KineticShift.com continues our hands on test of water bottles.
Serious athletes are often considered the elite. But does the Elite Corsa water bottle, which is used by professional cycling teams including LiquiGas and HTC during major races including the Tour de France, have what it takes to stand up to the true elite? And does it have what it takes for those who tend to use the bottles over a season instead of tossing them to the road after a single use? Here is what we found.
Elite’s Product Description: Soft squeezable construction; New triple- function cap with soft push-pull nozzle is easy on the mouth and delivers fluid fast; Easy to grip bottle with ergonomic shape; wide mouth opening for easy filling and cleaning; dishwasher safe and BPA- free; 550ml liquid capacity
Bottle Sizes: 550ml (approximately 22oz). The Super Corsa is available in 750ml
Plastic: Polyethylene
Country of Manufacture: Croatia
Retail Price: $7.00 (est.)
Basic Standards (Two from Interbike were tested):
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One bottle did leak badly when filled with water and squeezed (the other bottle was fine)
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One bottle did leak badly when filled with water and turn upside down (the other bottle was fine)
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BPA free
Taste test and manufacturer’s claim test: Elite is the official sponsor of many of the Tour de France cycling teams including LiquiGas and HTC so there were high expectations for this bottle. The first disappointment arose when one of the test bottles had a major leak between the bottle and cap, but the other bottle worked fine so that one was used for further testing. After the initial rinse, the water did taste fine with no lingering plastic taste or smell. The bite valve was soft rubber which allowed for easy removal during cleaning, but there was a bit of resistance when using your teeth to open the bite valve. It was actually a little too small and soft, and during opening the valve would slip out of the teeth gripping the valve. This was one bottle that Accelerade was used during testing to evaluate the easy cleaning claim. The bottle did easily rinse out using water, but still required the use of a bottle brush to clean the tight areas. The bottle brush worked fine and after final cleaning there was hardly any residual smell in the bottle. Overall, there really seemed to be no advancement over the classic Specialized bottle and the bite valve was actually harder to use.
Likes: Bite valve is removable for cleaning
Dislikes: The bite valve was too small and there was too much resistance when pulling the bite valve open
Kinetic Shift Recommended Use: We actually recommend using the classic Specialized bottle over the Elite Corsa. There were really no features that warranted changing from the classic.