Polar Insulated Sports Bottle Review

WATER BOTTLE: POLAR SPORT INSULATED – 24oz. Rating: 4.8/5 Website: www.polarbottle.com Price MSRP: 24 oz: (check on Amazon) 20 oz: (click to check latest price) 12 oz: (click to check latest price) Features: Insulation to keep the heat out and cold in How obtained: Sample from company Summary: High quality materials and well thought out features!

HOT (or COLD)!! Fits all standard water bottle cages. Double-wall insulation keeps heat out and cold in. Inner foil liner adds extra thermal protection. Can customize bottles with logos BPA-free and Phthalate-free Low density polyethlene (LDPE #4) which is FDA food-grade approved Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) compliant California Prop 65 compliant And, proudly

NOT! Due to double-wall insulation and requirement to use existing water bottle cages, this 24oz bottle grows in height from 9-1/4” (for a typical 24 oz bottle) to 10-3/5” (for the Polar Sport Bottle with standard cap). The issue is that this bottle is now too tall for small frames (52cm and under), BUT, there is a solution which is discussed in the review below.

INITIAL OBSERVATIONS:

I first noticed that these bottles are much taller than typical 24 oz. varieties. Picking one up, the plastic is much softer and more flexible allowing it to fit more easily into any type of water bottle cage. [The picture to the right shows a typical 24 oz bottle compared to the Polar 24 oz bottle.]

What makes these bottles unique is the triple-layer construction which is an insulating foil layer sandwiched between two walls of soft plastic, keeping liquids cool more than twice as long as other water bottles.

The other advantage is that this foil can be printed with graphics, corporate logos, team logos or any other type of custom artwork. Some companies even use this feature for OEM resales.

The bottles can be filled with liquid and ice cubes, or, for longer rides, can be placed in the freezer overnight. Due to the plastic used, there is no fear of the bottles becoming brittle and cracking when frozen. They can also accommodate hot liquids, but not advisable due to potential burn hazards.

1. Comply with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) and California Proposition 65, and are BPA- and phthalate-free.
2. No leak lid – mixing in an energy drink powder and shaking vigorously, there was absolutely no leaking from the lid/cap or the drink spout.
3. Ergonomics – Lower part of the bottle has 8 rounded off sides and the middle of bottle has a deep groove indentation allowing for plenty of non-slip grip.
4. Easy to clean – Not only is the bottle and lid dishwasher safe, the inside plastic is smooth which means that it is an easy clean with a bottle brush. The drinking valve removes easily allowing for a quick scrubbing.
5. No funny plastic smell or taste. Even when using plain water, I never experienced any plastic smell or taste.

CUSTOMIZATION PROGRAMS AVAILABLE AS WELL

Customization can be done through the polarbottle.com website where you can include a photo, corporate logo, or custom background which is then printed onto the foil liner and included inside the water bottle. On larger orders, this program offers custom OEM opportunities such as the official water bottle of this years USA Pro Challenge.

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

First, let’s talk about this bottles only drawback – it is too large to fit the rear waterbottle cage of a small frame. [The picture to the right shows a 24 oz Polar bottle that is too large to fit the authors 51cm frame].

While out on rides, I have been specifically looking for how many cyclists are using Polar bottles and I am actually seeing quite a lot of them. The most common solution to this problem is to run the 24 oz Polar bottle up front and the 20oz Polar bottle in the rear cage. It turns out that the 20 oz Polar bottle is 9” tall which allows it to easily fit a 51cm frame. If your frame is 54cm or larger, the 24 oz Polar bottle will easily fit. [Pictured below is the authors 56cm Cervelo showing the easy fitment of the bottles.]

After a month of using these bottles, they still look and work like brand new. There is plenty of ‘purchase’ on the bottle so that it is easy to extract it from the cage and there are no worries that it will slip through your gloved or sweaty hand. These bottles are easy to keep clean and there is never a plastic aftertaste like so many other bottles I have used. Couple this with 44 stock designs that you can choose from and it is a win-win – a great bottle with a graphic of your choice.

Within the Polar sport bottle line, the Platinum bottle performs the best. [The Platinum bottle can be seen as the first graphic just above the article]. This is because a bottle with the lightest colored foil insulator will reflect heat better than a bottle with a darker graphic which will hold onto the heat. On average, during a hot summer day — 90°F or higher — water without ice in a Polar PLATINUM Sport water bottle takes about two hours until it heats to the outside temperature. And, as you know, it takes about 15 minutes for a regular bottle to heat up to the same temperature. You can easily get another hour out of the bottle if you pack it with ice before the ride.

IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?

My choices would one 24 oz Polar bottle, and one 20 oz Polar bottle. Sites like amazon.com currently have the 24 oz bottle on sale. If you consider MSRP only, this bottle is considerably less than its competitors – CamelBak Big Chill Insulated 25 oz for $14.99, Clean Bottle 22 oz for $14.99 and the Elite Clyma Jasa Thermal Bottle 17 oz for $13.99.

Yes, the Polar bottle is a great value!

SUMMARY of POLAR SPORT BOTTLES:

Polar Sport bottles come in up to 44 standard designs/colors where one is likely to catch your eye.

Yes, I highly recommend this bottle!

RATING: 4.8/5

Rick Schultz

I have always enjoyed bicycling and, through a series of coincidences, became a Bicycle Industry Consultant and Product Tester. I test prototype products for companies and have published only off the shelf production products on biketestreviews.com.