Camp and Kitchen

We all know by now that carrying a reusable water bottle is one of the best ways to cut down on single use plastics. But what do you do when you have planned a multi-day adventure and need to ensure that you have a clean supply of water for drinking and cooking. Carry it all in with you right…. Nah screw that. As long as you have a reliable source of water where you are heading, the Grayl Water Filtration will be your best friend.

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There are a few reasons why I really rate the Grayl bottles, one being the confidence it gives me to be able to access to safe drinking water when I am out in the wild. The filtration system removes all waterborne pathogens (such as bacteria like E. coli) as well as filtering tiny particulates and absorbing other nasties in the water like pesticides. There’s nothing worse than getting ill from unsafe drinking water, but getting ill halfway through a trip, far from the comfort of a toilet, is not fun.

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I’ve used other water filtration bottles in the past and one thing that stands out about the Grayl is how ridiculously easy it is to use. Fill up the bottle, press the filter down, drink up! While we were hiking in the backcountry, I loved that I was able to fill up everyone’s water bottles and reservoirs from the Grayl. I would opt for a slightly larger version, like the 24oz Geopress, next time just so I personally didn’t have to carry another bottle.

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The design of the Grayl bottle is simple, yet extremely efficient and effective. Its super easy to use, easy to clean and fits well into the side pocket of all my hiking packs. One feature that works really well is the non-slip base. You have to push quite hard down on the inner bottle to filter the water through the cartridge and the non-slip base really worked with me, so the bottle didn’t slip out as I put pressure on it.

One note to mention, the Grayl bottles are heavy (354g for the 500ml) compared to a normal Nalgene (85g for 500ml), but that’s something I am willing to compromise on for a safe and reliable source of water. If you need to be carrying more volume than the Grayl bottles offer a good weight saving idea is to look at either getting a hydration bladder, that weigh next to nothing, or something like the Hydrapak soft bottles (54g for 500ml).

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Sustainability is a key factor when I am looking to buy new kit. Not only does using the Grayl bottle cut down on single use plastics, but they also have an awesome zero waste cartridge recycling program. The filter cartridge will last for around 350 uses, or 250L, and at the end of its life you can send it back to Grayl who are working with TerraCycle to ensure the expended cartridges are not sent to landfill.

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One thing I really like about Grayl their company ethos. Their product empowers adventures all over the globe, but we all know it is a privilege to be able to go on these adventures and have access to safe drinking water. Not everyone has that. Grayl have supported numerous projects to give people in less developed countries access to safe drinking water. Their most recent project has been sponsoring the rehabilitation of a drinking water well in Malawi, Africa. This is just a small snippet of the good work they do, head over to their website to read about how they give back and read some super inspiring adventure stories.

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So, if you are travelling the world, or adventuring through the backcountry, I would really recommend looking to get a Grayl bottle to take with you.