I love products that are the result of someone getting fed-up with the status-quo. The Clean Bottle cyclist water bottle was designed by David Meyer, who got tired of cleaning out the mold from the bottom of his water bottles. His brainstorm: what if you could unscrew the bottom?

I got a sample in the mail courtesy of one of their representatives. The bottle is made of a plastic that does not contain BPA, an organic compound used in manufacturing that has been linked to health issues like erectile dysfunction and hormonal inbalances. It’s present in most metal cans in the form of an inside plastic lining, but has fallen out of favor with the water bottle industry. Be assured that Clean Bottle is sticking with the trend.

Still, plastic is plastic, and I usually favor glass for my water; I am sensitive to the taint of plastic or metal that these containers often impart. To my surprise, Clean Bottle didn’t carry the plastic smell after I’d used it a couple of times. I’d rinsed it out thoroughly and let some water sit in it for almost two weeks, then dumped it out and filled it again. It’s been two weeks since then, and when I opened it up just now there was no weird smell. Your mileage may vary.

The sturdiness of the plastic gives it a functional edge over my beautiful Takeya Modern Glass Water Bottle, which I worry will break if I carry it around with me.

Because of the double-ended design, I was curious if the bottom would be as strong as the top, so I filled the bottle with seltzer water to see what would happen under some pressure; the bottle isn’t intended for this use, mind you. My kitchen survived the experiment, and I’m pretty confident that the bottle is engineered well. One interesting thing about the top valve is that you can suck down the water and the bottle doesn’t collapse from the vacuum. Usually, when you are drinking from those disposable water bottles, they crunch up from the vacuum and become difficult to hold. The Clean Bottle valve is a semi-soft rubber that you can put your mouth around, seal with your lips, and drink easily. The valve seems to allow water to flow one way while allowing air to flow back in the bottle. A side effect of this is that the water is somewhat aerated in the process, which can be nice.

Clean Bottle has been selling well, according to the representative I talked with. I wish them well.

Available from: Clean Bottle and REI.