How to Get Clean Drinking Water Without Buying Bottled

Best Bottles: Grayl Ultralight Water Purifier Bottle

The travel blogger–favorite, 16-ounce Grayl bottle combines both a purifier and a filter for a one-item solution. The replaceable cartridge lasts for about 40 gallons of water, using ceramic fiber, charged ion mesh, and activated charcoal with a push-down mechanism similar to making French press coffee.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: amazon.com, $60

Best Bottles: Aquasana Clean Water Bottle

If you’re looking for something a little sleeker, home water filtration company Aquasana ventured into the portable market with their insulated stainless steel filter bottles that would look equally at home in the yoga studio and on the trail.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: amazon.com, $40

Best Bottles: Sawyer S3 Bottle

The Sawyer S3 adds even more layers to both filter and purify out bacteria, protozoa, chemicals, pesticides, viruses, and heavy metals with a squeezing mechanism. There are S1 and S2 levels as well, and the S2 takes out everything except the heavy metals if you aren’t concerned about those.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: amazon.com, $66

Best Bottles: LifeStraw Flex

The original LifeStraw (amazon.com, $16) is a classic player in this market after being developed to help eradicate Guinea Worm disease. Go lightweight with the Flex bottle; the filter is removable if you want to drink straight from a source before filling the bottle or attach it to a different small-mouthed bottle. It won’t catch viruses but does filter for chemical components in addition to bacteria and parasites.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: amazon.com, $35

Best Bottles: LifeSaver Liberty Bottle

The Liberty bottle has a built-in inline pump for both purification and filtration and comes with a hose so you can pull water from your source and either filter and drink it from the bottle or filter it into a larger container.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: amazon.com, $100

Best Pumps: MSR Guardian Purifier

The Guardian Purifier pump is, yes, both filter and purifier. It has an adapter to refill a water bottle or direct the output into the container of your choice.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: ems.com, $350

Best Pumps: Katadyn Hiker Pro Clear Microfilter

Outdoor Gear Lab’s favorite pump filter wins praise for its light weight and easy use, especially in shallow water sources.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: amazon.com, $80

Best Pumps: Survivor Filter Pro

Popular with disaster preparedness blogs, the Survivor Filter Pro is also both filter and purifier, with intake and output hoses running through a three-stage filtration process.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: walmart.com, $65

Best Handhelds: SteriPen Ultra

The SteriPen Ultra emits UV light that will kill both bacteria and viruses in up to 1 liter of water. Stick it in your water bottle, swirl it around until the indicator is done (roughly 90 seconds), and you’re good to go. It charges via USB, so on a long trip you’ll need a power source, but can get up to 50 treatments on one charge. If you’d prefer battery power, check out the SteriPen Aqua (amazon.com, $63), which runs on AAs.

It doesn’t filter, and if you have a lot of sediment blocking the light’s passage through the water, it won’t be as effective. Make sure your water is clear or run it through a filter first.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: amazon.com, $110

Best Handhelds: Sawyer Mini

Outdoor Gear Lab dubbed the Sawyer Mini personal filter its best buy pick for its ease and versatility. Use it like a straw and drink directly from the water source or attach it to a larger bottle.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: ems.com, $25

Best Handhelds: Sawyer Squeeze

The Sawyer Squeeze is a lightweight, filter-only system that lets you fill the attachable bags with water and squeeze them by hand through the hollow-fiber membrane filter mechanism to wherever you’d like.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: amazon.com, $41

Best Drops: AquaMira Drops

Some of the most popular drops on the market, the AquaMira purifying system uses chlorine dioxide to eliminate waterborne pathogens.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: ems.com, $15

Best Tablets: Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets

Edlund recommends these tablets for purification, though they can be slow to work, so plan in advance; a bad case of cryptosporidium can take up to 4 hours to clear out.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria, and viruses

To buy: amazon.com, $12

Best Gravity Systems: Platypus GravityWorks

Both a Switchback top pick and Outdoor Gear Lab editor’s choice, the GravityWorks filter-only system is ideal for campsite water supply though a bit bulky if you’re looking for a minimalist backpacking solution. It even comes with a second bag so your clean water goes straight into its own receptacle.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: ems.com, $120

Best Gravity Systems: MSR AutoFlow Gravity Water Filter

The AutoFlow will take out bacteria and protozoa, but not viruses, and filters using the power of — as the name implies — gravity to push water through the filter. It doesn’t come with a storage vessel, so you need to have a second container ready to catch the new water if you want to store it.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: ems.com, $120

Best Gravity Systems: Berkey Water Filters

If you’re more concerned about volume of water than weight (for an RV trip or car camping, perhaps), Berkey offers stainless steel systems that include purification and filtration for up to 6 gallons of water at once. They’re confident enough in their product that they post their impressive independent test results on their website.

Removes: protozoa, bacteria

To buy: amazon.com, $249

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