Now that January is a couple days away, it’s out with the old, in with the new, and the Eddy Water Bottle by Camelbak is a new take on an old standard. Rather than having to unscrew the cap to take a drink from this water bottle, the Eddy comes with a built in straw that you flip up, bite, and sip. I’m a little old school when it comes to water bottles, (my first was an aluminum canteen* after all) but once I got used to using the straw I quickly saw the benefits.
For one thing, the flip up straw makes this the ideal water bottle for traveling. Whether you are in a car, or on a plane, you can take a sip without spilling any water down the front of your shirt. The other thing I like about the straw is that there is no danger of dropping the lid while you take a drink. If you’ve ever had to fish a water bottle cap out from under a car seat, you understand what a bonus this is. The loop handle is also a nice touch, making it easy to carry and/or secure to your pack, and the wide mouth opening makes it easy to load up the Eddy with ice (a huge plus in my book). In addition to all these features, the Eddy Water Bottle is BPA/BPS free, dishwasher safe and comes in multiple sizes. It’s the perfect accessory for all those new years resolutions. Even if you stop going to the gym, you’ll still get a lot of use out of this water bottle.
Available from Amazon for $15.00
Camelbak is also making a powdered drink mix called Mantra. It comes in three flavors, Blueberry Pomegranate, Cranberry Lime and Raspberry Lemonade. Each flavor has zero calories, is sweetened with stevia, and includes a dose of antioxidants, vitamins and electrolytes to help keep you hydrated on hot days or at the gym. I found these flavor packs to be a little too sweet for my taste. But, keep in mind that I cut any glass of juice with water, so almost anything tastes too sweet for me. I used half a pack with a full bottle and that seemed to work well. I like the idea of mixing my own sports drink. Half a pack, plus some fresh squeezed citrus and or a touch of juice made for a great beverage last summer.
Available from Amazon for $6.95
The more you know: A canteen can be any vessel used to carry water. They range from hollowed out gourds to more contemporary plastic water bottles. According to Wikipedia… Hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari use ostrich eggshells as water containers in which they puncture a hole to enable them to be used as canteens. The presence of such eggshells dating from the Howiesons Poort period of the Middle Stone Age at Diepkloof Rock in South Africa suggests that canteens were used by humans as early as 60,000 years ago.
Boring stuff: Camelbak provided me with a free review sample. This in no way effected the opinions expressed in this review. All image via Camelbak website.