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Clearly Filtered Water Bottle: Perfect For Travel

Clearly Filtered Water Bottle

Clearly Filtered Water Bottle

Gear Review

Thinking about a Clearly Filtered water bottle for backpacking trips or international travel? I was pleasantly surprised at how useful it is.

Constantly buying plastic water bottles from a store can be convenient on the road, but it’s horrible for the environment and super expensive as well. If we want to be environmentally friendly travelers, we all need to quit the bottled water habit.

These new water filters from Clearly Filtered help do just that.

Real Cost Of Bottled Water

At an average price of $1.00 for a 20 oz bottle of water, it will cost you about $6.40 to drink a gallon of store-bought water. Gas is only $3.00 a gallon, and it takes a whole hell of a lot more work to pull oil out of the ground than it does to filter tap water!

Bottled water is big business.

When we travel, buying bottled water just seems so much more convenient. But you are wasting a TON of money, not to mention all the harm plastic bottles do to the environment when thrown away.

Save Money With Water Filters

If you are worried about the quality of your water when traveling in foreign countries, there are many different ways to filter it.

  • Dissolvable Tablets
  • UV Light Wands
  • Hand Pump Filters
  • Boiling

I’ve found all these options have advantages & disadvantages.

Disinfection Tablets are small, lightweight, and easy to use, but they must dissolve for a few hours to become effective. Then if you run out, depending on where you are, it may be hard to buy more.

Ultra-Violet Light Wands seem like a fast way to disinfect water, but they need batteries, a separate filter for debris, plus a backup set of batteries in case the first set goes dead.

Hand Pump Filters can clean dirty water pretty quickly, but they are bulky and awkward to use. Trying to use them when you aren’t actually hiking just makes you look foolish.

Boiling water is highly effective at removing all bacteria and viruses, but it’s very time-consuming to start a fire, heat to a boil, and then wait to cool down every time you need to replenish your water supplies.

Clearly Filtered Water Bottle Review

Testing the Filter Bottle on a Hike

Clearly Filtered: Why I Like It

After testing one of the stainless steel Clearly Filtered bottles, I can honestly say that it’s something I will frequently use while traveling & hiking. Out of all the options out there, it’s the most convenient for my particular travel style.

The internal filter is good for over 100 gallons of water (almost 6 months of regular use). It’s pretty incredible that a filter that small is so effective. The cost of using Clearly Filtered is low, at only $0.35 per gallon. A HUGE savings over the $6.40 per gallon that it would cost to buy bottled water all the time.

Filling the bottle with tap water (for example in a town with a questionable water supply) is very fast and easy. The water is instantly ready to be consumed. It gets sucked through the filter while you drink, like from a straw.

The same is true using water from a river or pond while out hiking in the wilderness. There is absolutely no wait time with this filter. A huge plus.

Multiple Uses

Another thing I like about this version is that it’s made with stainless steel. If for some reason the filter wears out while I’m in the wilderness, I can always use the container to boil water over a fire in an emergency.

The bottle is slim and easily fits securely on a backpack, unlike the old Nalgene bottle I used to have. Bonus points because I’m able to drink from it on a bumpy bus ride without spilling all over myself!

It removes almost 99% of bacteria, metals, contaminants, viruses, and even parasites like Cryptosporidium found in streams and lakes. That’s actually better than most filters on the market (Brita, Pur, Zerowater).

The filter is also easily removed when not needed, turning it into a normal everyday water bottle.

Clearly Filtered Water Bottle Review

Comparing the Competition

Very Few Disadvantages

While I really do love this water filter, it isn’t perfect.

Drinking from the straw is a slower process than normal, but not so bad that it’s a pain. And after the filter is “broken in” a bit, it starts to flow faster.

UPDATE: Just received the newest model & drinking speed has improved!

Stainless steel is heavy. Don’t get me wrong, this bottle is pretty light. But it could be even lighter if it was made from Titanium. This would add to it’s cost, but I’d be willing to pay for something that weighs less.

But they also have plastic models available that weigh less.

On a longer hike with scarce water sources, 20 ounces of water storage will not be enough. A larger container to hold additional liquid will sometimes be necessary.

But this 2nd container doesn’t actually need to be filtered, because I can always pour the unfiltered water into the Clearly Filtered bottle when needed!

Conclusion

The pros of the Clearly Filtered system easily outweigh the cons. This bottle has now become a part of my regular gear for long-term travel around the world. Highly recommended. ★

[su_box title=”Travel Planning Resources” style=”noise” box_color=”#333333″ title_color=”#FFFFFF” radius=”3″ class=”resource-box”]
Product: Clearly Filtered Water Bottle
Cost: $54.95

Packing Guide

Check out my travel gear guide to help you start packing for your trip. Pick up a travel backpack, camera gear, and other useful travel accessories.

Book Your Flight

Book cheap flights on Skyscanner, my favorite airline search engine to find deals. Also read my tips for how I find the cheapest flights.

Rent A Car

Discover Cars is a great site for comparing car prices to find the best deal. They search both local & international rental companies.

Book Accommodation

Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. Or rent local apartments on Airbnb ($35 discount!). Read my post for tips on booking cheap hotels.

Protect Your Trip

Don’t forget travel insurance! I’m a big fan of World Nomads for short-term trips. Protect yourself from possible injury & theft abroad. Read more about why you should always carry travel insurance.
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READ MORE TRAVEL TIPS

I hope you enjoyed this post on my favourite filtered water bottle! Hopefully you found it useful. Here are a few more wanderlust-inducing articles that I recommend you read next:

Do you carry a water filter when you travel?

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