Amazon.com : GRAYL Ultralight Water Purifier [+ Filter] Bottle (Coyote Amber) : Sports & Outdoors (original) (raw)

Skip the cheap portable water filtration systemsand purchase this product. It’s truly remarkable. We took a two week trip to the South Pacific and we needed a way to get clean and truly purified water. The places we visited had running and bottled water. However, a small bottle of water was anywhere from 6to6 to 6to8. Also, the bottled water comes from a spring in Tahiti. The water may be free of bacteria, but it contains minerals that we’re not used to consuming. The same is true of public water sources in many foreign locations. You just never know what will come from the pipes. This filter literally removes all contaminants and setiment that may be present. On the first day of the trip, the filter was in my checked luggage so I had to drink a bottle of Tahitian water. Sure enough, my stomach was just a little off for the rest of the day. Thankfully my luggage arrived just fine and I started using the filter. Now let me tell you how it worked and also dispell some of the negative reviews. I’ll throw in some tips for using the product efficiently.

There is an inner chamber that comes out of the outer plastic container. On the bottom of the inner chamber, there is a serious water filter. I like the fact that it can be replaced in time, and I’ve already decided to buy a couple of them. On the top of the bottle, there is a lid that screws on or off. It’s well made and keeps the water from leaking out. It also has a small handle built into the lid that makes it easy to strap to your backpack. Really nice design. To use the filter, you grab the screw top lid and twist it slightly while pulling it out. You are pulling out the inner chamber that has the filter on the bottom. It does take a little strength to pull it out, but my wife and I are not bruts and we had no problems at all. The reason why it takes a little force is what makes this product brilliant. There are o-rings on the bottom of this inner chamber that create a tight seal with the outer plastic chamber. This is what makes the product work so well when filtering. Once you have the inner chamber removed, you fill the outer plastic chamber to the line indicated on the side of it. You can under-fill it...but don’t over fill it or you’ll have some spillage. Once you have the water filled to the line, place the inner chamber back into the outer one. It will go a few inches in and then you will have to press down on the inner chamber to force the water through the filter. Now here’s a critical tip. The air in the inner chamber will be replaced with the clean water from the outer chamber. To do this, the air has to escape. So, unscrew the lid on the inner chamber about half way so the air can escape. This will make it much easier to push down on the inner piece while it’s filtering the water. Once the inner chamber is pushed all the way down, you have clean fresh water you can drink. Be sure to screw the lid back down so it won’t leak out when you are carrying the unit.

Before buying this product, I read a lot of reviews. I was concerned about two things. First, how hard would it be to push down on the filter, and Second, would it take forever to push down the filter. Neither one of my concerns were valid. The force to push down the inner chamber is not a light push. You do have to press down with some effort. However, here is a trick that worked just fine. Put your hand over the lid and then place your other arm over your hand and lean down on the filter. It will take about 25 seconds for the filter to slowly move down. Don’t try to rush it or you’ll just get frustrated. This is a serious multi-stage filter and it takes time for the water to flow through it. I must have used the filter 60 to 70 times during our two weeks of travel and I can tell you for a fact that it only takes 30 seconds or less to filter, and the force isn’t that big of a deal. Just lean into it as I did.

Perhaps two of the most brilliant things about this product are subtle but very important. It is amazingly lightweight and yet it filters better than anything I have ever seen. Two, because of the inner/outer chamber design, it’s like having an insulated carrier for your water. I filled it from a hotel sink and the water stayed very cool for hours. Granted, it’s basically a plastic cup inside of a second plastic cup, with air between the two of them after you filter the water. Still, the air combined with the outer plastic chamber is brilliant and it’s a great side benefit. Well done guys.

To summarize, here are the strengths and weaknesses of the product:

Weaknesses first - There are none. Some people may say the price is high, but that doesn’t make sense. If you value your health and don’t want to waste days fighting some illness picked up from some foreign water source, spend a few more bucks. My wife and I had no health issues and we drank a lot of water from this filter...water that wasn’t always coming from a good source.

Strengths

- It does a great job purifying the water and removed all smells and bad tastes

- The amount of time needed to purify the water was always less than 30 seconds

- The screw-top lid works well and has a handle for attaching to your backpack

- The thing is so light that I worried that it would even work. It did!

- It is well designed and dropping it, which I did several times, was not an issue

- The two chamber design provides additional insulation and keeps the water cold

The engineering that went into this product is second to none and I congratulate the company for this amazing product. By the way, I did not receive any money or discounts for this review. I am an engineer myself and just appreciate the amazing effort that went into this product.