7 Best Purifying Water Bottles with Filters in 2023

By Sal Vaglica and Liv Birdsall

All products featured on GQ are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

To understand the appeal of purifying water bottles, just think: What well-traveled person doesn't have a story about tangoing with local water or ice in another country? You can't find reliably-clean drinking water flowing out of every faucet. And the danger of drinking tap water abroad is often much higher for incoming visitors: Pathogens that the locals have acquired immunity to can ruin a traveler's vacation in a hurry.

The usual way of going about things is to rely on bottled water. This works, but there are some obvious downsides: It's inconvenient to carry around all the water you need, especially if you plan on a hike or other long adventure. And it can be hard to escape the feeling that all of that plastic is going to end up choking a sea turtle down the line. Another obvious obstacle is finding it; not everywhere you travel will have convenience stores with cold water for sale.

The good news is that these days, purifying water on the go is as simple as filling a water bottle. While the only options out there used to involve boiling water, dabbling with chemical tablets, or relying on UV light, modern versions let you fill up from just about any water supply—from a river to the hotel sink. (Freshwater, specifically, of course—removing salt is much more complicated.) The purifier cleans the water inside the bottle as you sip, suck through a straw, or squeeze out a stream. And thankfully for you, we've tested a bunch of them to see which ones are actually worth investing in.

Want to get straight to the picks? Clean, safe drinking water is all yours, right here.

Before we dive into specific models, it's helpful to know the difference between filtering water and purifying it. Side by side, water bottles that filter or purify look identical, function the same way, and—confusingly—some manufacturers offer both and use the terms interchangeably. So what's the difference? It comes down to how small a contaminant the water bottle will yank out of your water.

Filters can catch bigger stuff, like silt, protozoan cysts, and bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. If you're traveling domestically, this might be all the protection you need from municipal water or even clean lakes and streams. Purifiers take it a step further and are typically certified—verified by third party organizations—to catch smaller contaminants like viruses (think: hepatitis A, rotavirus, and norovirus), which you might run into in less-developed parts of the world where human or animal fecal matter might make its way into the water supply. In short, a purifier can catch what a filter can't, and that's what we're focusing on here.

So you should always just pack a purifier right? Maybe. Compared to filters, purifiers cost more, usually don't clean as many gallons before they need a new cartridge, and often have a slower flow rate—anyone who's waited for an old Brita pitcher to clean tap water knows how annoying slow flow can be. In some areas, it's a level of protection that isn't necessary. But if you're traveling either in the backcountry or somewhere where guidebooks tell you not to drink the tap water, you want a purifier.

In order to test various purifying water bottles, we used them for everyday purposes: Filling them up over the course of a day, reaching for them for hydration while at work, and carrying them with us from home to the car to the gym. We noted when bottles were difficult to fill up, difficult to sip from if the purification system was attached to a straw, as well as details like the cost of replacement filters and insulation for keeping cool beverages at temp. We also took a few of these bottles on an international trip. It gave us good peace of mind to know any municipal water we sipped at the airport, hotels, beaches, or restaurants wasn't going to tank the vacation, and the bottles made it virtually seamless. Below, the best of the bunch that are tried-and-tested and ready to quench your thirst.

This unique purifier is almost fun to use. Fill the roughly 17-ounce removable outer sleeve with water, and place the inner sleeve that has the cartridge on top. Then, using two hands, press down on the inner sleeve, which forces all the water up through said cartridge. It's a little like making a French press coffee. After a few seconds of pressing, the system bottoms out, and you have nearly 17 ounces of clean water in a normal-looking bottle that's easy to carry, toss into a bag, or stash in a pocket.

Like a lot of purifiers, the Grayl uses activated carbon to improve flavor, odor, and catch particulates like microplastic. You will need to press the water bottle against the floor, ground, or table, which might earn you some side-eye at the airport as you squat over it and jam the two parts together. Also, your cartridge will need to be replaced after purifying about 40 gallons of water, which will hold you for quite some time, with replacement cartridges costing $25 a pop. Though it's maybe not as discreet or easy to use as some of the following options with filters that simply attach to a drinking straw, this was the most satisfying to use out of the options we tested, and the activated carbon ensured refreshing, good-tasting water with each sip.

The Hydros is simple to use, though it takes a little time before you can actually start to drink that good, clean water. Its sustainable NSF 42 Standard filter—which reduces chlorine and 85% of sediments that are bigger than 50 microns—works by flushing out all contaminants as you fill it up. The bottle feels sleek in hand, fits in a cup holder or backpack pocket, and has an easy push lid that can be opened and closed with one hand.

By Gerald Ortiz

By The Editors of GQ

By Gerald Ortiz

Hydros says it takes about 20 seconds to fill it up, which is faster than most other brands, but in practice, we found it takes a bit longer and required some adjusting of the water stream to keep it from overflowing as it's filtering. It's also worth noting that the cap allows some water to seep through even when in the locked position. Replacement filters are fairly cheap, available in a two-pack for $10, and it's recommended you swap out for a fresh one every 40 gallons.

Brita needs no introduction, considering that it's the most popular filtering water pitcher brand in the game, and its water bottle was as reliable as we would expect. The straw houses the filter itself, so it doesn't take up much space, reducing the amount of liquid the bottle can actually hold. We found it provided clean, neutral-tasting water that you can fill up at a sink with ease, though don't expect any insulation from its plastic body.

Like a straw-style purifier without the straw, the 26 oz. Water-to-Go threads the cleaning membrane right to the underside of the lid. If you prefer the old-school Gatorade water-bottle experience, this is the purifier for you. You can suck or squeeze water out, and this model fits nicely in a bike's water bottle cage—though it also has attachment points so you can clip it to a backpack or stick it securely into a pocket. The only tricky bit is getting the very last mouthful of the water out—maybe a few tablespoons worth—is hard because there's not enough volume to physically reach the filters.

If you want a purifying water bottle that doesn't require burning through filters, the BPA-free plastic LifeStraw Go is fantastic. It has a filter connected to the bottle's straw, like the Brita, so you don't need to adjust how you fill your bottle. It comes in eight colors, but the best part of the Go (and LifeStraw in general) is the longevity of its unique membrane microfilters, which last up to 1,000 gallons—equating to several years of drinking water, depending on how much you're guzzling down—and cost only a minor $25 to replace.

The Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System is more involved than other water bottles on our list since the system itself is made up of a handful of parts: two 32-ounce water pouches, the filter itself, a drinking straw, a plastic syringe, and plastic adapters that connect the pieces together. But it's incredibly effective if you're in locations where safe drinking water is hard to come by because its filter is rated to 0.1 microns of absolute filtration, meaning it's designed to precisely remove microscopic viruses, bacteria, protozoa, cysts, sediment, and 100% of microplastics from your water, which is incredibly useful for outdoor or emergency use. The entire system only weighs three ounces, so it's easy to store in your hiking pack or carry-on suitcase, and clocks in at about $30. The only other drawback is that you'll need to keep clearing out the filter in between uses.

This nifty purifier screws onto any Hydro Flask or Nalgene you already own and cleans the water inside as you suck it through the built-in straw. When paired with a 32-ounce Hydro Flask, the flow rate of water through the Epic's large straw was better than similar water bottles we tested—so you can guzzle down water in a hurry. We also liked the discreet look of it and the fact that you can use it with an insulated stainless steel vessel to keep icy water chilled for hours on a hot day. Teeing it up is pretty simple, though you will have to get used to keeping the bottle perpendicular to the ground—if you tip it back the water level scoots underneath the filter. This one is great for drinking on the sly, but less useful if you're trying to purify a batch all at once.