Cyclist
CamelBak Podium Steel: Water bottles have never been cooler
It’s impossible to be a cyclist without having had a plastic bidon or six. They’ve become synonymous with cycling, chucked out willy-nilly at races and given away like they’re going out of fashion by brands and event sponsors. And, as it turns out, they are going out of fashion.
Amid sustainability drives and technological innovations, American water bottle and hydration pack specialist CamelBak has developed the Podium Steel bottle, a vacuum-insulated stainless steel bottle that’s easy to drink from and keeps liquid cold for 14 hours.
Insulated bottles aren’t new but for years it was a choice between either true insulation or easy drinking. Insulated plastic bottles slowed down the warming process but definitely couldn’t last a ride, while properly insulated metal solutions were just like drinking from a cup – not easy to do mid-ride.
The CamelBak Podium Steel is the best of both worlds. It features double-wall vacuum insulation, which is what all the popular metal flasks use to keep drinks hot or cold. This consists of two layers of metal, with the gap between them removed of air to prevent the convection process that would usually warm or cool the liquid inside. CamelBak says that will keep water ice-cold for 14 hours, more than enough for most rides.
Obviously you can’t squeeze a metal bottle, but the Podium Steel provides the flow you’re used to from a bike bottle without the need to squeeze. The lid, which has CamelBak’s classic open and close cap to stop leaking, is engineered with a straw-like system that helps the drink flow out sufficiently with only a light sip rather than a heavy suck.
Being metal, each sip is deliciously crisp, free of the ‘plastic taste’ that eventually befalls plastic bottles. Then, when even the best plastic bottles have reached the end of their life cycle, the Podium Steel will still be working like new, bringing cool hydration salvation on the hottest days. What’s more, it’s much easier to properly clean a metal bottle than a plastic one and, being almost near enough the same dimensions as regular plastic bottles, it will fit pretty much any bottle cage.
For the marginal gains-obsessed that may worry about the performance side of a steel bottle, CamelBak has also created the Podium Titanium. It has all the same benefits and functions of the steel bottle but is made with ultra-light titanium, so weight is kept to the absolute minimum at 240g, which is 60g less than the same-size Podium Steel.
The CamelBak Podium Steel is available in 530ml or 650ml and comes in a range of colours. The Podium Titanium comes in 530ml and just one colour, because you want everyone to know you have a titanium bottle.
• Find out more at camelbak.co.uk
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