Evolution, not Revolution

By Scott Pendleton Ranked #198 - Water Bottles July 31, 2009

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.

View Details: CamelBak Podium Water Bottle - 24oz

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