Sigg Sports Bottle Review

Latest review for Sleepmonsters.co.uk

Summary: Updated classic water bottle but not ideal for adventure racing
Price: £15
Value: 5/10
Performance: 5/10
  • Iconic design
  • Light
  • Tough
  • Leakproof
  • Aluminium drinks bottle with updated sports top
    Sigg have been producing bottles for 101 years and if you have been a regular ACE racer over the past 10 years this is probably also how many SIGG bottles you have stashed away under the stairs.

    The familiar, Swiss made, aluminium bottle available in 1000s of different designs has been a favourite with hikers and climbers for years because of its durability, lightweight and leakproof structure. It is made from a single piece of aluminium and as such is 100% recyclable. To protect the contents from aluminium contamination, it features a patented elastic polymer lining that passes all relevant FDA standards, and prevents the flavour of your drink from being tainted. In my experience it does tend to keep water tasting as it should do, when compared to water stored in typical plastic sports water bottles. Sigg also claim that it is taste-neutral with fruit acids and isotonic drinks but I have not tried this myself. The elastic coating means that if the bottle is dropped and dented the inner will not peel off and for many the dents on their Sigg each tell a story of a particular adventure. For me they are annoying and the ease with which the outer scratches, means it looks tatty in no time.

    For sports use Sigg have developed the sports bottle top with a handy flip over lid to keep the nozzle crud free, however, taking a drink still involves unscrewing the lid slightly then sucking through a nozzle, not quite as simple as a regular bottle that can be opened with your teeth. The fact that the bottle itself is made of solid metal means you can’t squeeze it to get the liquid out quicker, you just have to suck harder, so it is not ideal for high intensity activities. I find the bottle diameter a bit narrow for most bike bottle cages and it easily falls out on a rough downhills. A cage that is tight enough to hold it in will probably scratch the paint off when you put it in and out.

    Siggs have many fans because of their durability and quality feel. They also do a reasonable job of keeping drinks cool in the heat, but you can’t put in hot liquids as they will damage the internal coating. All in all, the Sigg is a classic piece of outdoor kit and now has increased ease of use with the sport’s top, but it is just not really suitable for adventure racing or high intensity activities.For more details please visit: http://www.sigg.com

    Helly Hansen Adventure X

    I had a great weekend at the end of March down in the Lakes supporting the team as they competed in the first Helly Hansen Adventure X. Bruce, Nick and Tom worked really hard all weekend and I worked as their ‘pit bitch’, fetching, fixing, planning, recceing, photographing and generally shouting abuse. The result was the first race victory of the season and a bumper cheque for £2500, large in size figuratively and literally…

    Bumper Cheque Time!
    Bumper Cheque Time!

    A full report is on the team website http://adventureraceteam.wordpress.com/reports/helly-hansen-adventure-x/

    Tips on Training, Boats and Paddles for Endurance Paddling Races

    It’s been a difficult time recently as I’ve struggled with a knee injury that has randomly changed in severity and has more or less sidelined me for the past few months. I think I’ve managed about 4 runs since October as some days it would feel fine and the next I wouldn’t be able to walk down the stairs. It managed to last long enough with appropriate ibuprofen use to last me through the IGWA race in Guadeloupe in November, but since then only a few sporadic runs and zero time on the bike, have meant that my left is wasting away to nothing! :o(

    So in the meantime I’ve been sat on the kayak ergo trying to really build up strength in what is undoubtedly my, and most British adventure racer’s, worst discipline. (Actually inline skating may be even less successful!). Getting proper paddle training advice and guidance on technique and training is invaluable and this weblog with links to a whole bunch of articles has been really useful, I hope others find the same.

    Tips on Training, Boats and Paddles for Endurance Paddling Races

    Stay strong!

    John

    Captured on Google Maps

    A few months back I was intrigued to be driving behind a car that looked like it was mutant hybrid of a sales repmobile and a nuclear submarine. Coincidentally a news report that day tipped me off to the fact that it was a Google Earth Camera car, going around town photographing the streets for the new Street View feature. Well, it launched today and wouldn’t you know, guess who’s been captured on film…Captured on Street View– Google Maps.

    I wonder how long it will be before the first criminal is convicted after being caught on camera…

    Self Catering Accommodation in Andalucia

    Am just putting the finishing touches to a website I’ve put together for some friends in Spain. If you’re looking for some walking, mountain biking, road biking, birdwatching or just generally chilled out self catering accommodation in Andalucia then have a look at Cortijo La Calera

    Really must get back to updating this blog a bit more often..have been off the hills and bike for far too long with a knee injury so not a lot to report on the adventure front…

    The Turas in reflection

    The Turas Adventure Race in Ireland that we competed in during June has been thrown out of the World Series because of financial difficulties, so says a statement on the AR World Series website. This comes as a disappointment but not really as a huge surprise. We finished 6th and were thankful of just finishing inside the prize money as reward for some hard effort, but alas the prize money has not been forthcoming and, so it seems, we are not the only team to have been let down on this. As the race slipped further into the memory it seemed more and more unlikely that any money would appear and with the ever deepening financial hole that is the Irish economy it was presumed that the Irish tourist board, who were presumably putting up the prize fund, had blown their budget on prawn sandwiches and were scraping the whisky barrel for shavings to keep the fires going.

    It seems that local businesses involved in the race haven’t been paid either, which makes it all the more likely that a bitter taste will be left in the area and the likelihood of it going ahead in 2009 is probably waining, so thoughts of a 2010 World Champs there should be far from the mind.

    At the time, our own feelings on the race were a bit mixed. We’d mostly had a great time and really enjoyed (most of) the course, which was pretty well planned and executed on the whole. There were mistakes, some big, some small, but none serious enough to really harm the race and as far as I am aware most of the teams had a great time. The most obvious failing with the race course was a late start time for the rowing section which was clear from the start was going to mean all the top teams would reach it long before it opened, negating any need to push hard for the first two days, as all the teams would restart on an equal footing on the Thursday. Arriving earlier than Thursday morning just gave time to sleep and eat and on restart it was essentially a 30 hour blast to the finish, so not a true expedition race.

    On the plus side the hospitality was phenomenal, the value for money from the entry fee was superb, the race course sections were pretty much all interesting and of good length and the scenery was amazing. The organisers had taken a lot on in staging such a big race in such a short space of time and we did have fears before we arrived that it would all work out, however, most of the niggles were minor – like issuing a specific kit list that was repeatedly altered right up to the race start, that wasn’t actually adhered to in kit checks anyway. Then there was the much publicised but, it seems, never actually confirmed (or even properly recc’ed) zip line across the Gap of Dunloe, which never happened because it simply wasn’t practically possible to do and the repositioning of the activity caused a whole bunch of problems for some teams. They worked hard to include the zip line and fair play to them for making it happen, but promoting something that wasn’t going to happen just to generate media interest was pretty poor form.

    Niggles aside the race was good fun and was a great chance to mix it up alongside some top teams, but whether the race goes ahead again and whether any top teams would actually sign on we’ll just have to wait and see.

    (P.S. If anyone found all my kayaking gear at the hostel at the end of the race then I’d really like to hear from you, there was some quite distinctive stuff in there…)

    Washout

    It was a bit wet in the west of Scotland in October. This path down near Stratchclyde Park used to be pretty good for inline skating training….

    Washed away
    Washed away

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