Katadyn Exstream Water Purifier Bottle (Olive)

I took this water bottle to India, and I drank the tap water and didn't get sick. This was my favorite travel companion on this trip. If you are going to travel to a country without potable tap water, I would strongly recommend this product. It's simply not feasible to get bottled water all of the time, and if you're exposed to excited germs it's best not to be dehydrated too.

I didn't test this on muddy icky water, and I didn't try anything as daring as drinking water from the Ganges. It won't protect you from impurities like heavy metals, although the charcoal filter should dramatically reduce many organic impurities. I had no problems with customs or airport security, although they did check that it had no water in it.

Because of the iodine treatment, the water does taste a little bit like iodine. This is a small price to pay for potable water. Also, it is important to read the manual. You have to let the water sit in the filter for two hours and you have to flush water through the filter if the filter starts dry.

Honestly, I only used this for one trip through Peru because I gave it as a tip to our tour guide, who was manic about recycling our wasteful plastic water bottles and who clearly taken by it. She loved it because it's so simple. Personally I suck down water like mad, and I didn't find that it held enough water for the day. So, I had to buy some bottled water anyway. If you're thinking about this product for city-based travels (where tap water can be found) then it's probably perfect. I did find a solution that works for me, which is a high end but impossible to break water purifier (MSR MIOX) to use with my camel back. Now I never run out of water. The MIOX is expensive and somewhat complicated to use, but I'm an engineer, so it's fine for me.