Posts Tagged water bottles
H2Mio Two-piece Water Bottle from Seattle Sports
“Do you realize your water bottle has a layer of dirt on the inside of it?” I asked my wife one day when she asked me to fill hers up. There had been a dusty windstorm the past couple days where we live and her bottle had been sitting around outside with the top off for a while.
“Gross!” was the understandable reply when she took a look. Twenty minutes later she finally had it cleaned up, thanks to an improvised bottle brush and lots of strategic wiping.
If she’d been using one of these Seattle Sports H2Mio bottles, the clean-up would have been a cinch.
That’s because it’s a two-piece water bottle that screws together. You can just rinse it out and leave it in the drying rack as usual, or take it apart and really give it a good scrubbing. That’s no big deal to design and others have done it, so the nifty part here is that when you take it apart, the top part becomes a cup resting on a pedastal. (Raised pinky optional.) So should you decide to sit down at a table at drink water with your meal, you can feel civilized while you’re doing it.
The H2Mio bottles from Seattle Sports are all brushed stainless steel at the bottom, but come in a variety of colors for the top cup part. They also come with a rubber piece that looks like it’s just decorative or to cover the top of the cup with. I found a more practical use for it later though when I encountered this design’s expected problem, the reason everybody isn’t making two-piece bottles that screw together: sometimes it leaks. After it dribbling on my daypack twice, I finally figured out that putting this band around the seam mostly solved the problem. No more leaks. (And the band glows in the dark, in case you can’t find it on your nightstand.)
I recently took this bottle on a two week trip through Panama and Peru, using it in conjunction with my Steripen Opti to avoid having to buy any bottled water. It worked great since this has a wide enough mouth for the purifier and holds enough to keep me going much of the day—more than a liter. Naturally it’s BPA free and naturally it suffers from the same issues any BPA-free stainless steel bottle does: a metallic tinge to the taste and a propensity to dent easily. But the price is right ($17.95 list) and it’s even got a little built-in hook at the top for carrying it or hooking it onto something.
Retail availability of this bottle is spotty, but you can order direct from Seattle Sports if you can’t find it locally.
See other reviews of water bottles on Practical Travel Gear.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear on June 15th, 2011
A CamelBak Bottle That Makes Your Water Taste Better
I’ve raged and barked plenty on here about the need to carry a re-usable water bottle (and compact water purifier when necessary) in order to keep from soiling our land and oceans on a daily basis. Sure, you can point to your house recycling bin and justify that case of plastic from Costco, but reality is that some 3/4 of those single-use bottles—even in developed countries—just get drunk from and tossed. Here’s what happens to them.
There’s a tendency among many to drink bottled water because it tastes more neutral, with no trace of chlorine. So if we can eliminate that problem, will you stop buying disposable plastic?
CamelBak is hoping you’ll say yes, because they’ve solved that issue with this new Groove water bottle with a built-in filter. All you need to do is fill it up and drink. The built-in filter removes all the tastes you don’t want.
I’ve used a few different bottles with built-in filters before and have been less than satisfied. Either they made me work like a p0rn queen to get the water out or the filter would eventually fall into the bottle and fill it with charcoal.
This one, I’m happy to say, is a different story. CamelBak is one of the best-known manufacturers of water bottles and they seem to be trying harder than anyone to wean our population off their bottled water addiction. So they did this right. This Groove one feels like a regular water bottle, with a flip-top bite nozzle and a normal shape. You don’t have to suck on that nozzle any harder than you would normally.
It’s BPA-free, dishwasher safe, and comes in a variety of colors. (Mine is cool white, but I like this picture because you can see the filter.) It holds 20 ounces of water, or 0.6 liters. The list price is $25 for plastic, $35 for steel.
Alas, as with a hybrid car, eventually you’ve got to cough up more cash to be a good citizen of the planet. Here’s the official word on the filter: “Each Fresh Filter reliably reduces contaminants for 300 refills of the bottle, or approximately 3 months of use at 3–4 full bottles per day.” That adds up to 48 gallons or 180 liters, which even a constantly water-sucking/bathroom-going health nut like my wife will take a while to cycle through. When it’s time to get more, you’ll pay $10 for two filters or $25 for six.
Also, don’t expect to use this in countries where you can’t drink the water to start with, or to drink from a stream where you don’t know the source. This is a primarily a taste filter, not one meant to keep you from getting sick. Think of it as a Brita pitcher to go.
Order the CamelBak Groove filter bottle from Backcountry in BPA-free plastic or metal.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family on April 7th, 2011
Water Bottle with a Lifetime Warranty: Hydro Flask
Would you spend 30 bucks on a water bottle?
OK, maybe not a plain ole water bottle, but what about one that will keep your cold liquid cold or your hot liquid hot—all day long? What if it came with a lifetime warranty? What if the outside stayed the same temperature no matter what you filled it with?
Admit it, that’s a whole lot to ask, but this Hydro Flask bottle is a Sigg, a Thermos, and a Camelbak rolled into one. So stepping up another 10 or 12 dollars to get one doesn’t seem unreasonable.
I’ve been using my Hydro Flask for two months now, hiking, biking, and taking it with me on long trips. I have to say the claims sounded like a lot of hype, but the only one I’m going on the record to debunk is the idea that you won’t get any residual taste from non-water beverages. In my tests, it took quite a few washings to get rid of the taste of what was in there before if it wasn’t water. (In all fairness, although one of their reps touted this to me verbally, it’s not claimed on their website.)
Otherwise, their double-walled stainless steel design with a vacuum in between does an amazing job. The outside never sweats, gets cold, or gets hot. Meanwhile, what’s inside stays cold/hot for a very long time. The claim is 12 hours for hot, 24 hours for cold. Naturally it’s BPA free, there’s no potential aluminum toxicity, and there’s no chemical lining on the inside. Surprisingly, I haven’t managed to scratch or dent it yet, even though I jammed it into a metal bike bottle carrier a couple times. Hydro Flask believes in their product so much they’ll guarantee it for life.
The Hydro Flask comes in four colors and four main styles: two sizes with both narrow and wide openings. I was able to get a SteriPen Opti into the narrow mouth one, but barely. If you’re going to use this while traveling in developing countries with a water purifier, I would suggest getting the wide mouth model. You can also get an add-on sport top that will enable you to suck on it while in motion.
So is a water bottle worth 30 bucks? In this case, yes. You get a lot for those extra bucks and it’ll last you forever.
See the full line at the Hydro Flask shopping site or check prices at Magellan’s.
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Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on March 30th, 2011
CamelBak Water Bottles for Kids
My family has been using CamelBak products for years — namely its backpack hydration systems for easy access to water while hiking and biking in our beloved Colorado mountains. I didn’t realize until recently that the company was my answer to the ideal water bottle for my kids’ lunchboxes, too.
For the past few weeks, my 8- and 10-year-old have brought to school these BPA-Free Tritan Kids’ Water Bottles by CamelBak. They are the perfect height (about 7 inches) and diameter (about 2.75 inches) to fit in their soft-sided lunchboxes. They come in a variety of colors and designs — from the “Light Blue Lake” pictured right to “Green Dinos” to “Berry Pink” (any kid can find a style he or she likes among the 10 options).
Carrying 12 ounces of liquid, this bottle is spill proof. The spout consists of a Bite Valve (kids must bite down to get water out), stem tube and a removable straw; the Bite Valve (pink in photo at left) folds forward and out of the way for storage, which also helps prevent any leakage.
The straw detaches for easy cleaning, and all parts are dishwasher safe. So far, we have managed not to lose a straw — but I can see how that might be a drawback for some moms who have dishwashers that tend to “eat” small items (sort of like dryers that eat single socks).
The lengthy FAQ (the most Q&A I’ve ever seen for a water bottle!) details the safety of drinking from the plastic container: more specifically, Tritan, a “copolyester polymer” that does not contain any BPA (Bisphenol A, which may or may not be harmful to your health, depending on whom you ask) or phthalates (another compound that may or may not be toxic in low doses). In any case, these bottles are BPA- and phthalate-free.
But if you’d like your child drinking from something other than plastic, check out the stainless-steel options from CamelBak. These are the same size – 12 ounces – as the plastic versions, and also come in fun designs, such as dinosaurs, pink dots, a waterskiing mermaid and a skateboarding pirate…
I’ve seen the plastic ($14 MSRP) and stainless-steel ($20) bottles for sale at my local sporting-goods store, but you can also find them online at sites like Amazon.com and BackCountry.com (where the plastic version is currently selling for $10.36).
CamelBak Kids’ Stainless Steel Water Bottle – .4L
Related post: Camelbak’s Podium Chill insulated bottle
Posted by Kara in Kids and Family, Travel Light on November 12th, 2010
Camelbak’s Podium Chill Insulated Water Bottle
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
Podium Ice water bottle at REI
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on July 1st, 2010
