For awhile, I was using this generic water bottle I actually picked up for free at the ZooZilla 5k I ran back in November. The opening at the top of it it was about the size of a quarter. Cleaning it out well was a problem. Sure you can swish some hot water around in there and hope for the best, but after taking a slug one day and being met with kiiiiiiiind of a gross flavor - I am totally OCD about cleaning my water bottle.
All I can say is: Clean Bottle - thank you for coming into my life.
The top not only screws off & has a nice wide opening, but the flexible rubber nozzle pops off, as well. This was a HUGE problem with my other bottles (if you've ever used an electrolyte powder, you know the weird crust/film that can form) & I feel so much better about putting my mouth on this thing.
BONUS!!!! The bottom screws off, too!!! And THIS is freaking ground zero when it comes to powder crust forming. Even whenever all of the liquid is gone, there's always leftover stuff. The fact that I can unscrew the bottom of my bottle & actually CLEAN it without just blindly shoving my fingers down into the bottle with a paper towel is great. It's totally prevented me from taking the first sip during my workout & thinking "please don't taste weird, please don't taste weird". There's also no leaking from the bottom at all. I've been testing it for about a week and a half now, and I've had no issues.
You can get the blue/yellow bottle (which is shown above) or you can go for the black/gray one that I have. I've gotta note that the clear plastic on the bottle is really easy to squeeze. This is important for myself & a lot of runners that use a water bottle WHILE they run (I constantly take drinks when I run on the treadmill). It's not that thick, resistant plastic that some water bottles are made of that require both hands and an iron vice to get a squirt out of.
And it might be weird, but my water bottles have gotta fit nicely into the cup holder in my car. I often fill them up before I leave the gym so I can keep hydrating on the ride home, and I had a bottle that was too little once and it would flop around all over the place in there. Clean Bottle fits perfectly.
It also fits nicely in my gym bag :)
If you're wanting to pick up a clean bottle, they're only $10. Seriously great deal for a quality water bottle that's incredibly practical. They also have whisk balls available (which is great for people like me who use a lot of powders/mixes) which are sold separately for $5 or with a bottle for $14. Here's a link to their web store if you want to check out the whole sha-bang.
Thanks to Clean Bottle for doin what you guys do. As I always say, finding a product that I love using every single time I run is really just a breath of fresh air. Understanding runners & athletes isn't easy, but I think you guys hit the nail on the head :)
Keep Running,
Kelli
