Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 170
 The only real problem is fit. They almost work too well. July 15, 2008
John P. Thiel (Astoria, Queens, New York City)
181 out of 184 found this review helpful
Normally, thermal bottles are too hard to squeeze to get fluid out of them, and they don't insulate very well at all. These are the first I've tried that actually worked, and they're just as squeezable as regular water bottles.
PROS and TESTIMONIAL: First time using these I froze them both, put them on the bike, went riding out in the heat of summer, and couldn't get a drop out of them because they remained frozen hard as bowling balls the more than two hours of that particular ride out on the open road. I finally had to open one and drink at least the one sip's worth of fluid that had melted. This was an absolute first. I've used other thermal water bottles over the years, but I tossed them all pretty quickly. None of them worked until these.
Second ride I refrigerated them and put ice cubes in before heading out. The ice melted but the contents remained fairly cool for hours or riding, again in the heat of summer.
Third time I came up with a brilliant idea. I filled them halfway and stuck them in the freezer, then filled them the rest of the way with refrigerated fluid just before heading out. This worked the best of the options I've tried so far.
One rider in my riding club had a great idea--freeze one bottle and fill the other one with fluid and ice. He says by the time he's ready for that second bottle it's melted enough that he can drink out of it. I go through two bottles in under three hours in the summertime, so I'm not sure this will work for me, but I plan to try it out on the next long ride.
In any case, they are absolutely freezer safe. Go ahead, fill them and freeze them, then see how long it takes before you can drink out of them.
FLAVOR: I've had absolutely no problem with the bottle affecting the flavor of the fluids I put in my bottles. Some have complained about this, but it seems more likely that they didn't thoroughly wash the bottles before use. There maybe some shipping wax in there, or just some residue from the manufacturing process. Just two drops of dish soap; any more will have your fluids tasting soapy for several rides; wash out those bottles good even before the first use, and you wont have a problem.
CON--the 24 oz bottle might be too big for your bike frame: I measured the 24 oz bottle height at 10.5 inches with the cap closed and 10.75 with it open, the caviat being that before you order two of these bottles, make sure they will actually fit on your bike. One on the downtube definitely will, but you might have to go with the smaller ones if it wont fit under your top tube when inserted in the upright cage mounted on your seat tube. Mine just barely clears the top tube when inserted in the upright cage on my 54cm Trek road frame; if my frame were only 2cm smaller, I imagine it might not fit. I've included a couple of pictures of my 24 oz bottles in the cages of both my road and mountain bikes for reference.
I've seen several riders with a 24oz on the downtube and a smaller one on the upright, but the only problem there is grabbing and reinserting the bottle in the upright cage while riding. Personally, I used up the one on the downtube and then switch them, but many recreational rider never have gotten into the habit of taking a drink from their water bottle while riding anyway.
In any case, if you have even the slightest doubt about that second bottle fitting, buy one, see if it fits, and if it does then order a second one.
BOTTOM LINE: If they were normal water bottles I would buy them just for the size. Having 48oz of water on you without having to wear a Camelbak is nice.
The fact that the thermal technology works in this make and model is just miraculous, as I've tried several thermal bottles before and none of them seemed to do a damn thing to keep cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot--in the winter.
And lastly, every other thermal bottle I've tried was difficult to impossible to squeeze one handed while riding, so they were too inconvenient to be useful on a bike ride. Especially on a road ride near a major city, it's tough to get those precious seconds for a quick drink, so it really needs to work--and these do.
Please read this if you are concerned with leaching chemicals! February 29, 2008
mtbiker
132 out of 137 found this review helpful
These bottles are all my family uses. To the other reviewers who have posted that this bottle leaches chemicals, I would ask that they do a little research before posting. First, you should wash the bottles in your dishwasher or hot water before using, this is just common sense and will remove any plastic odor (though I have never noticed any). These bottles are made from LDPE#4, which according to multiple studies, does NOT leach toxic chemicals into your water. On the other hand, Lexan, ie Polycarbonate ie Nalgene bottles have been shown to leach Bisphenol-A or BPA into water. You can feel safe buying and drinking from these bottles made of FDA approved LDPE#4.
Good Bottles January 12, 2008
K. Rosner
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
These polar bottles are great! I have had several of them for a couple years and they continue to perform very well. Cold drinks stay cold with just a little ice and hot drinks stay hot for hours. I would recommend them to anyone that does not like room temperature beverages. I have put mine in the dishwasher many times and it still works well. I have not had any problem with tasting a chemical taste as some people say they have experienced.
Perfect for running and bike riding July 5, 2009
Stephen M. Charme (Cranford, NJ United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I carry this bottle when I run and use the Amphipod Full Tilt Velocity running pack (I prefer this bottle to the bottle that comes with the Amphipod because this bottle holds 24 oz instead of 20 oz).
The mouth of the bottle is nice and wide, so it is easy to fill it with ice cubes and water before I start one of my two hour runs, during which the water stays cold even in hot weather. The drinking spout is easy to open and gives me just the right amount of water.
You need to decide how you are are going to use an insulated water bottle. If you need to keep water cold for more than a couple of hours, then use a steel insulated water bottle or a thermos. But those are too bulky and heavy for running, which is all that I use this bottle for.
For running this is the best insulated bottle that I have used. For the beach or where you will be drinking water over a period of more than a few hours, get something else.
For bicycle riding, this bottle fits perfectly into my water bottle holder and stays in securely.
Update 10.30.09 A friend recently asked me about the safety of using plastic drinking bottles, and this one in particular, because some plastic leaches BPA into the water. The short answer is to be sure you use a bottle that has one of the following recycling symbols: #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or #5 PP (polypropylene).
This bottle comes with a label that says "#4 LDPE NO BPA" so it is fine. Note that the disposable bottles filled with water are labelled #1, so you should not re-use them.
Tested in the Hot Florida sun* August 6, 2007
Crabbin (Jacksonville, FL USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is the best water bottle, ever, for keeping the drink inside it, Cold. Even after hours on the beach this bottle keeps its promise to ensure a cold drink. In 4-5 hours the drink, in our case water, is almost at room temperatute but that is still good.
We first fill it with ice cubes and then with cold water and it work very well. The shape is good too, it has an easy grip and pours nicely into ones mouth. If it had a loop handle like the smaller bottle, this one would be perfect.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 170
|
