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review

Elite Jet Bottle

10
£4.99

VERDICT:

10
10
Full marks to Elite for producing an eco-friendly bottle with pro-level performance and a price that's easy to swallow too
Made from compostable plastic
BPA-free
Nozzle supplies good flow and seals well
Weight: 
80g

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Elite's new Jet bottle is made from biodegradable plastic, has an oversized nozzle that is easy to drink from and seals efficiently, and is based on the Elite Fly, as used in the WorldTour.

Elite claims impressive sustainability and public health credentials, but how does the Jet work as a bidon? Faultlessly, is the short answer.

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I used the Jet with the Elite Ala Resin bottle cage, which I reviewed separately, and the way the two go together – well, it's a match made in heaven (or Italy for the cage and Croatia for the bottle).

Elite really has nailed its bottle cage/bottle integration and although I had to point out that the Ala cage worked best with the Elite bottle and not quite as well with bottles from other brands, having used the Jet I would be quite happy not to buy (or even accept as freebies in goodie bags) bottles from other brands having used this combination.

The oversized nozzle with increased flow and perfect sealing makes taking a decent gulp an efficient and clean process. It slides up easily with just gentle teeth pressure and can be comfortably reset with the teeth too – and I wasn't left with any sticky residue on my down tube or jersey after riding with the Jet.

Elite Jet Bottle 550ml - spout.jpg

As for cleaning the bottle, the nozzle cap is removable – in fact it's the same type used in the Fly bottle that's designed to blow off if run over in order to reduce the chance of a crash – so you can disassemble the bottle into three parts to put in the dishwasher.

Unlike the graphics of the Ala bottle cage, the Jet's smart grey and white print is staying sharp so far, and although I admittedly have used it mostly in the fine weather before Easter for shortish exercise-allowance riding, I am confident that it will stay looking smart and I won't need to test its accelerated compostability for a good while yet.

Elite Jet Bottle 550ml - detail.jpg

So not only is its performance excellent, but Elite has also addressed some of the unease eco-conscious cyclists feel when we throw away our water bottles for no reason other than that they look gouged and dirty and the graphics are wearing off. The Italian company says it takes three months to five years for one of its Jet bottles to break down once it enters a regular industrial composting cycle, instead of the 100-1,000 years of regular plastic products.

> Read more road.cc reviews of bottles

The Jet bottle – which comes in 550ml, 750ml and 950ml sizes – is treated with a bio additive that makes micro-organisms attack the polymeric chain of the plastic, according to Elite.

Elite Jet Bottle 550ml - measure.jpg

The Jet's plastic is also BPA-free, and Elite says the nozzle is made from an odourless and tasteless material that doesn't alter the taste of the liquid – and I can vouch for that, though of course it's impossible for us to verify Elite's claims for its compostability.

Value and conclusion

There's nothing to dislike about the Elite Jet and everything to like. Even the price is easy to swallow. You don't pay any more for the Jet's biodegradability – scrolling down through the road.cc bottle reviews, I see we've never reviewed a cheaper bottle. Tacx also makes biodegradable bottles, with the 500ml Shiva retailing at £5.99. That's not to say there aren't cheaper bottles, but I'm pretty sure they won't come with better usability and eco credentials than this one.

Verdict

Full marks to Elite for producing an eco-friendly bottle with pro-level performance and a price that's easy to swallow too

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Elite Jet Bottle

Size tested: 550ml

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Elite says the Jet is: "A new biodegradable model made in food-grade squeezable polyethylene."

The super light Elite Fly is the pro racing bottle, weighing 54g to the Jet's 80g (550ml size).

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Elite says: "Made in biodegradable plastic material... the Jet is available in three sizes so it adapts to any of your hydration needs on your bicycle (550, 750 and 950 ml). The JET combines the best in quality and performance of the most appreciated Elite bottles such as lightness, copious liquid flow and tasteless nozzle, all the while integrating the use of biodegradable plastic material to lessen the environmental impact of the bottle.

"The plastic material used to create the JET is treated with a special bio additive that makes the microorganisms responsible for the biodegradation of materials attack the polymeric chain of the plastic. This process significantly reduces the time it takes for the bottle to break down (3 months to 5 years). This is something that regular plastic products cannot do (they usually take 100 to 1000 years to decompose).

"The bottle has a new sporty, sophisticated and practical design that made it possible for us to achieve greater resistance for the bottle body while retaining unaltered its lightness and softness. Distinguished by an elegant and sinuous profile, the JET comes with a contoured bottle body with smaller diameter for easier and improved handling, insertion and removal of the water bottle under any circumstance.

"The standard 74 mm diameter of the JET ensures it can be used with all the commercially available bottlecages.

"The JET bottle includes the Elite custom cap with the innovative push-pull nozzle, which doesn't just make it easier to open and close it when you're riding your bike, it is also designed to supply a quicker and more abundant liquid flow at any time.

"As with all Elite bottles, the JET is also made with certified BPA-Free (Bisphenol-A) plastic materials, totally safe and compliant with all the more restrictive EC and FDA regulations concerning products that come into contact with foodstuffs. The rubber nozzle of the bottle boasts an innovative odorless and tasteless material designed to effectively maintain the taste of the liquid unaltered."

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Very sleek looking and well finished with good quality, durable printing on the bottle.

Rate the product for performance:
 
10/10

I can't fault it.

Rate the product for durability:
 
10/10

Early days, but as good as any water bottle I've ever used.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10

For those who care about the weight of their water bottle, the Jet weighs 80g compared to the Fly's 54g.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
9/10

The wide nozzle is really comfortable for pushing and pulling with the teeth and also for releasing a decent gush of liquid.

Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

It would be hard to find a bottle with better performance and eco credentials at this price.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Impeccably.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Sustainability is something many of us care about but don't always think about when buying bike kit, so it's great to see Elite stepping up with this.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

I liked everything about it.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

We've never tested a cheaper bottle at road.cc. Cheaper bottles are available, but you're talking £2 less for something that almost certainly won't have the combination of sustainability and great performance. Tacx also makes biodegradable water bottles, with the 500ml Shiva retailing at £5.99.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? 100%

Use this box to explain your overall score

Ideally, plastics would not be used at all for cycling bottles, but in the meantime measures to reduce plastic pollution have to be applauded, even if we can't independently check Elite's claims regarding the bio additive it has used to make the polyethylene of the Jet bottle biodegrade faster. That aside, its performance as a cycling water bottle is superlative, especially if used with one of Elite's own bottle cages such as the Ala, and the list price is surprisingly low.

Overall rating: 10/10

About the tester

Age: 50  Height: 178cm  Weight: 68kg

I usually ride: Racer Rosa custom alu  My best bike is: Colnago Master Olympic

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, School run on a tandem

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
iandusud | 3 years ago
0 likes

The best bottles on the market IMO and reasonably priced to boot.

Avatar
Sriracha | 3 years ago
2 likes

Does the inside of the cap assembly still have a tendency to shave off the retaining lugs of the rubber spout?

Also the "biodegradable" claim deserves some inquiry. I understand it to mean the bottle will decompose under the specific conditions of an industrial composting facility (i.e. not just the normal municipal landfill), eventually. That's a nod in the right direction, but pointless unless buyers are aware of the difference and dispose of it correctly. But I suspect many will assume it biodegrades naturally in the environment, or maybe even your garden compost heap, which I don't think is the case.

Avatar
Glov Zaroff replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
0 likes
Sriracha wrote:

Does the inside of the cap assembly still have a tendency to shave off the retaining lugs of the rubber spout? - How old is that bottle and is it even from Elite? Elite have been using a simple but effective rubber pull nozzle for years now.

Also the "biodegradable" claim deserves some inquiry - Feel free to ask Elite yourself.

But I suspect many will assume it biodegrades naturally in the environment, or maybe even your garden compost heap - That's a wee bit patronising.

Avatar
MattieKempy replied to Glov Zaroff | 3 years ago
5 likes

Spectacularly unhelpful reply, Jimmy Walnuts!

Avatar
MattieKempy replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
3 likes

That's the previous version of Elite's bottle. The newer ones are very different and much easier to open/close while riding. My question, like yours, would be around biodegradability and why it's taken Elite (and other bottle manufacturers) so bloody long to come up with something that's even vaguely biodegradable!

Avatar
DoctorFish replied to MattieKempy | 3 years ago
2 likes
MattieKempy wrote:

That's the previous version of Elite's bottle... My question, like yours, would be around biodegradability and why it's taken Elite (and other bottle manufacturers) so bloody long to come up with something that's even vaguely biodegradable!

Yes, I have bottles with the same lid design as shown above.  They are great bottles, and I chose them based on the biodegradability claim.  But now I believe it to be greenwashing as I have no idea how to get these in to an industrial composter.  And If I did find a way of putting them in to the system, then isn't the composting company just going to pull them back out assuming they are not biodegradable?

A step in the right direction, but an incomplete one if the service for composting them isnt' there.

Also I assume this is bottle only, and doesn't apply to the lid?

 

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