Alameda Runners – Get After It!

When I got home from work to discover a couple of water bottles on my desk for review, I thought to myself “Water bottles, eh”.   I usually get water bottles handed to me at expo’s or triathlons.  They are not really something I give much thought.  I expected to be carrying around a $2.00 water bottle that I would have nothing to say about.  I was wrong.  I was carrying around $15 water bottles that I love.

When I removed the lids to wash the bottles, I noticed a clean smell.  New water bottles always smell like plastic.  After washing, I took my water bottle out for a trial run.  The water did not taste like plastic, quite impressive.  The flow out of the cap was perfect.  Now it was time to take the bottle out for a bike ride.  When I go out for long bike rides, I add an extra 50% concentration for my electrolyte drink in both bottles.

I like to drink my fluids warm which really adds to the plastic leaching into the drink.  I spent more than 5 hours on my bike with no odd flavors to my drinks.  After my bike ride, I threw a half full bottle in my clothes bag, filled up the other bottle then took off for a run.  At the run turn-around, I stopped for a gel pack and drink.  I noticed that I was not dripping water on my shirt before I started drinking water.  The water tends to stick in the bottle before you squeeze.  Nice touch.  When I got back to my car, I found that I did not push the cap closed on the bottle before I threw it into the car.  It did not leak.

The Specialized website for water bottles state that infused silicon dioxide create a barrier to the plastic.  If a waiter tries to sell me infused food, I tell him to take a hike.  If a water bottle is infused, I say it is cool.  I guess there is no way of explaining how I think.  Check out their website.  It is pretty good.  It is not really detailed but I probably would not understand the details anyway.

For some odd reason, this review wound up in the in process queue since last year.  After about a year of use, the Purist bottles are still my preferred water bottles.  I left a purist bottle and a $20 running bottle in the car overnight.  The running bottle had a distinct taste of plastic.  It was very sad for me since the running bottle is my second favorite bottle.  I plan on replacing my water bottle collection, now that I can taste the plastic.  I hope Sports Basement has a sale.

Mike’s Note:  Specialized bikes have become even better in recent years, with the company’s accessories also making huge efforts as of late.