Monday, September 7, 2015

Review: CamelBak Eddy .75L Water Bottle

Staying hydrated is of top priority for myself and others with dysautonomia. If we get dehydrated even a little our symptoms can flare badly so you will often see us with a bottle of water or electrolyte drink of some sort. I used to drink a lot of Gatorade and the like but they tend to have a lot of sugar, artificial dye and chemicals so I try to stay away from them these days. There are some days where I cannot do so if I want to control my symptoms but I am working on finding a similar formulation that doesn't have those ingredients or at least limits them significantly. For now I am making sure to eat plenty of salt, drink water throughout the day, and supplement with other minerals daily that I tend to be low on.
To help with the goal of staying hydrated I have tried numerous water bottles but I find that they all eventually began to leak into the bag or tote that I was using which would cause issues as I could have homework, clothing, or even medical equipment in the bag that needed to stay dry. So far the Camelbak Eddy has been my favorite but it doesn't work well if you are bed bound and need to by supine. The best for that has been the Contigo Autoseal Water Bottle. This one began to leak after about 6 months but they do have a warranty that they will replace the top or the gasket if you contact them and send in the top that is leaking. 
I have had my Camelbak Eddy for over a year now with very few problems. It did begin to leak a few months ago but upon inspection it appeared that the bite valve needed replacing. I purchased a package of 4 valves on Amazon for $10 and the leaking went away. Easy fix! The Camelbak Eddy comes in several versions and colors from child sized bottles to 1L bottles. The one that I have is 0.75 liters and part of the purchase price went to support the Wounded Warrior Project. Just like there is a warranty on the Contigo bottle there is also one for the Camelbak. It does appear at first glance to be more difficult to utilize and doesn't cover general wear and tear which gasket leaks could fall under but should be an issue you could contact them to see if their warranty would cover it. I haven't needed to utilize the warranty yet so I cannot speak to it other than just reading over it.

Note:If you cannot drink from a straw for some reason do not get this water bottle as you will need to use suction to drink from it that is slightly more than using a typical straw.

As for how durable this bottle is I can say without a doubt that it can take quite the beating. It has been in numerous bags that have been tossed about, dropped fairly regularly and seen more than its share of bumps and falls over the last year. This rough handling has not caused any noticeable cracks or chips but it does have a small scuff at this point. All in all I would say this bottle was a good investment and I will likely purchase a second one in green soon. 
One thing to understand about these bottles is that they can be a little difficult to clean until you get the hang of it. The valves and straw remove to make the process easier and can be put in the dishwasher but make sure to get in the crevices by hand as tossing the valve in the dishwasher doesn't clean everywhere and you don't want to be drinking contaminated water. 




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