Elite’s water bottles are popular among recreational and professional cyclists worldwide. With bottle collections ranging from the race-proven featherweight bottles all the way to stainless steel thermal bottles, Elite has a bottle for nearly every type of occasion. However, what is consistent with Elite’s bottles is that they combine lightweight, high flow nozzle designs. Elite’s latest bottle, the JET brings something new to the table – sustainability. In this review, we’ll be taking a closer look at the JET bottles which are constructed of biodegradable plastic material. They are currently offered in three sizes at affordable prices: 550ml ($7.99), 750ml ($8.99) and 950ml ($9.99). Although industrial composting is required as these bottles won’t decompose in your backyard, the more environmentally friendly construction significantly reduces the time for the bottle to degrade.
The Elite JET bottles combine many of the features that make the FLY bottles popular – lightweight, easy to grip, and high flow with a more sustainable biodegradable plastic construction.
| Category | Bicycle Bottle |
| Rating | 8.8/10 |
| Retail Price | $7.99 (550ml) / $8.99 (750ml) / $9.99 (950ml) |
| Measured weight (in g) | 78 (550ml)/ 92 (750ml)/ 98 (950ml) |
| Likes | + Affordable prices + Biodegradable plastic construction + High flow nozzle and easy to squeeze |
| Dislikes | – Taller than FLY bottles of same capacity – Limited color and pattern options – Push-pull valve |
| Where to Buy (US) | Todson |
UNBOXING
If you are looking for some unboxing therapy, you’ll be disappointed with this one. All three water bottles arrived without even basic tags attached to them.
In this review we specifically will be looking at three size variations of the Elite JET bottles:
- Black 550ml
- Transparent 750ml
- Transparent 950ml
DESIGN & USABILITY
At first glance, the JET bottles share a lot in common with the FLY bottles. However, Elite has incorporated a few design changes to the JET bottle profile and cap compared to the FLY bottle. The diameter of the bottle narrows from the standard 74mm near the top of the bottle and extends to the bottle cap compared to the short grip ring on the FLY bottles. This indentation matches the raised bumps on bottle cages which keep the bottles secure over bumps or rough terrain. The side effect of this design means that the JET bottles are taller than the same capacity FLY bottles due to the more narrow profile. The JET bottles have the familiar soft and squeezable nature Elite bottles are known for, but due to the biodegradable plastic construction, it’s slightly stiffer.
The JET bottles also have the familiar push-pull bite valve which provides high flow and don’t taste plasticky. While the nozzle is the same, the bottle cap has a new tapered and tall design. Compared to the JET bottles, the diameter of the nozzle cap is also smaller which makes it slightly quicker to install or remove. The simple construction of the valve, particularly compared to CamelBak Podium bottle’s Jet valves, makes them easy to clean and use on the road. One feature that is lacking is a positive lockout, something useful when transporting the bottle, which means you need to be slightly more careful with the bottles. Nevertheless, on the road, the JET bottles are easy to grip and modulate flow from.
For the weight weenies, the JET bottles aren’t the lightest bottles on the market. However, the biodegradable plastic only adds a small weight penalty. On our scale, the 550ml is 78g (compared to the 54g FLY) while the 750ml is 92g (compared to the 58g FLY). In reality, these slight increases are hardly noticeable on the road when you consider that the water inside the bottles will weigh far more than the bottle itself. It’s interesting to note that the JET bottles are actually heavier than the CamelBak Podium bottle which weighs 80g for the 21oz variation (~620ml) despite the more complex design.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found that the Elite JET water bottles are easy-to-use and grip made from biodegradable plastic for a more sustainable design. Despite the biodegradable plastic construction, the JET retains many of the attractive features of the FLY bottles such as easy-to-squeeze design and high flow push-pull nozzle. The JET bottles are slightly taller than the equivalent FLY bottles due to a more narrow bottle profile. While Elite doesn’t currently offer many bottle color variations (only transparent, black and neon green), their low cost makes them an attractive bottle to mix-and-match or stock up on.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Elite. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.
