Polar Insulated Water Bottle Review

Normally, thermal bottles are too hard to squeeze to get fluid out of them, and they don't insulate very well at all.These are the first I've tried that actually worked, and they're just as squeezable as regular water bottles.

PROS and TESTIMONIAL: First time using these I froze them both, put them on the bike, went riding out in the heat of summer, and couldn't get a drop out of them because they remained frozen hard as bowling balls the more than two hours of that particular ride out on the open road.I finally had to open one and drink at least the one sip's worth of fluid that had melted.This was an absolute first.I've used other thermal water bottles over the years, but I tossed them all pretty quickly.None of them worked until these.

Second ride I refrigerated them and put ice cubes in before heading out.The ice melted but the contents remained fairly cool for hours or riding, again in the heat of summer.

Third time I came up with a brilliant idea.I filled them halfway and stuck them in the freezer, then filled them the rest of the way with refrigerated fluid just before heading out.This worked the best of the options I've tried so far.

One rider in my riding club had a great idea--freeze one bottle and fill the other one with fluid and ice.He says by the time he's ready for that second bottle it's melted enough that he can drink out of it.I go through two bottles in under three hours in the summertime, so I'm not sure this will work for me, but I plan to try it out on the next long ride.

In any case, they are absolutely freezer safe.Go ahead, fill them and freeze them, then see how long it takes before you can drink out of them.

FLAVOR: I've had absolutely no problem with the bottle affecting the flavor of the fluids I put in my bottles.Some have complained about this, but it seems more likely that they didn't thoroughly wash the bottles before use.There maybe some shipping wax in there, or just some residue from the manufacturing process.Just two drops of dish soap; any more will have your fluids tasting soapy for several rides; wash out those bottles good even before the first use, and you wont have a problem.

CON--the 24 oz bottle might be too big for your bike frame: I measured the 24 oz bottle height at 10.5 inches with the cap closed and 10.75 with it open, the caviat being that before you order two of these bottles, make sure they will actually fit on your bike.One on the downtube definitely will, but you might have to go with the smaller ones if it wont fit under your top tube when inserted in the upright cage mounted on your seat tube.Mine just barely clears the top tube when inserted in the upright cage on my 54cm Trek road frame; if my frame were only 2cm smaller, I imagine it might not fit.I've included a couple of pictures of my 24 oz bottles in the cages of both my road and mountain bikes for reference.

I've seen several riders with a 24oz on the downtube and a smaller one on the upright, but the only problem there is grabbing and reinserting the bottle in the upright cage while riding.Personally, I used up the one on the downtube and then switch them, but many recreational rider never have gotten into the habit of taking a drink from their water bottle while riding anyway.

In any case, if you have even the slightest doubt about that second bottle fitting, buy one, see if it fits, and if it does then order a second one.

BOTTOM LINE: If they were normal water bottles I would buy them just for the size.Having 48oz of water on you without having to wear a Camelbak is nice.

The fact that the thermal technology works in this make and model is just miraculous, as I've tried several thermal bottles before and none of them seemed to do a damn thing to keep cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot--in the winter.

And lastly, every other thermal bottle I've tried was difficult to impossible to squeeze one handed while riding, so they were too inconvenient to be useful on a bike ride.Especially on a road ride near a major city, it's tough to get those precious seconds for a quick drink, so it really needs to work--and these do.

Product Description
Combining the thermal properties of an insulated vacuum bottle with the lightweight, flexible features of a plastic bottle, the Polar Bottle® is the ideal choice for active people. Simply fill with liquid and ice and hit the trail. For even longer cooling power, fill your Polar Bottle® and store it in the freezer before use. Either way, it will keep liquids cold twice as long as conventional water bottles.

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