Also looking for a good water bottle for your bicycle or mountain bike? Curious whether the Camelbak Podium water bottle is ready for the job? We tested the Camelbak Podium drinking bottle for a year!
Curious whether it meets the requirements of an ideal bicycle/mountain bike water bottle? Then be sure to read on!
Problem solving
Anyone who regularly gets on his/her bicycle or mountain bike has undoubtedly already had some experience with drinking bottles. And perhaps more specifically the less pleasant experiences. As a novice cyclist or mountain biker you often don’t really notice this. A drinking bottle is a drinking bottle, right?
However, after many trips you start to notice that that simple drinking bottle, which you once received in a goodie bag, is not so ideal. We had to experience this ourselves experimentally.
The shortcomings of a “normal” water bottle that we encountered on our trips were, among others:
- Leaks due to poor cap closure. If you fill your water bottles with isotonic drinks, you get the sticky fingers and bike for free!
- Your drink will taste chemically due to the chemical smell of the plastic.
- Didn’t wash your water bottle immediately after cycling? That will be scrubbing next time to wash out the stench and mold.
- You have to actively suck yourself to get enough drink. Not so nice if you have just gone deep on that climb and are already out of breath.
- …
So it was urgently time to look at some alternatives that got rid of this. And guess what… there was a manufacturer who must have thought of these frustrations of cyclists. At first sight, the Camelbak Podium water bottle seemed like a worthy alternative!
Many trips with the Camelbak Podium water bottle
I first bought the Camelbak Podium 24oz water bottle. It soon became clear to me that this would be my new “partner in crime” water bottle for cycling.
In the meantime I bought two more: the Camelbak Podium Dirt series Chill 21 oz and the Camelbak Podium Chill 24 oz.
Hereby my experiences with the Camelbak Podium water bottles…
Done with leaks
Perhaps the biggest advantage and distinction of this premium bicycle water bottle is the patented cap. The cap has a self-closing silicone valve that closes the bottle perfectly.
Only when you apply pressure to the bottle will the valve open and the contents come out of the bottle through the drinking cap. If you do not press the bottle and hold it upside down, no drop comes out.
Super handy if you want to have a quick drink while cycling. No fiddling with caps opening or taking off before you can drink.
Of course you can also close the bottle completely. A sliding system is provided along the outside of the cap to close the bottle completely. Even when you press the bottle, no more drop comes out. This way you can easily stash the Camelbak Podium water bottle in your bicycle bag or backpack.
You can also easily disassemble the parts of the cap. This way you can easily clean the cap after using it for some time.
Bad taste and smell are a thing of the past with the Camelbak Podium water bottle
There is nothing more annoying than that chemical plastic taste of the drink from your drinking bottle. Or the mold and smell when you lose track of your used water bottle for a few days.
The Camelbak Podium series put an end to this with two patented technologies:
- The water bottles are made of “TruTaste polypropylene”. This is a type of plastic that is food safe and taste free. Get rid of that chemical smell that ruins the taste of your drink!
- In addition, the Camelbak Podium series are equipped with “HydroGuard”. This is a CamelBak patented antimicrobial technology that is embedded directly into the bottle walls. It inhibits the growth of bacteria that can cause odors, discoloration or damage to the bottle.
Of course you still have to clean your water bottles after use. But that mold and bad smell after a few days is no longer the case!
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Easy drinking
The silicone valve closure, the wide opening and the easy-to-press design of the bottle ensure that you can easily drink enough during your bike ride.
The design of the Camelbak Podium series water bottles is also optimized for drinking bottle holders. No rattling along the way, the water bottle stays firmly in your bottle holder and is also easy to remove.
Tip: For MTB it is best to go for the Camelbak Podium dirt series
While mountain biking, I experienced a minus with my first Camelbak Podium 24oz water bottle. In wet and muddy conditions it happened regularly that some dirt ended up in the “drinking spout”. By pressing the bottle and squirting some drink out, most of it was usually gone, but not really ideal!
The Camelbak Podium dirt series are equipped with an extra cap that closes the “drinking spout”. This prevents dirt from entering. Definitely recommended for mountain bikers!
Do you want to keep hot drinks warm or keep your cold drinks fresh for as long as possible on summer days? You can get both Podium series in the Podium dirt series Chil or Podium chill version, with double insulated walls.
>> BUY Camelbak Podium DIRT series on Amazon
Conclusion
Is this the best cycling water bottle of the moment, for your trips both on and off the track? I would dare say yes. This water bottle ticks off a lot of requirements as a premium bicycle water bottle.
Depending on your situation where you want to use the water bottles, you can choose between large and small, insulated or not, and for dirty or clean conditions. In the meantime, I also use them to take with me in the backpack during ski touring.
>> Choose the type that best suits your needs on Amazon.com
