CamelBak Podium Steel Insulated Bike Bottle

Cold water, right where your hand expects it. Plastic bottles are fine until the second hour of a summer ride, when your drink is the same temperature as the pavement. The Podium Steel fixes that. It's CamelBak's bike bottle rebuilt in 18/8 stainless steel with double-wall vacuum insulation, shaped to drop into a standard cage, and offered here in an 18 oz size for lighter rides and a 22 oz size for the long haul.

The insulation is the main event: CamelBak rates the 18 oz at 14 hours cold and the 22 oz at 18 hours, so the last sip of a long ride still tastes like the first. Because steel doesn't squeeze, CamelBak built a high-flow cap with a vent tube underneath that lets air in as water flows out, so you just grab, tip and drink without wrestling the bottle. A leakproof lockout seals the cap when it's tossed in a bag or car, the optimized shape fits most bike cages, and it's easy to clean after the ride. The cap is part of CamelBak's Universal Cap System. Fair warning from the shop: steel in a metal cage will pick up some scuffs over time. CamelBak calls it wearing in, not out, and it doesn't affect the bottle.

Whether you're grinding through a hot gravel century, commuting with something cold for the end of the day, or just tired of plastic-tasting water, the Podium Steel is the bottle you'll reach for first.

About CamelBak. CamelBak started with a bike race. During the 1988 Hotter'N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, Texas, EMT and cyclist Michael Eidson filled an IV bag with water, slipped it into a tube sock and ran a hose over his shoulder, inventing hands-free hydration on the spot. CamelBak was founded in 1989 as the original performance hydration brand, and the Podium bottle line carries those cycling roots forward.