August 2005--San Francisco-based Soma Fabrications sells some nice products.  We've been riding and liking our Soma Rush fixed gear bicycle for more than year now, and we recently tried out their cycling coffee cup holder.  So when we saw their new water bottle, we thought we'd try it, too.

Soma Water BottleSoma's bottle stakes its claim on the water bottle market because of what it's made of: crystal polypropylene, or CPP.  CPP is different from the low density polyethylene (LDPE) that's used in most other bottles.  It's clear, for one thing.  Soma also claims that your LDPE bottles are depositing hazardous chemicals into your water, something they say CPP doesn't do.

We didn't run any chemical tests, but based on our results (using straight water and flavored mixes), we can say that what comes out of the bottle pretty much tastes like what went in.  We detected no plasticky aftertaste, even with warm water.  The bottle is easy to grip, and OK to squeeze, although CPP is not as "soft" and squeezable as LDPE.  Because it's clear, it's also easy to see how much water you have left.

On the minus side, the lid that comes with the bottle is pretty darn awful. The bite valve is hard plastic, and it's pretty near impossible to open with your teeth.  We generally need to open the valve with our fingers, then start sipping.  That's a pain.  Then, the valve doesn't like to stay open.  Start drinking, and it has a tendency to partially close.

We haven't dropped our bottle, but we would bet that a CPP bottle would crack or break in a situation where an LDPE bottle would bounce.

Summary: Nice bottle for a reasonable price (MSRP is $4.99, about what we paid in a California bike shop).  No plasticky taste. Awful top. It's also worth noting that Soma doesn't put any type of logo or art on the bottles, making them easy to accessorize with your other bike stuff ... Two colors: clear and smoke.  Soma's official info:  http://www.somafab.com/bottle.html 

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