I really, really do my best to avoid getting sick while on outdoor adventures. I wash my hands often, avoid risky foods, and treat all my water. This is true whether I am on the trail, on an organized adventure tour, or just traveling internationally.

While the are lots of ways to treat your water, one of the more convenient ways is to use McNett's Aquamira Water Bottle & Filter. This is a water filter, not a water purifier, so it does not protect against waterborne viruses. Fortunately, waterborne viruses aren't a problem in most parts of the world.

Here's what makes it world class:

• It is a water bottle and filter in one. You don't have to worry about carrying both, as is often done.
   
• The bottle holds 22 ounces of water, and is sized much like most other plastic water bottles, which means that it is easy to carry in any pocket designed for water bottles.
   
• The bottle has a protective cap to prevent the mouthpiece from getting dirty.
   
• It's activated carbon filter is designed to remove  pathogens 2 microns or larger, including giardia, cryptosporidium, and large bacteria. The filter also reduces many waterborne chemicals, include lead and chlorine.
   
• The filter lasts about 200 bottles and is easily replaced.
   
• It is easy to use. All you have to do is to fill it up with unfiltered water, then squeeze it out to drink.
   
• Because you are squeezing the water out through a filter, it takes more pressure than a regular water bottle, but it is easier to squeeze than some similar products. I would not recommend this bottle if you have any weakness in your hands that may prevent you from easily squeezing the bottle.

I highly recommend the Aquamira Water Bottle for day trips and similar outings. I also recommend it when traveling internationally, even for filtering the water you drink from the tap, if you are worried about less than healthy water.

Carrying this bottle is a lot less expensive than buying bottled water for your trip, and it helps reduce litter, as there are no plastic bottles to dispose of.

Using the Aquamira Water Bottle in the Real World

I recently used the Aquamira Water Bottle while traveling in Europe. This trip involved four countries, and lodging ranging from hotels to mountain refuges. I carried the bottle with me all the time. Water refills varied greatly, from hotel taps to springs, and I never got sick.

Also recently, I was in Mexico, and used the water bottle not only for filtering all the water I drunk, but also to brush my teeth with, just in case. Also, no problems.

In some cases, if water is not extremely available, you may need to bring more than one bottle of water along. In those cases, I brought along an extra Nalgene bottle. So when I stopped somewhere, I filled up both bottles. When I finished drinking from the Aquamira bottle, then I poured the unfiltered water from the Nalgene bottle into the Aquamira bottle for filtering.

When filling the bottle, be sure you don't spill unfiltered water over the mouthpiece. While the mouthpiece is protected by a cap, it is possible to contaminate it if get a little clumsey.

If the water you are drinking is very dirty (silt, sand), you may want to pre-filter first, to get rid of all the large particles, as they may clog up your filter, reducing the life of the filter.

So how does the water taste? Like most bottled water, actually. Not much task at all.

Recommendation

The Aquamira Water Bottle and Filter are designed for a single user and where you will be using it for drinking water. It is best used when can easily refill the bottle.

If you have to carry a lot of water (refills are not available), then you might be better of bring along several bottles of pre-filtered water instead.

I don't recommend this for long overnight adventures where you need to filter a lot of water for cooking and drinking for more than one person. In this case, a dedicated water filter or purifier is recommended.

Product Notes

The MSRP is $19.95. Replacement filters are $9.95.