I think this bottle is pretty good. I like the size and shape and the looks. It has a twist valve for on and off. My only gripe is it is a bit rigid, and it takes effort to drink (either squeezing the bottle or sucking hard). It works best with a bit of both. That's not a huge issue, and I still use it regularly on my bike.

I tried this out on a 100k ride last weekend and think I will stick to a normal bottle. I got tired of having to squeeze the bottle to get a drink. It was nice at first but as you get tired it becomes a bigger issue. But it's perfect for squirting your fellow riders or your head when you are hot!

Works great. Easy to get water out of the bottle. I would recommend the bigger bottle. I use it for local bike riding and to and from work.

i have made tea in this bottle and it didn't hold onto flavor i have had it i the cold and the tip doesn't freeze IF YOU DONT BUY THIS WATER BOTTLE THEN YOU SUCK BECAUSE ITS THE BEST WATER BOTTLE I HAVE EVER HAD .P.S. it doesnt leak i have closed the tab and stood on it and i cant get it to leak. im 6'1 180 so if that doesnt make you want to buy the bottle then i dont no what will.

Hard to believe you could get excited about a water bottle, but this thing is great. I love the valve because you can just leave it open the entire ride and not worrying about spillage. I feel much safer having to just squeeze the bottle to grab a drink rather than wrestling with a conventional top each time. If you use Nunn tablets give them a while to settle out before heading out for the ride though - or you can get a shot of water to the face. I suggest you buy one and see if you like it - from the reviews, you are totally on board, or not. I think this is a great product.

You people are a bunch of complainers! This is a great bottle! If you don't like the lid, just replace it with a lid that fits your personal preference. I like that I don't have to keep opening and closing the lid and I don't have to worry about my beverage leaking or BPA leaching or my drink tasting funny. Keep up the good work, CamelBak!

This is without a doubt, the best traditional style of water bottle that I've ever owned. I also really like the CamelBak Performance bottle, since I don't have to tilt my head back to drink from it. I heard from CamelBak in an email that they're going to stop making the Performance bottle. This bottle (Podium) will still be around -- which is a good thing.

I saw these on Bonktown for the same price as normal bottles, so I thought I'd take the plunge and see what the fuss was about. When you first start using these, you probably won't notice a difference. You might even be disappointed, like I was. It's not like the bite valve on a Camelbak bladder, it's basically just self-sealing valve so you can squeeze water into your mouth and not have to worry about opening and closing the top.

When you will notice how great these are, however, is when you go back to a normal bottle and have to open and close the top. It's amazing how fast you get used to the ease of the Podium and get annoyed by the annoyance of the valve on normal bottles. I can't go back now.

Some have said that they're too stiff to squeeze; I found them to be just fine. They are stiffer than other water bottles, but because of this they stay in the cages better, even when mountain biking.

They're not dishwasher safe and the valve is kind of a pain to clean (the long thing brush for cleaning the Camelbak hose works great for this), but it's absolutely worth it The taste is absolutely perfect: not a trace of plastic. And like I said, once you get used to it you won't put up with your old water bottles.

A little on the tough size to squeeze and the nozzle gets dirt in there (if you ride off road). I like the idea of a BPA free bottle though. Good construction and it's durable.

This bottle is seriously the best. BPA free. It does not leak when you drinking from it on the bike. The lid also seals up to throw in a bag if needed. No problems yet.
Was skeptical because of the price, but worth it.

The valve and ability to close come in pretty handy because when I'm not out on a bike with this, my kids carry it around the house without spilling it all over the floor.

I don't find the sqeeze that hard, but I do love the ability to close the valve.

no leakage as promised. have only used in warm weather thus far, but no complaints on how squeezy the bottle is. holds plenty of liquid to recharge on the long rides without stopping for a refill

Overall this is a good squirt bottle with pleanty of flow, the only downside is that it can be a bit slippery.

Not sure about the drinking mechanism, kind of agree with the previous poster.

I bought a dozen of these bottles and love them, did a 400km one day ride (www.r2s.ca) and had no problems drinking out of them, so not sure about the complaints of being too stiff or hard to drink from.
I sure dont miss the old retro bottles!! These kick ass I recycled my old bottles and this is all I use.

never will i buy another kind of bike bottle. suck on it or squirt it. when you open it, it's big enough to put ice cubes in it. shut the valve off so your gatorade doesn't stick up your bike frame. awesome.

i bought these for my wife and mother to use when they ride figuring the no-drip lid would save them the frustration of opening and closing a valve each time they drink. too bad the plastic is so much more rigid than the benchmark Specialized brand bottles. They both complained of sore hands from trying to squeeze the darn thing. In fact, my mother needed to stop riding and squeeze with two hands to get liquid out.

Well, I wanted to love this bottle, but I only like it marginally better than the "old" style bottles. The valve takes quite a good vacuum to open, and if it's cold out (like now), the plastic bottle gets a little stiff, so that squeezing is a challenge as well. It's not THAT hard to squeeze, but not as easy as the softer bottles.

But, overall, the bottle performs ok and is a slight improvement over others.

OK, the single thing I care about most about drinking bottles is the taste. Seriously, I'm super picky about it, and I do not use bottles that have any hint of plastic taste whatsoever. Well guess what...Camelbak gets this bottle just absolutely right. There's really no taste at all and the leak proof valve is perfect for riding. I'm not sure why there are so many negative comments about the bottle being hard to squeeze...sure you have to apply a little more pressure than normal, and it's true that the last 1/4 of the bottle can be hard to squeeze out, but if you just put your mouth to the damn thing the bottle works great.

I have 2 of these for my road bike. THye also work great for hitting the trails. Like said bellow the valve works better if you squeeze the bottle at the same time. Only thing that would possibly make this bottle better is if it had better insulation. It also have a wide opening so you can put ice in too. Great bottle for the price.

it's a little tough to use this when you are 50 miles in to your road ride, gasping for water, and don't have the strength in your hands to get water out. Gravity doesn't do it with this bottle, you gotta squeeze. I like the fact that you can leave the top open without it spilling.

functional and easy to use. I like the wide mouth because it's easy to clean or add ice to. You have to get the lid on just right or it will leak down the front of you when you squeeze it, which isn't a big deal when you are riding but at work it can be a little embarrassing. Overall it's a great bottle.

Fits great on my bike cage and haven't had it eject yet. Kind of like the old pull top a little better.