KineticShift.com continues our hands on test of water bottles.
The company that invented the backpack with a water bladder built-in has some new offerings in the water bottle category too.
CamelBak Chill Description: The CamelBak Podium Chill Bottle is a soft, lightweight, easy-to-use insulated bottle. Keeps beverages cool for hours. Perfect for cyclists, runners, and other outdoor athletes. With great thermal performance and innovative features, the Podium Chill Bottle sets a new standard for insulated bottles.
CamelBak is the official hydration sponsor of Team Garmin-Transitions, and proud to support the team’s 100% Clean initiative for untainted sports performance.
CamelBak Ice Description: The ultimate insulated bike bottle, the CamelBak Podium Ice bottle keeps water cold four times longer, to maximize your performance and keep you focused on your ride.
Bottle Sizes: 21oz
Plastic: Polypropylene
Country of Manufacture: China
Retail Price: $12 (Chill) and $20 (Ice)
Basic Standards:
- Both bottles did not leak when squeezed
- Both bottles did not leak when they were turned upside-down with the Jet Valve ‘unlocked’
- BPA free
Taste test and manufacturer’s claim test: CamelBak is currently offering two different insulated water bottles – the original Chill bottle and the new Ice bottle which keeps liquid colder four times longer than a normal water bottle.
For my evaluation, I decided to take both bottles out on a 80 mile road bike ride climbing up to 9000’. The night before, I filled both bottles up with 1-1/2 cups of water and froze them solid. In the morning, I topped them off with cold water and headed out for my ride. It was about 85ºF at 5400’, but dropped to 65ºF at 9000’
Though I have used the CamelBak Hydration Packs since they debuted years ago, this was the first time that I used a CamelBak brand bottle. CamelBak insulated bottles use the self-healing Jet Valve which is always ‘open’ unless the Lockout feature is used. The Lockout is designed to ‘close’ the bottle during transportation…just twist the Jet Valve 90º and it is ‘closed’. This always open, self healing or self closing valve is now being featured on more bottles, but since CamelBak’s lockout feature twists shut instead of pushing the valve down, it took a few uses to adjust my habits. Each time I grabbed the bottle for a drink, I gripped the bite valve with my teeth and pulled…20 years of using a Specialized bottle was immediately obvious.
Once I was used to the Jet Valve, I started to really like how it functioned. I would just grab one of the bottles, grip the bite valve in my teeth and squeeze. The bite valve is a semi-rigid rubber which was a good design and size for gripping with my teeth while drinking. I drank from both bottles during the ride making sure to jiggle the bottle each time to listen for ice still frozen in the bottles. The ice in the Chill Bottle lasted for approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes. The ice in the Ice Bottle did not last that much longer…it only stayed frozen for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. At that point I was up to 9000’ in a town that has a natural spring to refill the bottles.
I continued on my ride and finished up a few hours later – the remaining water in my bottles was still cool from the spring that I filled up about three hours earlier. The water was not ice cold, but still more refreshing than the 80ºF temperature that it could have been during the ride back home on the plains at 5400’.
During all stages of the evaluation, the water tasted that same as drinking from a glass and no plastic tastes or smells were noted. Both bottles performed as advertised, but I do have one concern regarding all of the bottles offered by CameBak that feature the Jet Valve. For water uses, they all worked great, but when I evaluated the CamelBak Podium bottles, there was residue from the sports drink that I was using visibly left in the Jet Valve. The Jet Valve is difficult to clean especially when CamelBak recommends not disassembling the valve. I really did like how these bottles functioned and will continue to use them, I just have to make sure to take the time to clean these valves after each use with a sports drink.
CamelBak does manufacture a product called Elixir. This product is an effervescent tablet that the user drops into a bottle filled with water to create a drink full of electrolytes. Since Elixir is sugar-free, no residue is left behind. I was able to taste-test the Elixir at the Dirt Demo during InterBike and it did live up to the residue-free claim. This is probably a better choice for the CamelBak bottles that have the Jet Valve to avoid the issue inside the valve.
Likes: The Jet Valve and insulating properties of both bottles.
Dislikes: The Jet Valve has tight areas that are difficult to clean the residue from sports drinks (as noted during the evaluation of the CamelBak Podium bottle)
Kinetic Shift Recommended Use: All water bottle uses… cycling, hiking, running, fitness classes, etc… just leave time to clean the valve after each use with a sports drink.