When traveling, the focus is on seeing the sights, trying new activities, and experiencing another culture. Usually, one of the last things on your mind is worrying about your health… until you get a case of traveler’s diarrhea and the kind of stomach cramps that will ruin any chance of having fun. Luckily, there are water bottles available that have filters. With these, you don’t need to worry about the quality of the water.
Epic Water Filters is a water filtration company with health and sustainability at the forefront of its mission statement. They are fighting to reduce the usage of plastic bottles, while also providing safe drinking water to people all over the world. Their filters are designed to remove an extensive list of contaminants, ranging from chemicals to bacteria, and metals to pesticides.
There are three different filters and your choice will depend on your location and activities. The Pure Pitcher Filter is intended for Epic’s water pitchers to be used in the home. The Epic Urban Filter goes inside their water bottles for when you’re on the go. These two filters remove at least 99.9% of tap water contaminants, so you can feel confident about refilling your bottle or pitcher from any tap in any city.
The third type—the Epic Outdoor Filter—is the strongest, removing 99.9999% of tap water contaminants, as well as many biological bacteria and organisms you can find outdoors. With this filter, you can refill your bottle from any body of water, from a fountain to a creek to a lake, with the exception of salt water.
Epic Water Filters have many water bottles to choose from as well, including stainless steel, glass, plastic, and neoprene bottles. Each has its different benefits and your choice will likely depend on where you will be traveling with it. The water bottle we have used is the Ultimate Outdoor Travel Bottle, made of neoprene.
The Ultimate Outdoor Travel Bottle is perfect for your adventures in the outdoors and across the globe. It is not heavy like glass or steel, and not bulky like plastic. The neoprene gives the bottle some flexibility, so you can squeeze it into any sized water bottle pocket. It also comes with a carabiner so you can attach it to any of your bags for easy access.
The cap has a lid over it to protect the straw from dust and dirt as you walk or hike. The filter attaches to the bottom of the straw and goes right into the bottle. To drink you need to suck on the straw while squeezing the bottle at the same time. Some people might find this double-action a little difficult to get used to at first, but it should give you peace of mind to know the filter is doing the job due to this minor struggle.
Epic recommends changing your filter every 3 to 4 months. This clearly is an appropriate time period as it was our experience that it became harder than usual to suck from the straw as our filter entered the fourth month. These handy little devices are also completely recyclable. After breaking apart the filter, the plastic casing can be recycled, while the coconut carbon filter can be composted.
To learn more about their filters and to order online, visit https://www.epicwaterfilters.ca/