Posts Tagged Camelbak

I have probably tried out a dozen different water bottles this year, but this Podium Chill one from Camelbak is my new favorite. (The Podium Ice model is newer and maybe better, but harder to find as of yet.) I can’t say it’s a 10 out of 10 when it comes to the marketing pitch of keeping the liquid inside cold for a long time, but if you consider that part gravy, this is a good all-around choice for staying hydrated on the move.

Camelbak knows plenty about hydration, with their bladder packs in use by triathaletes, mountaineers,the armed forces, and anyone else with no time to stop and pull out a container. For us less hard-core mortals, they make an extensive line of BPA-free water bottles. This newest one has pretty much everything I want:

- a wide mouth for use with a Steripen purifier
- a lock at the top that effectively keeps it from leaking
- a 21-ounce capacity in a standard shape
- a durable material that won’t scratch or dent

Sure, I like steel water bottles too, like the handy Vite Plus from Innate I reviewed before. But they get scratched up on a bicycle and they start dented up after two or three travel trips. Plus if you fill them with really cold water, they sweat with condensation. None of these things are deal-breakers—and they get positive points for being recyclable—but given a choice I’ll reach for the plastic before heading out the door.

The big marketing push for this particular Camelback bottle is that it will keep your cold drink cold longer. In this case, “longer” is a vague and relative term. The marketing materials say “Keeps beverages cool for hours,” but that claim didn’t hold up in my tests. I found that even when I filled the bottle with ice and topped it off with water, it seldom took much longer than an hour to reach room temperature. The only time I came anywhere close to two hours was when I was in a frigid movie theater. More like 30 minutes in the Florida sun. If you really want real insulation that will last for hours, you need some kind of vacuum bottle, not just this extra layer of plastic.

There’s a newer Podium Ice version that says, “keeps water cool 4 times longer than standard bike bottles,” and that’s probably closer to reality. Let’s say it take 20 minutes on a sunny ride to reach room temperature with a regular plastic water bottle. This one, with “Zeroloft insulation,” would then take 80 minutes, which sounds about right.

Better than a regular bottle though, at roughly the same price—$12-$14 for the older Chill model, around $20 for the newer Ice one. The real benefit of the extra layer, however, is it cuts down on condensation. So even loaded up with ice, it won’t sweat in your hand (or in your water bottle caddy) on a hot and humid day. Plus the valve on this Camelbak bottle is reason enough to buy it: it truly shuts off completely with a twist, then two other settings allow sipping or gulping.

Overall, this is a water bottle I can heartily recommend for travel. I’ve been using it non-stop for weeks in traveling and on bike rides and it still looks new. See more at Camelbak.com and buy it at your local gear store or online here:

CamelBak Podium Chill Bottle at REI

Get it at Amazon

Podium Ice water bottle at REI