Zefal 164 Water Bottle, 33 oz

I've stayed loyal to Zefal Magnum bottles through three design iterations and this is the best. First was the top with the gasket, which would get lost or, if it hung around long enough, become either dry and brittle or mildewed. Next was the flat, gasket-less seal between the bottle and the top (left in the pictures). Unlike the gasketed style, these tended to leak. Now we have this design with a V-ring that forms a primitive labyrinth seal (on the right in the photos). It doesn't leak and there's no seal to lose or fail. It fits all my cages and never bounces out. The nozzle is easy to open and close and so far hasn't detached from the cap the way they did on the first iteration. We have a winner. The mouth is the smallest of the three designs but still easily accepts the crescent cubes our icemaker produces. Like the two earlier models, this one also holds 31 ounces, maybe 32 if you rely on the meniscus bulge to slightly overfill the bottle. But 33 ounces? Must be a French conversion from metric. No matter. Even 31 is a 10.7 percent increase in capacity over everyone else's 28-ounce "large" bottles.

These bottles have been out of several years. The original design was all black. The problem with the original design, as another reviewer pointed out, is that the lid was not water tight and the bottle would often leak. That one fact essentially made the original completely useless. Having heard that these were redesigned, I thought I'd give them another shot. The extra 8 ounces this gives you over the most of the other large quantity bottles is just really appealing. After tying the new design out, I can confirm what another reviewer posted in that the clear bottles definitely feature a smaller lid than the original design and are absolutely water tight, as you can see in my photo. Additionally, this bottle is likely going to be just fine in your holder, even with the additional ounces. The reason is, it's really not that much longer than typical 25 ounce bottles. It fits tightly and firmly with no wiggle. In sum, I definitely recommend the clear bottles. The black bottles look to have the original lids that leaked(though that could be an outdated photo). Unless you really have a preference for black, stick with the clear ones. If you must have black, I'd drop the seller a line and see if the lids have been updated and when the bottles were manufactured. If the bottles are anything older than 2016, buy the clear ones instead! Cheers!

Best bottle on the market! large and great for long rides.

While I am impressed with the capacity of this bottle, the plastic taste it imparted in the water was unacceptably strong. Rinsing it several times did little to remove the taste. What worked for me was filling the bottle 98% full with very warm water, adding about 5 or 6 drops of Dawn dish soap and then shaking the bottle vigorously for a minute. I then let the water sit in the bottle for 24 hours, periodically shaking it. To let the bottle vent, I left the nozzle open except when shaking it. After 24 hours, I emptied the bottle by squirting the water out thourgh the nozzle and then I rinsed it. For good measure, I then repeated the process for another 24 hours. That pretty much removed the plastic taste and now I can enjoy the bottle on bikepacking trips. In general, this is a good bottle; the nozzle operates smoothly and I have no problems with leaks around the lid. If this trick does not work for you, you might substitute two tablespoons of baking soda or two tablespoons of vinegar in place of the Dawn.

These extra-tall water bottles are sturdy enough to maintain their shape, which I found out the hard way with other bottles is not always something you can count on. they are unique in their 1L size that also fits into a standard bicycle water bottle cage. Also their fitment is such that they sit securely in said cage. I have one of these bottles that is many years old to compare this brand new one to, and the new model on sale now is actually improved in that it has no need for a separate gasket. Speaking of which, the bottle does not leak in normal use, or if you hold it upside down and squeeze it hard. The mouthpiece allows proper water intake without leakage around the edges. Two of these give you a full two liters of water for your journey. In the kind of heat we are seeing this summer, water is life!

I bought these for the Tour Divide last year, and they held up much better than I did. I used 6 of them over about 1,500 miles (I only made it about half way through the TD). They held up in the hot sun, very dusty conditions, extremely bumpy and washboarded roads, and even a major hail storm. I had several things break along the way, but these bottle were super reliable, even the one that I dumped on rocks at 30 mph because I forgot to properly secure the bottle cage. These are just good quality, regular bike bottles. There's nothing fancy about them. They're just bigger than most. By using 6 of these instead of regular-size bottles, I had enough extra water capacity without needing a hydration bladder. If that's what you need, and it's definitely what I needed, buy them. They do what they do very well. BTW, I still use them all the time when doing my regular rides. Even with only two bottles on my bike, the extra ounces are quite welcome. The Zefal's have become my new normal.

Compared to the wildly popular Polar bottle, the Zefal contains 9 ounces more water, while having the same exterior size. See my side-by-side picture. The reason is because the Polar is insulated, while the Zefal isn't. They securely fit on my bike the same way. I take both bottles on long bike rides (50+ miles). Wind from bike motion easily melts all ice in the insulated Polar bottle in less than an hour. So I drink from the Polar bottle first. After the first hour, both bottles have the same temperature, and the bigger volume of the Zefal becomes an advantage. I didn't have to stop for refill along the way, ...well, at least not on colder days. The extra 9 ounces isn't trivial, considering that a coke can is 12 ounces and that there's no place to hold a third bottle on most bikes. Both bottles have large cap opening for mixing Gatorate powder, and can be squeezed for easy drinking on the bike. There's a slight plastic smell on the Zefal that goes away after a few uses. Cleaning the cap is easier than the CamelBak Podium, as there are less crevices for mildew to get caught into. I use a long-handle brush to clean the bottle interior Rubbermaid Comfort Grip Bottle Brush, Bottle Brush (FG6C1900) --------- Update 6 months later The Zefal bottle will leak if I don't pull the mouth piece out completely before squeezing. The Polar bottle is much tighter, which makes pulling in and out with my teeth more difficult, but it doesn't leak even if I only pulled out half way.

FINALLY! I finally found a larger than normal water bottle for my long bike rides! These things are massive, holding an entire liter of liquid each. This is really nice on those long rides where you might not have too many chances to stop and refill a bottle. They fit in to a standard bottle cage just fine and are easy enough to clean. I'm taking off one star because the mouth valve has a tendency to leak. When I'm shaking up my electrolyte powder, I have to put my thumb over the valve to keep it from leaking as I shake it. When you want to take a drink, you have to squeeze the bottle a bit to get the liquid to come out. Not a big deal, but some people might not like that. Overall, a solid purchase. I have two at this point and will likely buy a couple more as back-ups in the near future.

Good service

Llego en perfectas condiciones y el material en el que está hecho es muy bueno, ajusta a la perfección con mi porta ánforas.

Great bottle. Nothing fancy, just holds lots of water and is simple to use. I use 2 of them when cycling and go though about 1 bottle per hour. I don't like to have to ration water while exercising so the extra capacity of these bottles over standard size ones is what makes this product great. Fits in my standard size bottle holder on my bike. I wash both the bottles and the lids in the dishwasher which is probably not recommended, but I've had no problems so far with it.

Happy purchase

Zefal water bottles....not a lot to say. Those that know the brand will know you get a quality product.