The Scalatore drinking bottle from Elite is a stylish and functional piece of kit that would look the part on most road bikes. Its understated colour scheme and decals are far from garish, there's even a stylish picture of a mountain well, sort of - the graphics depicting a famous Giro climb (Stelvio) on the side of the bottle are a nice touch.

In use, the Scalatore is a highly practical and easy to use bottle. It has a wide screw-top cap with a raised ridge design, which makes it easy to open and shut, even when wet. The wide opening ensures that is easy to mix up energy drinks for longer rides and simple to wash. The softer rubber push-pull nozzle on the Corsa cap works very well, and I never had any trouble getting it open or closed during rides. The Corsa cap is also designed to pop off when the bottle is run over so that it won't fell another rider in the peloton if it falls from your cage; we didn't have cause to use that feature in anger but it's a good idea, and car-park testing proved that it works very well.

The outer surface is easy to grip and nicely shaped for the bottle's straightforward placement or removal in conventional bottle cages. In fact, it never came loose from any of the various carbon, aluminium or plastic cages in which it was placed. The whole thing can be stuck in the dishwasher when you need to get it clean, and despite its pale colour scheme it doesn't mark up too much and retains the graphics well over time.

Verdict

Excellent bottle with a dash of extra Italian flair for a reasonable price.