I knew there must be a way. Will give that a try.
Thanks!
Iām a little late to this discussion, but Zefal changed their top some time back. I had a 1L for like 5 or 6 years ago with a gray top/black valve. Never a drop of leaking. Best bottle Iāve ever used. I bought a few more about a year ago that have black top/white valve. These new ones suffer from the leaks like many out there. So somewhere between that time, they changed the top slightly. If I could find the old tops, Iād stockpile them.
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I recently bought the latest Zefal Magnums on Amazon and the bottle material is definitely thinner and feels less flexible (brittle?) than the previous version. Weighing them, I confirmed that the new model is nearly 30 grams lighter, with all that difference in the bottle (caps weigh the same).
Fortunately, I still have a few older bottles in decent shape, so Iāll use those for races where I may need to chuck them in a feed zone. I donāt think the new ones would survive many drops.
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Polar has a few positives.
- Insulation
- muck cover for the nozzel
But many negatives. They only get the nod for hot, dusty, dirty, muddy, etc. rides. Which for me is almost always MTB, but then I have issues with them fitting in my Scalpelās triangle. 
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Iāve actually switched to the Polars. I mostly ride road, so I donāt need the mud caps. The bottles are a bit stiff but I like the caps and the valves. I was using Elites but the caps and valves started leaking after not much use.
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Rides of Japan did a bottle shoot out. It didnāt have many HUGE bottles, but it was interesting to see from a flow, temp standpoint.
My Polar feels like it doesnāt fit my cages nearly as well as my Spec. Purists and my Zefal Magnum. Not sure Iām feeling comfortable enough to use them without getting different cages here (XC MTB)
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Riding road doesnāt magically ensure your bottle/nozzle doesnāt get contaminated.
Trucks, vans, cars, motorbikes covered in, carrying and leaking all kinds of crap (brake and transmission fluid, liquified exhaust fumes) will end up on the road and - by design - that ends up on the side towards the gutter where cyclists ride. Caps on your bottles are a good idea no matter where you ride.
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Does anyone know how the Trek Voda 34 bottles are for leaking and use in general? Iām on a 58cm frame so not overly concerned about the size.
I have the hand strength of Olive Oyl, and Kewpie Mayonnaise continues to ignore my suggestions that they make some bike bottles, so I am a āfanā of the Elite fly bottles. They also make a big 975ml beast and they had the good sense to score or ārough upā the sides of the bottle so itās a little less like holding a water weenie when the bottle sweats. But theyāre hard-ish to find, and stupid expensive given how shitty and basic the caps are. And it never fails to irk me that Iām literally paying more for less. I guess what Iām saying is they mostly suck, but I can actually squeeze water out of them soā¦yeah. My bar is pretty low.
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I run the 26oz (760ml something) and they are great. Definitely the most secure. cant believe all the hype in here for the elite water bottles, junk after proper use over time.
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Not all cyclists. I know in some places youāre required to ride as far over as possible, but here in the UK best practice advice is not to ride in or near the gutter.
Though otherwise your point still stands - all that crud can still be on the road, not to mention āfarm productsā, and the like. 
So my grand experiment with 1L bottles ended in tears. 20k into the Gran Fondo world championships I had to bunny-hop a dropped bottle on a descent and both of my zefal 1Ls launched themselves out of my cages. This was bad for two reasons. One - it probably nearly killed half the peloton. Two - I then had no fuel for the remaining 140k and got dropped.
Theyāre just too top heavy when full for most cages (mine are Synchros Tailor 1.0 Carbons. Iāve never lost a bottle before, even riding the same bike off road on gravel tyres and going to bike parks and being silly.
I think the 750s might just be the sweetspot.
The other issue is a 1l bottle is difficult to manhandle whilst on the river in a fast bunch, and woe betide you if it gets wet as it is now hard to hold onto!
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I have NEVER lost a 1L bottle out of either my Lezyne side load cages(on the gravel bike no less) or out of my Wolftooth Morse Ti cages on my road bike. 
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I never lost a Zefel bottle with Arundel cages until I did in my last gravel race. Of course it was the one bottle with all my nutrition and electrolytes. Weird thing is that I didnāt even notice it until I reached for it and it was gone.
After countless hours on that bike in training and MTB trails, I just think the right amount of washboards at the right speed and angle was just too much. Had to rely on aid stations that race.
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Took one on another ride and confirming again the Polarās donāt fit my Arundel Side Loaders nearly as well as my Zefalās and feel like they could rattle out at any minute (MTB).
I may have to look into different cages in the offseason and see if it helps, but the Arundel design works great inside a limited space front triangle on the MTB.
Primarily relying on my USWE now, but there are times when I want additional bottles, or bottles only.
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Not to derail, but can we have a Barney over the best large bottle cage?
Anything over 30g can shove it obviously.
Tune wassertrager?
Tune wasser MTB?
King Ti (same as wolftooth)?
Silcas?
Arundel mandibles? (I had these but they absolutely tear bottles apart!)
Syncros Tailor 1.0 Side Loads (have these on MTB, but never used a 1L in them?)
I use $20 AliExpress cages that weigh 7g. Been using them with my Zefal 1L bottles and love them.
Iām still a big fan of the 1L zefals on the trainer, but also reverted back to 750 ml purists for group rides and racing
While the zefals are super-secure in king cages (never ejected one on any surface) they were too difficult to handle when slippery or with insulated gloves (our gravel race series runs over the winter), and it was easy to miss the cage and lose one when putting one back without looking while riding in a bunch or on rough surfaces. While this was user error on my part, I lost way more than 250 ml in dropped bottles
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On my gravel bike the Blackburn side loaders hold my 24 oz insulated polars really tightly - maybe an option if space is limited.