Active Water Filter Bottle
Overall
I was very happy with this bottle. I used it – together with the Pure Explore pouch/bottle and my Water-to-Go Active bottle – for the whole 3 months of my trip in Argentina and Chile, on a daily basis instead of buying bottled water and on my hikes.
The water tasted great – much better than the Travel Tap and Life-Straw filters I’d used in the past.
The feedback below is mostly reporting by exception; i.e. minor problems experienced. Where possible, I’ve suggested minor improvements that could be made, but the overall experience of using the bottle was very good.
The bottle
The bottle is smooth sided which means that it’s easier to put in side-pockets of backpack … etc, but this also means that it is more likely to fall out.
On a number of occasions, when bending over during a hike, I suddenly found that the bottle fell out (in one case, landing on my hand and causing some bruising). However, it’s important to note that these occasional accidents did not cause any cracks to the bottle – which is a definite selling-point, compared to some other products on the market.
Because the filter is quite a big one and the filter case is solid and heavy, this means that the bottle is heavier than others of its size, and it also has a higher centre of gravity, which can make it a bit more unstable
The filter housing and filter itself
The directions on how to fit the filter are misleading, as they indicate that there is some kind of screw-lock for the actual filter within the housing. The top of the filter has some kind of screw lock on it, but there was no corresponding place for it to lock into in the upper half of the filter-housing.
I was a bit worried that this would allow water to get into the top of the bottle/mouthpiece without it going through the filter, but assumed that the little rubber band around the top of the filter blocked any water from coming through the filter housing, around the side of the filter and into the mouthpiece.
It could be that the filter could directly lock into the top of the bottle, instead of using the filter-housing, but the “how to use” leaflet does not indicate that this is an option.
If that is the purpose of the filter, then it would be an improvement, as there would be the flexibility to use it with or without the filter-housing.
In terms of the markings on the side of the filter-housing – unfortunately, they’re illegible. It was only when I was writing this that I could see the slightly-raised white arrow on the white background with the word “Up”.
As for the markings on the band that is supposed to enable you to remember/monitor the filter’s active life, I’m sorry to report that this is also cannot be seen without peering very closely at the filter housing. I’d also suggest that – even if you could see the markings and the month when one started using the filter – it’s not hugely useful, since anytime you open up the filter-housing (e.g. cleaning after a hike), there’s a high likelihood of accidentally moving the band.
As to the filter, the water generally tasted good. The only taste that ever made it through was if the water had some chlorine in.
Ease of use
The mouthpiece is great – doesn’t have the chemical rubber taste that Camelback bite valves have, and never got the unpleasant stale smell, even after a few days’ hiking without the opportunity to wash it.
The filter required quite a lot of suction, particularly when the bottle had been refilled, although once the water started to flow, less suction seemed to be required to carry on drinking. However, when taking another drink, one has to go through it again.
This was a bit stressful when overheating on a hike and desperate for water, and then having to try sucking the water up, whilst being out of breath … etc. This was one of the reasons why I preferred to use my Water-to-Go Active bottle whilst actually hiking.
Like other “straw” type bottles, one has to remember to always keep the bottle vertical; otherwise, when it’s anything less than 40% filled, you end up sucking up quite a lot of air.
The top of the bottle didn’t leak, which is quite rare for water filter bottles – by contrast, most of the semi-squeezable bottles on the market (Travel Tap, Water to Go … etc.) have a tendency to leak water from under the screw-thread.
Refilling the bottle – whether from a tap or a stream – is also a bit of a challenge if one doesn’t have somewhere to put the top (including the filter), since the filter housing is quite long and unwieldy. Also, when taking it out of the bottle, once it reached a slight angle there would be a sudden stream of water which had been sitting in the filter housing, that would then pour out. With potentially dodgy water sources, this risked contamination; with all water types, it risked getting water on one’s bag/clothes … etc.
Putting the top and filter housing back on/in the bottle was a bit unwieldy. As the leaflet warns, the filter-housing displaces quite a lot of space, so overflows happened frequently. I would suggest having a mark on the side of the bottle for maximum filling, to help users avoid the annoyance or potential contamination of overflows when putting putting the filter back in and screwing on the top.
Finally, like all similar straw-type filter bottles that rely on suction, any change in air pressure causes leaks. Fairly frequently, I would find a wet patch in my bag, having ascended 400-800m on a hike, and a similar thing would happen when on a bus journey if there was a change in altitude. On flights, it happened every time – I would open up the lid to take some water and there would be a mini-fountain out of the mouthpiece.
This is unavoidable with such types of filter-bottles, so the only improvement might be to make it clear on the “How to use” leaflet that this can happen.
Pure Explore 1-litre bottle/pouch
Overall
This was, quite simply, the best water-filter bottle I’ve used.
The combination of suction and squeezing meant that I could get an excellent flow of water when drinking. Even the squeezing alone meant that I could fill up a pot when cooking, and rinse things when washing or cleaning my toothbrush.
The water tasted fine – no plastic-chemical taste from the pouch.
I would definitely recommend that this product is given maximum marketing.
It became fairly usual that when I was in any youth hostel or hiking refugio people would ask me about the Pure Explore, normally asking where I had bought it, and whether it was available in Argentina. It is clear from these interactions – often with those who were serious hikers (unlike me) – that there is a dearth of such products, not just in Argentina but also in the wider “outdoor sports” retail market.
In particular, people were impressed with the filter – and what it filtered, obviously – and the mouthpiece, since the equivalent products from Sawyer and others, are much more focused on having a pouch which is then used to fill up other bottles or Camelback-type pouches, rather than drinking directly from them.
Essentially, it was the versatility of the Pure Explore – and the ability to filter out forever-chemicals and viruses – that seemed to get a lot of interest.
The bottle-pouch
I was surprised at how durable the pouch has been: it was in my day-pack on a daily basis, often with items that – I later realised – could have damaged the pouch, but there have been no signs of abrasions in the material.
Obviously, given the shape and collapsible nature of the bottle, it was harder to keep it in a side-pocket of my pack, since – once I’d started to drink from it – the pouch would collapse a bit, and thus not be rigid enough to stay securely in the pocket.
I tried using the loop to attach it to straps on the side of the pack: this worked fine, but meant that I had to take the pack off to detach the bottle from the straps. As such, I mostly kept the Explore in the body of my pack, and used the Active Bottle and the Water-to-Go bottle for easy-access when hiking.
The only slight issue with the bottle was that it is a bit challenging to clean, because it is not rigid. This wasn’t a huge problem, but one of the tap-water sources I used in Chile (in Santiago Airport, actually) stained the inside of the bottle with a yellow-ish colour which seems to be permanent. This could be something to do with the material used to line the inside of the pouch, as no amount of cleaning has changed it.
The top is also excellent. There was no leakage through the screw-thread, nor was there any leaking as a result of a change in altitude/pressure. The mouthpiece, whilst not the soft feeling of the Active Water Bottle, was still very comfortable to use, and didn’t seem to have any abrasions or bite marks despite being in daily use. Amazingly – almost unheard-of for bottles – the dust-cap didn’t break or get so loose as to keep falling off.
The filter
The design of the filter – short and wide – is perfect for this kind of bottle, and made it very easy to store.
At a certain point, the filter stopped giving much flow – essentially, one could get about a quarter-mouthful of water out at any one time. I assumed that this was due to the filter having reached the end of its useful life, and replaced it. This was after 6 weeks of use.
The only other thing to notice is that both filters developed spots of discolouration after a few weeks.
Ease of use
As noted above, this bottle has been – without doubt – the most useful water filter bottle I’ve had in my many years of using such things.
When filling up the bottle, there was a slight displacement from the filter, but far less significant than with the Active Water bottle.
In terms of refilling, given the relative smallness of the top and filter, it was very easy to hold these in one’s hand whilst refilling the pouch.
