Gear Junkie: Camelbak Podium Bottle

By STEPHEN REGENOLD, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: March 25, 2008 - 5:56 PM

CamelBak Products LLC touts its new Podium Bottle as an upgrade to a technology that's been around since the 1950s. Indeed, as the company notes, bikes, helmets, shoes and other cycling equipment get better every year. But the humble bike bottle has stayed pretty much the same for decades.

"We set out to take away the bite-open, hip-slap-shut sequence that riders had to perform with other bottles," said Jon Austen, a product manager at the company.

The result is a bike bottle that includes several significant upgrades, including a self-sealing squirt valve, a shutoff switch for leak-proof transport and an antimicrobial lining to inhibit bacteria buildup inside the bottle.

The Podium's squirt valve is made of medical-grade silicone, and the bottle is polypropylene. It comes in 21- and 24-ounce sizes and costs $8 and $9 respectively.

In my test, water gushed out with a slight squeeze. But turn the shutoff switch 90 degrees and it's locked closed, ready to be put in a backpack for transport, no leaks guaranteed. www.camelbak.com

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