Review on 💧 Zefal 164 Water Bottle: Durable 33 oz Container for Hydration by Thasapon Keitt

I love these bike packing bottles. That's the difference between carrying some kind of bubble and jumping between cities in the middle of summer at noon. The capacity of 1 liter is very attractive to me. For me, Camelback Podium water bottles are the best I've ever used. I would give the podium 4 stars. I'm used to trouble and now I have really positive associations with this water bottle. This Zefal bottle scores extra points for capacity and loses many points for the following criteria: A distinct plastic taste that develops very quickly. With my other water bottles, I don't notice leeches until I leave the water in the bottle overnight or longer. With Zefal it's almost instantaneous. I'm worried about it. It takes too much effort to close the lid. On my first bike ride with them, I kept wasting water because my first squeeze after every stop ended up on my face and jersey, not just my mouth. Now I'm used to it and I know how hard I have to press my eyelids. No nozzle. It's the same basic design that water bottles used 40 years ago. It's not scary - it works as expected; OTOH, if Camelback has 4 stars, then this design costs a lot less. Branding: I just feel weird branding really cheap stuff. IDK - maybe I'm afraid people will think I think this is a great water bottle? Maybe I shouldn't write it on the product. I definitely have nothing against the Camelback logo, so outlandish and against my taste in design, and yet even conservative branding seems to be bad style on these bottles. Overall, this bottle just doesn't meet my criteria for good cycling. gear: its interface/use is opaque. That said, instead of just using it routinely/out of habit/because of muscle memory, I'm always aware of the valve opening, the taste of plastic, and remember to close the valve when I put it back in the cage. Gear that I consider over the edge goes out of sight much quicker than my habit with it - if I ever get used to it. At the moment it seems more likely that next summer I will start looking for a better solution to the same problem. I just don't like these bottles. I find the ability attractive and nothing else. It's like the McMansion drywall joke: It's not a house, but it's a lot.