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Insulated Water Bottles?

Old 06-28-10, 01:01 PM
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Insulated Water Bottles?

Near as I can tell there are two main brands....Polar and Camelback. Anyone have any thoughts about how they work and which one is better?

Boy it's hot in Georgia!!
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Old 06-28-10, 01:02 PM
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I have Polar. They're great, but hard to squeeze the water out.


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Old 06-28-10, 01:03 PM
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I haven't tried the Camelback bottles, but I have tried the Polar bottles. They definitely work. I really liked my Polar bottle, it was easy to squeeze, didn't leak, and kept my drinks cold. I lost mine while mountain biking though, which sucks. I just freeze my bottles now before I go biking.


However the Camelback bottles also have the always open always closed lid, which the Polar ones don't.



I noticed the post above. It's hard to squeeze unless you squeeze it the correct way right in the middle. You kind of have to squeeze and twist.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by ptle

I noticed the post above. It's hard to squeeze unless you squeeze it the correct way right in the middle. You kind of have to squeeze and twist.
WTF? Seriously? I'm squeezing my bottle wrong? I'm going to have to try again.... squeeze and twist...? What does the twisting do?
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Old 06-28-10, 01:12 PM
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I don't use the insulated ones, but I love the valves on the camelback bottles. You don't have to open/close the bottle to get water out, but they don't leak either.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by cshell
wtf? Seriously? I'm squeezing my bottle wrong? I'm going to have to try again.... Squeeze and twist...? What does the twisting do?
tmi.
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Old 06-28-10, 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted by sbxx1985
tmi.
What, you don't want to see any pictures?!?!?!?


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Old 06-28-10, 01:40 PM
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I only have the Polar bottles and find them to be only marginally better than a regular bottle. I usually fill them with ice, then water. All the ice is gone within 40 minutes in 75+ degree weather.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:15 PM
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I use the camelbak insulated bottles and they work well. Only problem i have is finding a nice bottle cage that fit these bottles.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:19 PM
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The insulated Camelbak bottles are great. My drink stays cold about 90 minutes longer than with the regular bottles, more if I add ice. They're easier to squeeze than the standard bottles, too(softer plastic).
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Old 06-28-10, 02:20 PM
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I have both and I liked the cap on the Camelbacks but it is smaller than the Polar bottles. So I switched the caps and got the best of both worlds.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:27 PM
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I have the Polars and find them much better than regular bottles. On 30-40 mile rides, I fill a Polar and a regular bottle with ice cubes and water. I drink the regular bottle first, and the water in the Polar bottle is still cool at the end.

Only downfall to them is the height, you have to watch it when removing them from the seat tube cage (make sure you don't hook your brake cable)
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Old 06-28-10, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Sir Real
I only have the Polar bottles and find them to be only marginally better than a regular bottle. I usually fill them with ice, then water. All the ice is gone within 40 minutes in 75+ degree weather.
+1. Tried a Polar recently ( mostly because I was out of town without a water bottle and it's all the shop had)

Harder to take a big drink from. And in 90 degree heat, the water was back to luke warm in a hour, starting filled with as many ice cubes as it would hold. So I don't quite get the point. Ride shorter than an hour it doesn't much matter. Ride longer than an hour and its not much help.

I'm going to try freezing it solid about half full, and then filling it up with cold water before going out the door, and see if it stays cooler longer.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:31 PM
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I started using Polar bottles in 2003. I liked them ok until last summer when I tried the Camelbak Podium Chill. The Polar bottles promptly went in the trash. I just wish they were 24 oz (like the Polar bottles) rather than 21 oz.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by tagaproject6
I have both and I liked the cap on the Camelbacks but it is smaller than the Polar bottles. So I switched the caps and got the best of both worlds.
same here. the Camelbak bottles are just a little thicker, enough that they're hard to pull out of the cage. and the Polar nozzle is "inefficient"

so I bought two insulated Polar bottles and replaced the caps with those from non-insulated Camelbak bottles.

the non-insulted Podium bottles were on sale for $3.50, so that plus the $8.50 insulated Polar bottle was basically the same price as an insulated Camelbak.

I thought of getting the Camelbak Better Bottle because the top has a straw, but it wouldn't quite reach to the bottom of a 24oz Polar.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:33 PM
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have a polar and it works great. no prob getting water out with normal squeeze. They are taller than reg bottle but not a big deal.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:39 PM
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I have both. I bought the Polar bottle first and while it kept the water cool in the Texas heat, I found it hard to squeeze and the top flat out sucks. I recently bought 2 Camelback Podium Chills and it not only keeps the water cool longer than a non-insulted bottle, the top is awesome. The bottle itself is much easier to squeeze and combined with the superior tops I can easily get a big blast of water quickly. The Polar bottle probably keeps the water cooler slightly longer than the Camelback but the ease of use of the Camelback trumps that for me.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:44 PM
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Polar bottle secret: Fill bottle from 1/4 to 1/2--then put in freezer overrnight. Add ice cubes and whatever liquid. I have ice for 2-3 hrs here in sunny Florida.
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Old 06-28-10, 02:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Sir Real
I only have the Polar bottles and find them to be only marginally better than a regular bottle. I usually fill them with ice, then water. All the ice is gone within 40 minutes in 75+ degree weather.
+1... marginally better and 100% more expensive. Not worth it.

Last edited by akeelor; 06-28-10 at 02:53 PM. Reason: mistake
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Old 06-28-10, 03:05 PM
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I also have both as a couple have said...and just like them I prefer the Polar bottles and the Camebak tops. The Polar, IMO, seems to keep the contents cooler a bit longer. The Camelbak top is just great with the lock feature and the squeeze/dispense feature.

So, like the others, I put the Camelbak tops on the Polar bottles. They work well, but I do seem to get a bit of drip that I don't get when using the correct tops/bottles. If it's just water, no big deal 'cause I'm usually warm enough that it feels good. If it's any type of electrolyte/fuel, then I hate getting that sticky crap on me.

That's my experience with them.

FYI, the Camelbaks have a max diameter of 75.29mm, while the Polars have max diameter of 75.04mm at the bottom part that goes in the cage and 78.12mm at the top. So the Polars are wider, but that is only at the top. As far as the part that fits in the cage, the Camelbaks are .25mm wider than the Polars. That said, I use the Specialized Rib Cage Pro Road and have had no problems with either bottle. My hybrid uses the Forte Carbon cage and both work in it as well.
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Old 06-28-10, 03:13 PM
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have used both polar bottles and camel backs polar bottles are much harder to squeeze no matter where you squeeze. get the camel back with the valve you dont have to push or pull it out with your teeth, just squeeze
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Old 06-28-10, 04:15 PM
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Has anyone tried the Camelbak Podium Ice? I was going to get one until I saw the $20 price tag. Is it worth double the price of the regular chill jacket?

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Old 06-28-10, 04:21 PM
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no, but i would check to see how thick the bottle is before buying one
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Old 06-28-10, 04:29 PM
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Can anyone recommend a good cage for the camelbak insulated bottles. I want something better looking then just a plain metal cage, don't need carbon fiber just regular plastic is fine. Thanks
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Old 06-28-10, 04:31 PM
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Another vote for the Camelback Podium Chill bottles. Tried out a Polar bottle, but as other have said the tops suck. The Camelback tops are so much nicer. As to how long my drinks stay cold, I usually have one bottle of water and the second has gatorade in it. By the time I finish the first bottle(around 1-1.5 hours into the ride) and I start into the Gatorade, its still pretty cold and will stay cold for the next hour or so until its gone. This is in the 90+ degree heat we have been having lately.
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