- Overall Design: 4.5
- Weight: 3.0
- Durability: 4.0
- Capacity: 3.0
- Value: 4.5
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I‘m not a huge fan of handheld water bottles which is why, once again, it took me forever to find the right equipment. The Camelbak Podium Series of bottles won me over.
Most bottles have a pesky valve that refuse to open, close or leaks like a sieve. Not so with the Camelbak JetValve. Locked or unlocked the valve has some type of valve that allows you to squeeze the bottle and water shoots out but stops immediately after you stop pressing… with no leaks. No pushing down on the valve to close. There is a lock position but I’ve yet to have it drip any water with the valve set to open. Turn it upside down with the valve open and nothing… not a drop.
I’ve owned both the Podium Chill and Podium. The Podium Chill is insulated and seems to work well at doing that. I prefer the more basic Podium model which is not insulated. When I first purchased one at REI I was nervous about spending $12 on a bottle. After all, don’t they give away swag bottles at every outing you attend. But I’ll defend my purchase by saying good equipment is hard to find and frequently not cheap.
Camelbak is doing it right.