Huh, that's really interesting. I always angle the bottle towards myself in my running vest, because I can't reach the nozzle otherwise. Maybe I have an unusually short neck or something. Have you encountered mold in the nozzle part yet? I usually wash mine before they have a chance to get moldy, but I went on a long run today while it was really humid, and now there's black stuff stuck in the nozzle. It sounds like you mostly use them for water, rather than electrolytes, but have you ever had to take them apart and clean the lid?
I also had to angle the bottles towards the body, but why should we waste the time thinking how to put the bottle especially during a long ultra race after a day or two of continuous running when you are tired, want to sleep and have no idea what is your name...
Hi Jimmy! Thanks for the great review. I have used just about every commercially available water bladder and I find them all, new or old, have roughly the same taste as chewing on a garbage bag. I've tried Camelbak (many, many, Camelbak), Osprey, Source, Platypus, and others. I've tried the ones that specifically say they don't taste like rubber and they still taste like the water was stored in an inner tube. I've tried denture tablets, washing thoroughly and drying well in advance of a hike. I've tried washing just before going on a hike. Do these TRULY have no rubber taste? I've even gotten to the point where I think it's the nature of having water fed by a tube that is the problem (maybe it's the tubing material...). I've tried everything and I've just about given up on water bladders and thought about the going back to the inconvenience of water bottles and just living with taking off my backpack to get to my water bottles. You've certainly got me interested in this PEEVA coated product so I went to the website and noticed they sell 2 liter water bladders (a little small, but I can deal with it) coated with the same material. I know you said the water bottle's PEEVA coating started separating after 30-50 uses. If I can get 10 good uses, I'm fine with that. If you say they're good, I'll buy 2 of the water bladders right now.
Short answer: I think it's worth a try, but do chime in here with your experiences so everyone else can have some more anecdata to work with. Very long answer: As I understand it, our taste buds detect the concentration of taste molecules (let's call it "plastic taste") as we drink a fluid. Each one of us has a different sensitivity, so the "critically acceptable" concentration level will vary for each of us. For me personally, I've done blind taste tests of different bottled and filtered/unfiltered tap waters. Of 8 samples, I correctly identified 6 of them (but incorrectly swapped 1 with another), while my family members guessed 1-3 correctly. This plus other experiences lead me to believe that I'm particularly sensitive to the taste of water. In order to determine relative concentration of "plastic taste molecules", what we're really after is the volume of these molecules since the fluid volume is fixed. This volume is determined by the rate of leaching x time, where I expect the rate of leaching is primarily influenced by material, surface area, and temperature. I can't answer for what is your "critically acceptable" level of plastic taste molecules and whether you would be able to detect the plastic taste with the UD PEEVA bottle. However, when compared with the dozen or so different hydration bladders and soft bottles I've tried, the UD bottle has been significantly less gross for me - so much so that in typical use it is similar to using a Smartwater bottle.
@@HikingNerd Thank! That's a great answer. The time where my water bladder tasted the absolute worst was when I was at about 13,000 feet on Mt. Whitney's 99 switchbacks. I think the increased UV at that altitude was causing the plastic in the hose to break down on a very small level resulting in an especially bad plastic taste. That, the nausea, altitude headache, and fatigue just made the water unbearable. Each sip made me feel like I wanted to gag so I went without water and only sipped when I absolutely needed it. That whole thing made for a pretty miserable summit. Ever since then, I've been looking for other options which were never really satisfying. However, your answer gives me enough confidence to give the 2 liter water bladder a try. Thanks again for the great review. I clicked on the affiliate link, but I noticed the 2 liter wasn't on Amazon. The 1.5 liter bladder is in the link, though. edit: I clicked on the link for the 1.5 liter and it gave me the option to get the 2 liter reservoir.
@@kennyle8640 That sounds like a terrible time and a vicious cycle too. There's no point having a water reservoir if we don't want to drink the water from it - at that point we might as well carry something heavier that meets all the other criteria. I know some people will attach hydration hoses into smartwater bottles as an alternative to the classic bladder. I hope the UD PEEVA bladder works for you!
Excellent review brother. Thumbs up.
Huh, that's really interesting. I always angle the bottle towards myself in my running vest, because I can't reach the nozzle otherwise. Maybe I have an unusually short neck or something.
Have you encountered mold in the nozzle part yet? I usually wash mine before they have a chance to get moldy, but I went on a long run today while it was really humid, and now there's black stuff stuck in the nozzle. It sounds like you mostly use them for water, rather than electrolytes, but have you ever had to take them apart and clean the lid?
I also had to angle the bottles towards the body, but why should we waste the time thinking how to put the bottle especially during a long ultra race after a day or two of continuous running when you are tired, want to sleep and have no idea what is your name...
Hi Jimmy! Thanks for the great review. I have used just about every commercially available water bladder and I find them all, new or old, have roughly the same taste as chewing on a garbage bag. I've tried Camelbak (many, many, Camelbak), Osprey, Source, Platypus, and others. I've tried the ones that specifically say they don't taste like rubber and they still taste like the water was stored in an inner tube. I've tried denture tablets, washing thoroughly and drying well in advance of a hike. I've tried washing just before going on a hike. Do these TRULY have no rubber taste? I've even gotten to the point where I think it's the nature of having water fed by a tube that is the problem (maybe it's the tubing material...). I've tried everything and I've just about given up on water bladders and thought about the going back to the inconvenience of water bottles and just living with taking off my backpack to get to my water bottles. You've certainly got me interested in this PEEVA coated product so I went to the website and noticed they sell 2 liter water bladders (a little small, but I can deal with it) coated with the same material. I know you said the water bottle's PEEVA coating started separating after 30-50 uses. If I can get 10 good uses, I'm fine with that. If you say they're good, I'll buy 2 of the water bladders right now.
Seems like you already have your answer.
Short answer:
I think it's worth a try, but do chime in here with your experiences so everyone else can have some more anecdata to work with.
Very long answer:
As I understand it, our taste buds detect the concentration of taste molecules (let's call it "plastic taste") as we drink a fluid. Each one of us has a different sensitivity, so the "critically acceptable" concentration level will vary for each of us.
For me personally, I've done blind taste tests of different bottled and filtered/unfiltered tap waters. Of 8 samples, I correctly identified 6 of them (but incorrectly swapped 1 with another), while my family members guessed 1-3 correctly. This plus other experiences lead me to believe that I'm particularly sensitive to the taste of water.
In order to determine relative concentration of "plastic taste molecules", what we're really after is the volume of these molecules since the fluid volume is fixed. This volume is determined by the rate of leaching x time, where I expect the rate of leaching is primarily influenced by material, surface area, and temperature.
I can't answer for what is your "critically acceptable" level of plastic taste molecules and whether you would be able to detect the plastic taste with the UD PEEVA bottle. However, when compared with the dozen or so different hydration bladders and soft bottles I've tried, the UD bottle has been significantly less gross for me - so much so that in typical use it is similar to using a Smartwater bottle.
@@HikingNerd Thank! That's a great answer. The time where my water bladder tasted the absolute worst was when I was at about 13,000 feet on Mt. Whitney's 99 switchbacks. I think the increased UV at that altitude was causing the plastic in the hose to break down on a very small level resulting in an especially bad plastic taste. That, the nausea, altitude headache, and fatigue just made the water unbearable. Each sip made me feel like I wanted to gag so I went without water and only sipped when I absolutely needed it. That whole thing made for a pretty miserable summit. Ever since then, I've been looking for other options which were never really satisfying. However, your answer gives me enough confidence to give the 2 liter water bladder a try. Thanks again for the great review. I clicked on the affiliate link, but I noticed the 2 liter wasn't on Amazon. The 1.5 liter bladder is in the link, though.
edit: I clicked on the link for the 1.5 liter and it gave me the option to get the 2 liter reservoir.
@@kennyle8640 That sounds like a terrible time and a vicious cycle too. There's no point having a water reservoir if we don't want to drink the water from it - at that point we might as well carry something heavier that meets all the other criteria. I know some people will attach hydration hoses into smartwater bottles as an alternative to the classic bladder. I hope the UD PEEVA bladder works for you!
Any luck with the PEEVA hydration bladder, Kenny?
If you can taste plastic, lol PVC/BPA whatever else free, that can't be healthy!