The Amphipod handheld water bottle is the best water bottle I have ever held. Period. I hate to make this sound like propaganda, but I have almost nothing bad to say about the new Amphipod Hydraform bottle.

The old bottles struggled some, in my experience, with the mouthpiece leaking after the bottle had been used a bit. They also lacked any place to put things, which, for some runners, made them not an option. The new upgraded model has addressed all these issues and makes the Amphipod Hydraform the new best product on the market.

What makes the Amphipod so great is a combination of great design and ruggedness. It is a near-perfect blend of form and function. Let’s take a closer look…

Pros:

• Design: The unique shape of the bottle allows you to hold it with very little effort. In fact, with the strap tightened (which is not uncomfortable at all), I can (and often do) completely let go of the bottle and still be holding on to it. It’s also skinny enough that I can use my fingers since I can let go of the strap. It’s nice to be able to open gels or get in my pockets with the bottle still strapped to my hand.
• Pocket: They finally put a pocket on the strap of the bottle! Many other bottles have had this for a long time, and it used to be the only thing really holding the Amphipod back from dominating the market. Now I can carry things in the pocket, and they don’t get sloshed around because the pocket is well-designed. It’s also big enough to hold a decent amount of stuff. I’ve put 3 gels in it, and it looks to me like it could fit 4 at least. It’s also big enough to hold a skinny bar, like a Clif Mojo (my favorite). This was the main thing the bottle was missing before, and now it has one!
• Toughness: I have fallen on this bottle more times than I care to admit. It’s taken the full blunt of my weight against rocks, roots, trees, and the ground many times, and has never sprung a leak. I’m sure if you stabbed it with a knife you’d poke a hole in it, but falling on jagged rocks hasn’t done the trick. Its flat shape also helps when you fall on your hands, since it doesn’t roll.
• Mouth Piece: I am personally not a fan of the bite-and-drink style mouth pieces on water bottles (love them on CamelBak’s, though). I prefer the pop-up style of the Amphipod. I have known the bite-and-drink mouthpieces to tear, leaving them useless, and I personally think they are awkward to drink through on a water bottle.

Cons:

• Loose Strap Binding: This has been a problem with both the older bottles and the new style. The strap is attached to the bottle at the bottom by a band that can be removed (for washing, etc…) However, it is not elastic or stretchy rubber, so once you take it off once or twice, it gets loose and will sometimes fall off when you take the bottle out of your hand. It never falls off while on your hand, but sometimes if you take it off to switch hands, eat, or um… relieve yourself, the band comes off. It’s not hard to slip back on, but it is a bit annoying. It seems like they could easily fix it by making it a little bit elastic. Amphipod, if you’re listening, this is the one thing you still really need to fix.
• Mouth Piece: Some people swear by the bite-and-drink style mouth pieces, and don’t like the fact that you have to open this piece the way you do. I open it with my teeth and close it with my off-hand or other bottle. I have heard some people complain about having to open it this way, but I do not find it inconvenient.

Summary

The Amphipod Hydraform handheld is far and away the leader in the market. You can literally hold the bottle without even closing your fingers around it. Now that it has gotten a pocket in the strap, there is no other bottle that comes close to being as great. Some people prefer the bit-and-drink mouth pieces over the pop-up one featured on the Amphipod. If this is really a problem for you, you may want to use another bottle until Amphipod releases a model with the bite-and-drink style (I’m sure they will soon enough). However, the mouthpiece on the Hydraform is very easy to open and, since the upgrade, does not leak.

Since the Hydraform has gained a strap and lost the leak, I see no reason to be using any other water bottle. It’s simply the best there is.

What water bottle do you use? If it’s not the Hydraform, what do you like about your bottle more? Have you had problems with the Amphipod? We’d love to hear anything you have to say in the comments.