Travel Water Bottles with Filters

I have not used one (I prefer a Steri-Pen), but you can look on REI for reviews and specifications.

https://www.rei.com/search?q=Water+bottle+filters

Lifestraw is one brand I've used. https://lifestraw.com/collections/lifestraw-water-filter-bottles

One of our kids also bought us these (use UV light embedded in the lid), but they're a bit heavy and need recharging, so I'm not sure if we'll bring them on our upcoming trip. https://www.livelarq.com/

I've a a few water bottles with filters. None that I like very much. They filter very slowly so that it takes a long time to get a drink. One of them I have to squeeze quite hard. One thing I've done is use the filter bottle to put filtered water in a regular water bottle for the day. One good result from this is that if I loose the water bottle during the day, its not the expensive filtering one.

I'll be watching responses to your excellent question.

That slow filter time and need to squeeze the bottle are the reason I prefer to use a Steri-Pen.

https://www.rei.com/product/847549/katadyn-steripen-ultra-uv-water-purifier

It takes care of Protozoa, bacteria, and viruses (some filters do not address viruses). However, it does not remove chlorine or improve the taste like a filter would.

If you know your hotels (assuming you are not backpacking), you might check if they have a water dispenser in the lobby. We were just in Peru and found that most the hotels we stayed at had a filtered water bottle filling station, which saved us the hassle of buying bottled water...

I've been a few places (other than the outdoors) that suggest filtering water. However, most often I use a filtering bottle for places that I dislike the taste of the water. Otherwise, I find that I don't keep as hydrated as I should.

I have a Katadyn BeFree for a scenario like you describe. I read a lot of reviews before deciding on it. I haven’t used it yet though so I am not a huge help. I, too, use a Brita filter for the chemical taste in most tap water.

https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-SP2306-Threaded-Filtration/dp/B07P1DZ583/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=NTH2O0TYHDZX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JhGoxvBGxFsDs-gIc7GzSOB0X7qvkEwUsjouhqtSDwuPSxbV25diR4U6_JlWahfj0BG8_yhk5IddIk99U-bFZ26_e3uc2TdZwUZ_-mbgkhHLu5VcfEPYyR0TrCygQeyzA1bHS1e9sD94TJJVoKpakYrCScLZ0v-uKc_wt09veh15SePAyTvopU5IFZQNReXuEuxwRLYANCGgRqqv-P1r1w.mBGaW0uA8imxh-Em2hwd3qrmT-DL2noiGLesA76PpbY&dib_tag=se&keywords=sawyer+water+filtration&qid=1705690336&sprefix=sawyer%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

I recently bought this kit from Sawyer. Check out youtube on how to use it. This kit comes with a faucet adapter so you can use it to filter tap water. These filters get plugged up, especially if you use muddy water. It may be a good idea to pre-filter muddy water through a coffee filter. It comes with a syringe to back flush the filter with clean water. However, it is more effective to use the included blue ring threaded adapter and connect a bottle of filtered clean water to back flush more forcefully than the syringe.

Similar to Tom's idea and but more compact (and probably requires multiple refilling):
https://www.amazon.com/Miers-Portable-Immersion-Electric-Alternative/dp/B0BXB2MJC5/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=S6JGH2SEA0KP&keywords=travel+beverage+heater&qid=1705694991&sprefix=travel+beverage+heat%2Caps%2C548&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Jules, does the immersion heater you linked heat the water to boiling like the kettle? One of the reviews mentioned that it never got to a boil, which would seem to defeat the purpose of killing any bacteria.

Mardee, mine heats to a boil. However, I'm not sure how long something needs to boil to kill most microbes. I do know not all microbes are killed by boiling. Likewise, the last we did research, not all microbes are filtered out by a filter. Once we were told at REI, that different places might require different treatment for the water.

Thanks for the responses.

I have traveled with an immersion heater for years. I use it to boil water for tea. And yes, at least under 220V, it boils. The problem is, I was told water needs to boil for 10 minutes to kill anything that needs to be killed and that takes too much time. Not counting the cool down necessary.

I also have a collapsible kettle but I decided no to take it due to size and weigh issues.

A number of years ago, I bought a Ster-pen for a friend of mine who was about to leave for her second 6 month volunteer trip to Ghana. She told me they had to buy bottled water and half the time it was stolen. So I got her the Steri-pen. She reported back that she used it instead of buying bottled water and never got sick.

Prior to posting this thread, I was looking at water bottles that have built in UV capabilties. But I might just get a Steri-pen instead. I could pair it with my Brita filter bottle--that really just improves taste--or get a collapsible water bottle to save some space.

Since I'll be getting most of my water from the hotel faucet or a public water fountain, I don't think I have to worry too much about sediment.

What do you do if you are out and about and need more water? Go back to your hotel to boil more?

Funpig provided a link to Sawyer products. I use to use the Sawyer Mini filter as my filtration system when I was backpacking.

Here is a review of the LARQ water bottle from another light packer.

LARQ review

Frank, not sure where you are traveling, but we travel with a Steri-Pen and a Z-Pack. The LARQ water bottle looks interesting! Going to have to look into it.

We did end up bringing our Larq bottles on our trip to Asia in February. They weren't too cumbersome, and we could wipe the mouths with small alcohol pads periodically.

I tended to turn off the automatic self-cleaning feature, because I didn't like the blue light coming on at night on my nightstand. I would just run the cleaning cycles manually when I wanted to.

I just got back from Indonesia.

I used the GRAYL geopress. I had to filter all water that came out of the tap, even to wash my face. I used this GRAYL and did not encounter any issues. My husband and a few others, let’s say, had some pepto bismo moments, but I was fine. I drank only water from my GRAYL or water from sealed plastic bottles. ( I tried to avoid the bottles so not to further to contributing to the plastic problem).

I have a lifestraw but it was inadequate for this part of the world since it does not filter out viruses.

https://grayl.com/collections/shop-all/products/24oz-geopress-filter-purifier-water-bottle-nature-edition?variant=40609528905807

I'm a chemical and environmental engineer. The notion that there's a single magic "filter" that can address all potential water contaminants is a dangerous misconception.

We'd need to know why the water is considered unsafe in order to know what specific purification method is best assured of treating it effectively. Or else just buy bottled water. That seems safest, assuming you're purchasing a reputable brand.