3/23/15

OllyDog OllyBottle 1 Liter Bottle
A Review by Backcountry K-9 Brand Ambassador Sheila Goss and Gryphon

Our first review for Backcountry K-9 is the OllyBottle, a 1 liter water bottle designed to take on adventures with your dog….unlike other dog water bottles, this bottle’s configuration allows you to share the bottle with your dog, without sharing the slobby, slimy, doggy yucks.

The rectangular bottle, 9.3 x 3 inches in size, has a detachable rectangular “bowl”, into which water can be poured to relieve your dog’s thirst. That leaves the water in the bottle for you!

 

We gave the bottle its first test on a beautiful sunny day, in which our temperatures went above 40 (f) for the first time in 3 months. Gryphon and I slogged up a local mountain, where snow was still deep, and we were both getting a good workout. We are conscientious about keeping the dogs hydrated during winter activities, so we always carry a dog water bottle with us. This day was a good chance to try out the bottle, on our frequent water breaks.

We have subsequently used the bottle while hiking, snowshoeing, and kick-sledding with the dogs. It is important , to prevent wasted water, that you pour out only the amount of water your dog will consume…since the idea is to share the bottle, I don’t think I would pour unused water back into the bottle. We are, after all, trying to avoid the yuckies here!
Here’s what we liked….

• The lightweight, hard Eastman Tritan BPA free plastic, has worked fine in temperatures from below zero, to 45 degrees (f). The use of a chemical hand warmer next to the bottle in the side pocket of day pack prevented freezing of water during a very cold hike. When some water remained in the bottle overnight, and froze, the bottle retained its shape and integrity.

• Large opening, making it easy to fill and clean with a bottle brush as needed ( it also is dishwasher safe)

• Semi-rectangular shape, 3×2.5 inch base makes it pretty stable when placed on the ground…less likely to roll away than a cylindrical bottle.

• The drinking “cup” detaches easily, even in cold conditions, but also snaps back on easily, and seems to stay in place. The dogs had no resistance to drinking from this narrow container, either held in our hand, or placed on the ground.

 

• The bottle fits well into backpack side pockets. I attach a lanyard with a small carabiner, to keep it clipped to the pack. We discovered the bottle also secures nicely to our kicksled, which is handy, since the dogs really need hydration during this high-energy activity. When filled, the bottle is heavy, so I would not think you would carry it hanging from gear, but rather would place it in a pack or pocket.

 

• The use of the OllyBottle may eliminate the carrying of separate water bottles for us, and the dogs.

• Translucent, so you can easily see the quantity remaining in the bottle.

A few things that we noted:

• The screw on cap can be a bit tricky, to get it in the “just right” position to screw back on the bottle.

• I do not know how the hard plastic would hold up if it suffered major impact (vs. an aluminum bottle)….i.e. being stepped on, or having gear fall on it. However, this is generally not something that happens, and we rarely depend on only one water bottle when out on adventures. The very realistic price of this bottle makes this not a big concern.

• It does come in at least 2 color choices; on the lighthearted side, we noted that if you take a photo with the lime/yellow cup on the ground, it looks like “yellow snow” in the photo!
The suggested retail price for this bottle is 13.00…that price seems very reasonable for this bottle.

Disclosure: This item was provided to me by Backcountry K-9 http://backcountryk9.com/ , for purposes of reviewing it.