Fenn water bottle

Hi,

I am looking at getting a water bottle for my ski, particularly for flatwater when I dont use my pfd. Before I spend a silly amount of $ on a basic water bottle with some hose, can someone tell me ;

are they any good ?
is there a valve in the hose ? otherwise they would drain out, right ?
where do you route the hose ? does it get in the way ?
are they secure in the ocean ?

Any comments appreciated.

I've used a water pouch (camelback type) in the back of my PFD. It works, once I figured out how to put it in the PFD, and worked out how to open the valve . . .
Hose just goes through loops; I didn't like placement of mine so I added some cable ties.

Also used a 'marathon' paddler's bottle. This is similar to a cyclist's waterbottle, but with a straw. Just shove it in front of PFD (or in a holder if not wearing a PFD). Very easy to use.

Neither leak in general use. They are as secure as anything.

The cheap option is to find a bottle you like and make a hole in the screw cap with a drill/knife whatever, and stick a 10mm plastic/silicone (food/drinking approved) drinking tube down the hole . (Buy a roll of eg 10mm drinking tube at your local boat equipment store)

You easily have a perfectly working drinking bottle within 5 minutes for less than a dollar/EUR - or little more if you find a flat/square bottle you like in the store. This also eliminates the problem of cleaning out dirt/mould which come quicky with sports drinks

Having said this the Fenn bottles are nice and practical - but requires lots of cleaing to be reasonably germ/mould free

thats what I was thinking... so is it true that the fenn bottles are nothing more than that ? no bite valve ? no 1-way flow valve ?
How do you attach the hose while paddling so that it is both out of the way and within reach ?

I've not used the Fenn bottle, but have used a popular racing bottle produced in the UK.

Shown here in a holder, the 'straw' is just below your chin. To drink, you duck your head and suck on the straw:
www.marsport.co.uk/drinks-and-drink-syst...le-holder---original

When racing in a K1, you can't spare a hand or take your eyes off the water, so it is important to be able to drink with minimal effort.

I've used the same bottle when paddling my surfski. The semi-rigid straw is a bit irritating if you are on rough water and it pokes your chin, but no more than that.