 What is the Best Filter Bottle? (10 minute read) What is the Best Bottle with a Built-In Filter?There are a growing number of water bottles with built-in filters on the market, and there are plenty good reasons to have one, including camping, travel, emergencies like natural disasters, or if you just for some extra peace of mind. In this post, you'll see three very different options: Brita's straw filter bottle, GRAYL's press filter bottle, and Vitaloop's pump filter bottle. You'll see:
So let's dive right in and find out which is the best filter bottle for you. Sneak Peek Summary
Video: Which Filter Bottle is the Best?We also cover this info in a YouTube video if you'd prefer to watch the recap that way. Amazon Associates Disclosure BottlePro is part of the Amazon Associates Program. There are a few products linked in this article, and if you make a purchase using one, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you! What Comes with Each Filter Bottle?How Brita's Filter Bottle Works First, let's look at how each one works, starting with Brita. This is the simplest option because it just has a bottle, a lid, a straw, and the filter. To use it, you just press the filter into this silicone fitting, then slide the straw over the filter and lock it into the lid by twisting to the right. Then you just sip like any other straw lid.  What Comes with Brita's Filter Bottle? How GRAYL's Filter Bottle Works GRAYL is different because it has a press-style filter. This bottle comes with an outer plastic sleeve, an inner plastic bottle, the lid, and the filter cartridge. To use it, you scoop up some water in this outer sleeve, then you take this inner bottle with the filter on the bottom and press it down into the sleeve. This forces water through the filter, and these one-way valves keep the clean water inside. It takes quite a bit of effort to force it down, so you'll probably need to put the bottle on the ground and press on it like they show in these pictures.  What Comes with GRAYL's Filter Bottle? How Vitaloop's Filter Bottle Works Vitaloop on the other hand has a pump inside the lid to force water through the filter. It consists of an outer metal sleeve on the lid, the lid that includes a spout and a large housing for the pump, an inner flexible plastic pouch that holds the untreated water, the outer hard plastic bottle that holds the clean water, and the filter cartrige. To use this bottle, first you add water to the inner flexible pouch. Push this button and take off the outer sleeve, then add water through this opening. If you're dipping the bottle like in a stream or pond for example, angle the bottle like this so the inlet is below the spout. Alternatively, you can unscrew the outer bottle and then unscrew the inner flexible pouch, then add water and screw it all back together. When you push this button, the pump will activate and go through a filter cycle. It moves water from the flexible pouch, through the filter, and into the hard outer plastic bottle.  What Comes with Vitaloop's Filter Bottle? Filter Test (Brita, GRAYL, and Vitaloop)Now let's do a test. I scooped some sandy dirt into a bin of water and stirred it up, then got about 16 ounce in this measuring cup. Then I passed water through each filter.  Dirty water for filter test For Brita, I used a syringe to pull water up the straw. GRAYL and Vitaloop were used as directed. Vitaloop is a little tricky to pour water into the opening on the side, so it's probably best to either submerge the bottle if you can while keeping the power button above water, or remove the flexible pouch and fill it up separately then reassemble it all. Brita took awhile because of how I had to use a syringe, GRAYL was the fastest but it does take some effort, and Vitaloop starts after pressing this button for about 1 second, then it ran a pump cycle for about 45 seconds. Vitaloop had the least amount of uncleaned water left behind because Brita's straw doesn't reach all the way to the bottom, and GRAYL had more unfiltered water even after two filter presses. Visually, each one seemed to help a lot, and the filtered water with each one was much clearer than the starting water.  Filter Test Results I used these water quality test strips to see if there was any kind of noticeable difference, and as far as I could tell, none of them were really any different. Maybe Vitaloop was a little better on chlorine. And it actually looks like GRAYL and Vitaloop are a little worse on manganese, but I think that's actually just discolored a little because some of the dye from zinc flowed down because I didn't keep the strips level enough during the 15 second wait time. Either way, it's hard to tell any significant differences from these very basic tests.  Test Strip Results Which Contaminants do Brita, GRAYL, and Vitaloop Remove?What does Brita Remove? Brita uses an activated carbon filter, and the marketing around focuses on improving taste, as well as removing "chlorine and more." I'm not sure what more is, and it also says "this is not a water purifier bottle." I reached out to Brita to ask if they had any data on whether it removes things like PFAS or microplastics, but I never heard back so at this point I'm not sure.
What do Brita, GRAYL, and Vitaloop Cost? (including filters)What does Brita Cost? Brita is the least expensive option. The 32oz stainless steel version costs $42 up-front, and they market how each filter lasts for 40 gallons, or about 2 months. You can buy a 6-pack like this for $16 right now, so it's not really that expensive. Summary: Up Front: $42 (stainless steel version) Annual: $16 (6-pack, on sale) What does GRAYL Cost? GRAYL on the other hand is a lot more. Their 24oz GeoPress is their most popular bottle, and it costs $100 to get started. The replacement cartriges are $30 each and last about 350 uses, or 65 gallons. So assuming that a filter lasts you 3 month if we're comparing similar usage rates as Brita, your on-going annual cost-to-own is about $120. If you're really bougie, you could also go for their titanium series bottles that get up over $200. Summary: Up Front: $100 (standard GeoPress) Annual: $120 (4 filters, $30 each) What does Vitaloop Cost? Vitaloop is on sale right now for $100, but its retail price is $140. It's a newer brand, so I'm not entirely sure where the price will eventually level out, but it's definitely still an investment. Each filter cartrige costs $30 and lasts up to 66 gallons, so it's comparable to GRAYL's GeoPress series. Assuming you replace it every 3 months, your on-going annual cost-to-own will be about $120.
Summary: Up Front: $100 (on sale) Annual: $120 (4 filters, $30 each)
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