The bottles themselves are great! Large capacity, good “squeezability”, but feel sturdy. In my BBB flexcage bottle cages they feel secure, but in other looser cages I’d be worried about them coming out. The taper at the base of the bottle makes getting them back in easy.
BUT! The caps suck. Literally. They have a lock-out where the mouthpiece can be pushed in to stop the flow. However, it’s too loose, meaning that if there is ANY negative pressure in the bottle it will suck the mouthpiece shut and stop all flow.
BUT!! they work perfectly with Camelbak lids. In fact, I’d say they work better with Camelbak lids than camelbak bottles themselves. No leaks, super snug fit.
In conclusion, if these bottles are available where you live (I purchased them in Australia), you have some Camelbak lids lying around, you have schnugg bottle cages, then this is the (almost) 1-litre capacity bottle for you!
Got a clear elite 950ml bottle on Amazon today. Will need to test it out this weekend. I won’t even bother using it in arundel side loader on downtube. But it seemed solid in regular arundel cage on seat tube.
I used it the elite 950ml today on a road ride and it worked well. Fit fine in my arundel cage. I’d be more concerned on gravel. But it was good today and I felt the volume of water that came out with each squirt was good
I’ve been on the big bottle journey for a while and I think I’m settled on the Elite 950ml. The Trek Voda ones had an impossible-to-clean nozzle. I forget what other ones I tried.
The Elites are light, easy to squeeze and get a lot of liquid, easy to clean, haven’t had any dropped bottles, etc. And if you are crazy about cleaning, can even get elite’s sterilization jawn: Elite Neto Bottle Sterilizer [0220301]?
I bought a Yeti Yonder 1L bottle, and, forget it. Takes way too much to get liquid out of it. And, yeah, I bought the straw top EXTRA! Hope sprang eternal, and was dashed on the rocks of capitalism. sigh
In March I purchased a couple of Soma’s 36oz Further bottles. I’ve had a few hundred miles of use out of them now so I thought I’d provide a review since they haven’t had a lot of attention in this thread.
First of all, I thought I was buying the 38oz version. This is what they were listed as but when they arrived they were only 36oz. The retailer said it was an incorrect listing and they didn’t’ stock the 38oz. I reached out to Soma as well and they don’t have any of the 38oz versions either.
The bottle is slightly narrower than my SIS IL, and about the same width as a Zefal Magnum. There is a recessed section around the middle of the bottle which is very deep. This allows it to notch into a cage well. I was nervous about ejecting from my flimsy cages, especially since the bottle is so top-heavy when full, but this never happened to me. That central recessed area is also very rigid. The upper and lower areas of the bottle are fairly supple, allowing for a good squeeze. The recessed area is nearly un-squeezable. So there is a small learning curve for grabbing the bottle in a way that is easy to squeeze right away. This in addition to the height and weight of the bottle make it and awkward grab in any case. Not a deal-breaker, but a consideration.
The lid fits securely and I did not experience any leaks. The nozzle is a push-pull type and is quite stiff, a minor annoyance. I ended up leaving it pulled out after the first few uses. The flow, however is excellent. Easy to get a big gulp.
I paid $11.99 a piece for these. They are nice well constructed bottles, worth the price. As for whether the awkward use issues are worth it for that extra 4oz of water? I dunno. Your results may vary.
I just wanted to share that I got a Zeal Magnum soft (950ml) and I liked it for the most part.
It lasted only a couple months as it fell off my spec zee cage. I didn’t notice until a while later and when I returned it was still there but it had cracked. It was full and it’s a pretty steep descent with lots of rocks so, not complaining about that. But the design of the neck is not very smart IMO. Those “fins” prevent the bottle from sitting flush on the cage if you aren’t paying attention.
I might try an Elite next, otherwise I’ll keep using camelback podiums and polar insulated bottles.
I used the Zefal for years but am getting tired of the leaking they cause.
I wish I could find the brand bottle I received after signing up for the eliel factory team, it’s the same brand used for the feed bottle with my name on it. Very secure and they never leak. The only problem is one is 24oz and the other is 22oz.
Not really helping the situation for liter bottles but maybe someone knows what brand bottle they use?
I’ve never understood the use of insulated bottles. If it’s hot enough that bottles with some added ice will eventually get warm, then by that time, they will be long since empty and hopefully refilled.
I guess some of you might be trying to keep fluid from freezing, or stashing them for later use without a cooler, but for everyday use, I’ll take the extra capacity of uninsulated bottles every time.
I can take two large insulated bottles with me and still have cool-to-cold water in them 3 hours later. Hit a convenience store for a refill if I need to and I have cold liquids for almost the entirety of any ride.
If it’s not hot, I can do that with lighter, uninsulated bottles. If it’s hot, why would I drink them slow and get dehydrated earlier? Rather have the extra fluid.
