CamelBak  Podium Steel VSS Insulated Water Bottle - 22 fl. oz.

To start off, this bottle is pretty sweet. It feels solid, built well but not overly heavy. I really like the drinking system on it. It has a flow selector on top which is easy to use, you can turn it on or off but while riding you will need two hands to do it. I normally keep it on for my ride and will turn it off if I toss it in a bag. The flow out of the mouth piece is great. Water gets through with no problem and you don't have to suck on it like normal bike bottles. Being that it is metal, it is a fair bit heavier than the normal plastic biking bottles but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to use less plastic in my life. If you're one that tracks grams/ounces then this isn't the bottle for you. Besides the weight, there are a couple downsides that reduced this from a 5 star to a 4 star product. The first is completely avoidable and/or easily managed but still a consideration. If you love the paint on your bike frame around your bottle cages then you should put a protective film around them. This metal bottle will incidentally tap your frame and chip the paint. It's not a deal breaker, just something to keep in mind. The second issue is that the location for the bottle retention piece on all standard bottle cages does not fit this bottle. Camelbak placed the indent too high as illustrated in the attached picture with another no name but standard bottle. I tested this bottle on rides on pavement only and while it stayed in the cage, I honestly don't know how it would do if you were riding gravel. I doubt this would work on a mountain bike as it would probably bounce out on the first bump. All in all, I really do like this bottle, the positives of less plastic and solid construction allow me to see past the cons.

I’ve used my Camelbak Podium VVS 22oz stainless on a number of rides so far and I’m not diggin it. This is based on mountain biking... not road, which may spur a different review, but it probably wouldn't be much different. Below are some pros and cons: Pros: - It's durable. I intentionally tossed it onto concrete a couple times from about five feet (on the lid and on the metal part). The plastic didn't crack and the stainless steel bottle didn't dent. Just some scuffs in the paint. - It didn't leak at all when placed upside down for an hour (post dropping), and the rubber/plastic lid was in the locked position. - Water tastes fine after sitting over a day. - It kept water colder longer than a plastic water bottle. - Ice cubes easily fit into the bottle. Cons: - It’s heavy compared to plastic water bottles (12oz / 354g). - Because of its weight, it will definitely get tossed out of your bottle cage during big hits or in fast technical sections. - When you get the brief opportunity to chug water during a more mellow section of singletrack (unless you stop), you can't squeeze the bottle to get that quick swig. You have to suck on the mouthpiece or sit there and let it drain into your mouth. - The mouth piece is of large diameter, which is good for flow, but the hole is almost 1.5 cm wide and is 1.5 inches deep, so lots of mud and trail crud packs into it. Since you can't squeeze the bottle, you can't flip it over and blast the crud out. This is also the case for creek crossings where creek water fills the opening and sits until you gulp it down... (think E.coli, giardia, or in the case of this spout, an entire gambusia would fit comfortably ;). Other Observations: - Can’t put hot liquids in it (not something I'd do, but others might). - It fits fine in a King bottle cage, which is a standard size. Overall, I think this bottle is a terrible idea for mountain biking, maybe 2.5 stars for road cycling. I definitely wouldn't recommend it. I think it’d be perfect for a parent pushing a stroller with a bottle holder, someone biking on a dry paved rail-trail/bike-path, commuting to work (which I'm now using it for), or just use in one's car.