POSTED BY

Joel Johnson

AT 7:09 AM
Wednesday January 23, 2008

Green • Sports and Survival

better bottle • bottle • camelbak • water • water bottle

Camelbak Better Bottle

camelbak.better.bottle.jpg

Camelbak, best known for their hydration backpacks with the "Bite-n-Sip" valve, have released a line of water bottles that incorporate the same valve, the better to prevent spills. I've got a generic Nalgene-type bottle I use for water all day, but when it's near empty the heavy cap often will pull it over, so I'm amenable to better cap solutions. On the other hand, I hate having to suck a trickle of water out of a bottle, preferring instead to gulp a torrent of tap water in quantity sufficient to feel the chill in my belly. The choices of first-world living are so harrowing!

Available in a few bland colors for $10 to $14, the Camelbak "Better Bottle" also has a clip on the lid for a carabiner, should you ever actually go outdoors.

Camelbak Better Bottle [Gear Patrol]

Previously • "Life Saver" Water Filtration Bottle [BBG]
• Gadget Bottle: Water Bottle with Nest for Your Stuff [BBG]
• Binibottle: Teen Invents Easy-Fill Water Bottle [BBG]
• Solar Bottle Uses Sun to Purify Water [BBG]
• Eight Reusable Water Bottles Compared [BBG]

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17 Comments

spice weasel

#1 – 8:16 AM January 23, 2008

I have one of these, and I admit it is a great bottle. However, it is made out of plastic no. 7. With all the talk/concerns about bisphenol A, I decided to retire the bottle for the time being. I now use a Sigg aluminum bottle instead, and I absolutely love it.

metafactory

#2 – 8:22 AM January 23, 2008

While these bottles seem pretty nifty, word on the street is that the hard plastic carries bisphenol A (though Camelbak doesn't seem to mention what their bottles are made out of). The jury is still out on this one but there is enough concern over the potentially harmful effects of bisphenol A that Canada's Mountain Equipmennt Co-op has actually suspended selling water bottles that contain it.

One of the alternatives my family is now using is called Klean Kanteen, it is a light weight steel bottle. MEC has a bunch of other brands as well.

twoeightnine

#3 – 9:30 AM January 23, 2008

Sigg is definitely the way to go. http://www.mysigg.com/

Suburbancowboy

#4 – 10:23 AM January 23, 2008

It would be nice if I could buy just the cap, and use it on a steel bottle.

plainsaman

#5 – 12:22 PM January 23, 2008

The Camelbak sipper lids ARE available seperately, and the lid will fit the Guyot Design stainless steel bottles.

schmod

#6 – 12:51 PM January 23, 2008

Plastic #7 doesn't mean anything. "7" is defined as any type of plastic that doesn't fall under categories 1-6.

Have any actual studies been conducted to see exactly how much Bisphenol A is released from a plastic bottle under normal use? The main backlash against the chemical seems to be a knee-jerk coming from the usual environmental groups. This doesn't mean it's necessarily not true, but at the same time, I haven't seen any legitimate science to back up the claims that it's something I should be worrying about.

For those of you drinking out of aluminum bottles, I should also point out that there have been similar "health scares" going on about Aluminum cookware since the 70's.

plainsaman

#7 – 3:05 PM January 23, 2008

For Schmod, a brief compendium on Bisphenol A research, http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/02/bisphenol/

metafactory

#8 – 3:10 PM January 23, 2008

SCHMOD, Ironically, your reaction is more knee-jerk than that of the 'usual environmental groups' (whoever they are). There is enough legitimate concern over this that the use of the chemical is under heavy review right now.

I'd rather spend an extra $5 on a steel baby bottle than find out ten years from now that the plastic bottle was screwing with my son's hormones.

Duo

#9 – 8:20 PM January 23, 2008

I thought it said Camelbak Beer Bottle for a moment and got excited. Alas, my hopes for futuristic beer were dashed upon reading the article.

magpie (lara h)

#10 – 8:34 PM January 23, 2008

Better known around here as "sippy cups for grown-ups" coz they don't gush water all over your keyboard when you knock them off the top of the rack.

Now if I could only get one with a pink My Little Pony(tm) on it...

kerowhack

#11 – 9:24 PM January 23, 2008

I have two of these things, a 1.0 L and a 0.75 L and I love them. They are also available in a 0.5 L capacity. Yes, the colors are a little bland, but some of them have "Hydrate or DIE" on them, which is kind of funny in a geeky way for a company catchphrase. And there are always My Little Pony stickers out there, Magpie.

They are practically bullet-proof, as I dropped one down a steep trail. After a 100 ft. drop and another 300 ft. of bouncing off big, pointy rocks, it was a little scuffed but otherwise perfectly fine. I tend to like the fact that I have to slow down and sip from them instead of gulping and getting that horrible sloshy feeling, but to each his/her/their own.

As to the health broughaha, ummmm.... I just don't care anymore. Everything is bad for you anyways, so I will not stop using something that may or may not adversely affect my health. I'd rather live a slightly shortened, enjoyable life than try to prolong a life spent running away from anything with more than 3 syllables in its name. Then again, I probably would have been fiddling away in a burning house drinking my lead-flavored wine if I lived in Old Rome so... yeah.

And finally, for those of you who ARE concerned over the bisphenol A, Camelbak also makes a Performance bottle, which is similar in design but uses a squeezable polypropylene bottle similar to bike bottles. I haven't tried it, but it looks pretty sound.

Anonymous Anonymous

#12 – 9:33 PM January 23, 2008

They aren't all bland! I love the Hydrate or Die design that NOTCOT posted back in 06/06

Marshall

#13 – 7:34 AM January 24, 2008

I've had one of these for about a year and a half, and I love it. I always hated the mouthpieces on bike bottles, and this is way better.

I'm not sure if they've remedied it, but mine is too fat to really fit well i a bottle cage on my bike - it actually shattered a carbon fiber cage that I used to have.

As to the plastic thing. I'm still not sold on the health dangers of these bottles. Supposedly Camelbak is coming out with these bottles in a different plastic that doesn't contain BPA in '08, so the issue might be moot pretty soon.

Anonymous Anonymous

#14 – 2:10 PM January 24, 2008

Hi there,

I am writing from CamelBak for two reasons:

1. To say think you for all the nice things said about our "bullet-proof," colorful, earth-friendly reusable bottles, and

2. To let you know that this month we began distributing bottles that are entire BPA-free, for those of you who have told us you are concerned. By summer, we will have converted our entire line of bottles to BPA-free.

Just please don't ask us to change our "hydrate or die" slogan. We're rather fond of it.

The People at CamelBak Hydration Products

p.s. The person who wrote that the #7 is a waste-management symbol is correct. It is a misconception that the number relates to the composition of the plastic.

Anonymous Anonymous

#15 – 7:07 PM January 29, 2008

hey, thanks for the info CamelBak peeps!

would you mind telling us what chemical you WILL be using for your super-strong polycarbonate?

and please don't say it's proprietary, because i will just keep on loving my Sigg.

I would simply like to make a really informed decision that concerns my health.

thank you!

Anonymous Anonymous

#16 – 12:40 PM December 29, 2008

camelbaks are BPA free!

Anonymous Anonymous

#17 – 5:12 AM June 18, 2009

they offer an insulated water bottle. The CamelBak Insulted Stainless Steel Better Bottle is pretty amazing. It’s been my water bottle of choice for the past few weeks.

http://www.pupuweb.com/blog/camelbak-insulated-better-bottle/

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