Christine Ryan is an editor overseeing coverage of travel and outdoors gear, which has entailed testing down-filled vests in Iceland in June.
One thing I’ve learned after a 20-year career as a travel (and travel-gear) journalist: Stay hydrated while flying.
Another thing I’ve learned: The odds are very, very good that I’ll accidentally leave my water bottle or travel mug behind, tucked in a seat-back pocket, never to be seen again—at least not by me.
So, here’s a third thing I’ve finally learned: Don’t bring fancy insulated bottles when traveling.
Instead, I carry a CamelBak Podium cycling water bottle.
It’s cheap and light, and it doesn’t leak. And if I leave it behind—or if I forget to dump out the water before going through security and it gets confiscated by the TSA—it’s no great loss. With any luck, whoever finds my Podium bottle will take it home, wash it (it’s dishwasher safe), and adopt it.
Our pick
This squeeze bottle is leakproof and light, so you can throw it into a carry-on bag for a flight. And it’s is cheap enough that if the TSA makes you ditch it, you won’t be heartbroken.
Buying Options
It’s sturdy and performs well, but it’s not precious
Yes, you could buy a plastic bottle of water at an airport newsstand and then keep reusing the container. But those bottles are often so flimsy that I’m afraid one would splinter or tear when I shoved it into a backpack. The CamelBak Podium Bike Bottle, by contrast, is built to survive being accidentally dropped onto pavement from a bike moving 20 or 30 miles an hour.
The Podium water bottle has no screw cap to remove (and probably lose). You open and close it, very securely, by twisting the spout you drink from. For that reason, actually, this bottle isn’t my favorite to use while riding my bike. I prefer the kind that has a mouthpiece you push in to close and pull out to open—I can operate it with my teeth. But should I be traveling and get an unexpected chance to go for a bike ride, I’ll happily make do with the Podium bottle.
Full disclosure: I can’t take any of the credit for coming up with this clever airplane-hydration solution. A former Wirecutter colleague, Eve O’Neill, who was on our water-bottle beat, spent years trying to find a good collapsible water bottle for travelers but was never satisfied: “The Hydaway tastes plasticky, the Vapur and the Platypus collapse (in a bad way), the HydraPak flops, and the Nomader doesn’t pack down very small.”
Finally, she decided to recommend what she herself carries: a cycling water bottle that costs, full price, maybe 12 bucks. Brilliant, if you ask me.
The downside: It is plastic and has no cap
If you’re trying to avoid drinking from plastic for health (or any) reasons, this bottle may not work for you. (For what it’s worth, CamelBak does say the Podium bottle is “100% free of BPA, BPS, and BPF.”) Also, the mouthpiece is exposed, which means it won’t be protected if, say, the bottle’s bouncing around in a backpack. If that grosses you out, you’d better skip this bottle.
It’s very easy to clean
You can take a bottle brush to the Podium water bottle, or you can run it through the dishwasher—I’d put the cap in one of those little small-parts cages or on the top silverware rack, if you have one. You can also disassemble the cap and wash the parts individually, if that’s your jam.
This article was edited by Jason Chen and Catherine Kast.
Meet your guide
Christine Ryan is a senior editor at Wirecutter overseeing the teams that cover travel, outdoors gear, beds and linens, home decor, and more. (She also edits and writes about cycling equipment, which gives her an excuse to sneak away from her desk and go for a ride.) Previously, she was an editor at European Travel & Life, Gourmet, and Sunset.