The Grayl Is the Most Efficient Water Filter We’ve Tried

Water filtration tends to be an oddly personal thing. Some prefer to fill up a bottle, screw on a filtration straw, and suck away. Others like to pump through a filter into a bottle so they can drink normally, despite the time consuming pumping. Maybe chemical treatment is your go-to, but again, that takes awhile.

My new favorite water filtration system, hands down, at least for personal use, is the Grayl purifier bottle. By far the easiest system out there. Fill the bottle, then press the filter down through the water, the now purified water fills the bottle, and, presto, a bottle full of clean water. Basically the same method as a french press. Takes all of about 10 seconds.

Grayl makes a couple different sizes, the Geopress, which is a 24-ounce bottle, and the Ultralight, a much lighter weight 16-ounce bottle light enough for backpacking. I have both—the system is that good. When I’m car camping solo, or on a day hike, I usually bring the larger Geopress. I toss the Ultralight in my hip pack while mountain biking or hiking fast. If I was backpacking, the Ultralight would be the obvious call. The Geopress weighs about 16.5 ounces, the Ultralight is around 11.

Both work the same way. The Grayl is suitable for use anywhere in the world, as it removes viruses as well as bacteria and protozoa. You get about 300-350 presses before the filter must be replaced, depending on which size bottle you have.

The only potential issue I can see is there is a rubber gasket at the base of the filter on which the entire filtering operation hinges. Water can’t pass around the seal, forcing it through the filter when you press down. If that seal were to crack or fail in some way that you didn’t notice, it could compromise the filtering. Though, I’d imagine there would likely be less resistance when pressing down, so I doubt if that seal failed it would go unnoticed. Still, something to think about.

Otherwise, a super impressive design, and an easy, easy recommend.

• BUY $90 (Geopress); $70 (Ultralight)

– Justin Housman, online editor