Touring - Zefal Magnum Bottle No Good

Worries about long stretches of road with no water led me to search for extra large water bottles that would fit in my cages. I discovered the Zefal Magnums, which are quite a bit larger than large, "standard size" bottles. I ordered three from Nashbar.

I used them Saturday. They were not good. The problem was the spouts (or whater you call the little plastic piece you pull out and drink from.) The first problem was that when I pulled them out, they didn't stay. They wanted to go to a half-in, half-out position where the flow of water was cut in half. But the biggest problem was that they leaked a significant amount of water around the "pull-out" part, which dribbled down my chin. I don't mean just a drop or two - it was like half the amount of water that was going into my mouth!

When it happened with the first bottle I hoped I had a lemon. But no - I tried all three and they all acted the same way.

I tried lids from my other water bottles but none of them fit.

I have to give the Zefal Magnum a thumbs down.

they work fine for me!

Here's a bike with over a gallons' worth of water in 4-zefal bottles and an extra 1/2 liter underneath the down tube 'coz the magnums don't fit there.

My zefal magnums were horrible as well. Always leaking, always drinking poorly. Garbage

I love my zefal magnum bottles ... I've been using them for years with no problems.

I have one and like it. The difference I noticed in using it compared to my other bottles is that if you squeeze it, it will leak around the mouthpiece (and make a mess). So don't squeeze, suck. I treat it like my aluminum Sigg waterbottles and it works fine.

I have some, several years old.

They don't leak, but the valve material is very hard (like plastic, not rubbery), have to be careful not to damage teeth when using. To me, this is a bigger issue than a little leaking (which I have not noticed any).