At any rate, up for your inspection is the Camelbak Podium bottle.
Waterbottles, meh. They've seen modest improvements over the years. High-flow valves, less plasticky-tasting plastic. All but worthless insulation. Finally Camelbak of strap-on hydration system fame has taken it upon themselves to improve the breed. And in summary, they did a good job. Nice bottles in small and large volumes, low-plasticky-taste, high-flow valves, and even insulated versions. The trick is in the valve. At first I figured "Bah, stupid Camelbak bite valve, why would I want that on a bottle?" Then Alex at the Hub demonstrated the bottle to me. The valve remains sealed until you squeeze the bottle. Then a rush of refreshing beverage shoots out. Pretty ingenious, really. Everyone I know squeezes the bottle anyway, so why not use that as the "trigger"? So I bought one, liked it, bought a couple more. The only drawback is breaking the habit of opening the nozzle with my teeth, then slapping it shut again. No need! Just grab bottle, position near mouth, squeeze, and enjoy delicious hydration. Replace bottle. Done.
So far, it doesn't leak at all. The insulated version is just as "meh" as other insulated bottles I've tried. They work for 30 minutes or so, but in the blistering heat of a St. Louis summer they only manage to stave off the inevitable for a short time.
In my usual tinkering style, I tried to transplant the cap to another bottle. No dice, proprietary threading. Nice try, though. Hopefully my favorite shops will start to carry shop-branded Podium bottles so I can go back to being a rolling billboard!
My recommendation? Go buy one or two. They're not much more than the other bottles at your local bike shop, and they work. I think you'll like them.
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