Gear Review: Grayl GeoPress Water Purifier Bottle

“The Grayl Geopress Purifier combines speed, simplicity and effectiveness like no other water filter.” – that is Grayl’s promise for the GeoPress filter bottle.

This summer, our colleague Victoria had the opportunity to test the GeoPress filter bottle from Grayl.

Find out how this test turned out here.

I have been looking for the right water bottle for hiking for a long time. Whether it’s a short tour, a day trip or a multi-day tour, having enough water with you is essential for a good time. So I bought a 2 L hydration system and a 1 L bottle so that I can take up to 3 L with me. You often don’t know whether there will be drinking water to fill up on the route and I don’t like plastic bottles from the supermarket or the hut. Find out here whether the GeoPress purifier is a good alternative for me.

Hardfacts

Here are a few facts from the manufacturer in advance:

Weight: 450 g
Height: 26.5 cm
Diameter (at the base): 8.6 cm
Capacity: 710 ml
Fast flow rate: water is filtered in eight seconds (5 L/minute)
Cartridge life: designed for 350 cycles (250 L)
Eliminates waterborne pathogens (99.99% viruses, 99.9999% bacteria, 99.9% protozoan cysts), including rotavirus, hepatitis A, norovirus, E. coli, cholera, salmonella and more
BPA-free materials: made of polypropylene, food-grade silicone, TPE, ABS food-grade plastic.
Can withstand a 3-metre drop (full of water) onto concrete

First impression

The first impression of the GeoPress filter bottle was very positive. Even more positive than I expected. The packaging alone looks high-quality and well thought-out. The feel of the bottle is very nice and it is easy to hold in one hand despite its size and my rather small hands. It looks perfectly finished and very robust. In my opinion, the function of the bottle is obvious at first glance, which I find very advantageous. The bottle seemed quite heavy to me with its 450g. However, when you consider that you have up to 250 litres available and 450 g is the equivalent of less than half a litre, the weight seems much less.

Test: flowing water

The first time I tested the Grayl bottle was on a 20-kilometre bike ride from Scharnitz via the source of the Isar to the Hallerangeralm. The route was along a river. Running clear water seems healthier to me than stagnant water. But of course it is not drinking water. I had one litre of water with me and the bottle had to filter the rest. At the first break, the bottle was unpacked and taken apart. The lid and the filter cartridge are a bit difficult to separate at the first attempt. However, you soon get the hang of separating the inner press from the container with the help of a twisting motion. Now simply hold the bottle in the water and wait until it is filled up to the line. As soon as the bottle is filled, you should place it on a reasonably flat surface to be able to filter.

Filtering is done by putting the filter + lid back on the bottle and then pressing the whole thing down. However, if you think you can do this casually, you are mistaken. It takes a bit more strength to do this. You have to use both hands and preferably also your upper body. Basically, you lean on the bottle cap and push it down with your own body weight. Then it’s quite quick and easy. Neither I nor a second tester could manage the 8 seconds promised by the manufacturer. More realistic is about 15 seconds. Which is still very fast – considering that you have clean drinking water at your disposal afterwards.

What also struck me as positive was the bottle opening. These are often unwieldy and, above all, simply much too big. The bottle was super easy to open and close, and it was very easy to drink from the bottle.

In terms of taste, the water was hardly distinguishable from drinking water from the tap, although this certainly varies from water source to water source.

It felt good to be able to drink the super fresh and ice-cold water from the Isar directly on site with a clear conscience.

I couldn’t say much about the weight of the bottle after this tour, because I didn’t notice it negatively on the bike.

Conclusion

At first glance, the GeoPress filter bottle from Grayl seems quite expensive and heavy.

However, this impression is quickly revised when one considers that with this bottle, approx. 250 l of water weigh only 450 g. With a water requirement of 2.5 litres per day, one filter cartridge will not dehydrate for 100 days. The weight did not bother me during testing, even though I expected it at first.

Due to the high-quality workmanship and the innovative construction, I also find the price completely appropriate.

I like the flawless handling very much. Also, the fact that the bottle can be held with one hand and the drinking opening is just the right size so that you can also drink while walking definitely convinced me.

Carefree drinking in the wilderness, whether from still water or rivers, is a real gift for people who like to travel a lot! I also find it positive that the water filter and bottle are one.

Of course, you have to sacrifice a little more space in your luggage. However, if you don’t travel superlight, the GeoPress is certainly worth it. If you know that you will be travelling a lot and often in nature in the long term, then the GeoPress is a super useful bottle.