bottles from my LHBS. They're far sturdier than the New Belgium bottles (8.2 oz. vs. 6.9 oz. empty), have no markings and come in good boxes with dividers. It also liberates me to buy beers just for the contents, not for the purpose of recycling the containers.
Well, that's my bottling saga so far.