Make a list of all the things you hate about water bottles. I'm
sure the list would consist of complaints such as: they leak, it's a
pain to open and close them, they leak, they get sticky fluid all over
your face, they leak, they make your drinks taste bad, you can't always
get enough water out of them, they leak and get your bike messy. All
sound familiar? Well, those problems are officially solved!
Camelbak's Podium brings water bottles into this century, and makes
your cycling life a heck of a lot easier!
The Camelbak Podium Water Bottle has a lot of great features. Let's
start with the most apparent, the innovative self-opening and
self-closing valve. There are a couple of great features about the new
valve system. First of all, you'll no longer be opening and closing
your water bottles, the Podium takes care of that for you. With a
simple squeeze of the bottle, the valve opens and delivers your drink
into your mouth, not on your jersey. Nice. Stop squeezing and guess
what? The beverage flow stops as well! You'd think someone would've
figured this out by now, but until the Podium, they hadn't. The great
thing about this is that you can simply place the bottle back in it's
cage after you drink and not have to worry about it leaking all over
your frame either. Do you know how many bikes begin shifting poorly
because their cables get sticky from Cytomax-type drinks? A lot. We
replace a lot of cables and housing because of leaky bottles, I can
assure you. Hey, wait a minute, that means less money for me, hmmmm.
In
case you're wondering about squeezing the bottle by accident, you don't
have to worry, the Camelbak Podium also has a complete shut-off
"switch", so when you want to pack it away in a case or similar storage
situation, there will simply be no accidental leakage. Great!
Now, let's talk about the plastic this bottle is made of. It's a
proprietary blend of polypropylene and HydroGuard that keeps the
plasticy taste to a minimum as well as making it both environmentally
and physically safe. Also note that the Camelbak Podium is safe for
the dishwasher - keep 'em clean and they'll do the same for you!
So there you have it; finally someone put some thought into what is a
very important tool for cycling. The Camelbak Podium solves many of
the problems we all have with water bottles without being
over-engineered, or priced, for that matter. The price? 21 oz.
bottles are $7.95, and 24 oz. are 8.95. Not bad considering what a
huge improvement they are. They're in stock now, and it's safe to say
will keep them in stock at all times.