Water Filtration Bottle recommendations

A lot of choices. Filter or purify:
http://www.rei.com/c/water-treatment?r=c&ir=category%3Awater-treatment&page=1

I have a filter for outback camping but boil water in hotels with hot pots. Heard good things about the SteriPen UV system.

Chemical tablets are minimal in weight/bulk as a backup.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/india.html

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/india?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

A key question is how long are you going for and how much water to you think you will consume a day? Also, with just one bottle (assumption), where are you planning on filling it up?

I use a steripen when hiking and back packing but it isn't the cheapest - >$80 and it requires you to have a wide mouth bottle. While light weight, you will still need to find a water source to fill up your bottle as you go along.

I would almost think that you are better off buying big bottles of bottled water - unless you anticipate being in the boonies where you think there won't be bottle water.

When I travel to countries with bad or questionable water..... I just buy bottled water.
I usually buy a size I would like to carry each day and then buy a gallon size bottle to take to my hotel and fill up my bottle for the day.
If you are camping you can always find a small market/store/bodega that sells bottled water.
(Granted I have not traveled to extremely remote places, so this has worked for me.)

I've spent 20% of my life living in developing countries. The safest way is to buy bottled water. Just make sure the seal is intact.

Just wondering about bottled water purity in developing countries. EWG studies have called into question bottled water purity here in the States:
http://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-guide-safe-drinking-water

You can read the bottle label and still not know whether the water
is pure or just processed tap water. EWG found 38 contaminants in 10
popular brands.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/01/21/best-and-worst-bottled-water-brands.aspx

Yes, about 40 percent of [US] bottled water IS regular tap water, which may
or may not have received any additional treatment. In fact, most
municipal tap water must adhere to stricter purity standards than the
bottled water industry. The EPA requires large public water suppliers
to test for contaminants as often as several times a day, but the FDA
requires private bottlers to test for contaminants only once a week,
once a year, or once every four years, depending on the contaminant.

Edgar - have you ever been to a developing country?

Emily,

I've visited China as a tourist a couple of times. But China is more of an "emerging" country economically speaking then a "developing" country. I understand that India (country of interest) is also a BRIC country.

During my China travels, we consumed a mix of bottled water and water from hotel taps that we boiled and cooled in our stainless steel flasks. Tour guides provided bottled water during the day, hotels stocked room with small bottles of water and we drank tea and beer at meals.

Given the stories about the "flies" that came in with Deng's open door/window policy, I've wondered about capitalistic short cuts in bottling drinking water. If American bottled water companies are less than transparent, are Chinese bottled water companies even worse?

Now that said, I didn't get sick during or just after my China trips. I did follow CDC travel immunization suggestions with HEP A and C, typhoid and anti-malarials. And on occasion I forgot and rinsed using tap water after brushing. I even used the drinking water tap at the one hotel in the mountains that has a drinking water tap.

While both trips started in big cities (Being in the first, Shanghai in the second), the tripos featured travel to inland rural areas.

Alyssa the filters are good if the water is cloudy or has sediment, but the steri-pen better for killing pathogens.
BTW, there are no gov't standards or testing of these treatment devices either.

The REI water treatment for international travel advice link is a good summary of triple kill (protozoa bacteria viruses) water treatment options:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/water-treatment-international.html

Water quality can vary widely outside the United States, and it is
particularly suspect in developing countries. So what is the best
method of water treatment for international travel?

In most cases, the recommended strategy involves using a method
(mechanical, electronic or chemical) designated as a water purifier,
which eliminates viruses as well as protozoa and bacteria.

And the CDC vaccination advice:

Hepatitis A CDC recommends this vaccine because you can get hepatitis
A through contaminated food or water in India, regardless of where you
are eating or staying.

Typhoid You can get typhoid through contaminated food or water in
India. CDC recommends this vaccine for most travelers, especially if
you are staying with friends or relatives, visiting smaller cities or
rural areas, or if you are an adventurous eater.

Alyssa,

Although this is a Canadian site, you might get some ideas by having a look at THIS website as they provide a good description of each of the products. Once you find one that might work for you, try and find a local source in your area.