I was familiar with the Berkey name as the filter of choice when I lived in the jungle in Hawaii with rainwater catchment (and leptospirosis and giardia risk). So it seemed a good choice for my current situation of regular camping trips and also town errands with chlorinated city water.
The customer service on this item was overwhelmingly positive. It arrived fast and well-packaged. I didn''t suffer from the lack of instructions that another reviewer mentioned: there was a printed page with a lot of information. They even included a free replacement filter because the shipping to Alaska (which is set by Amazon) was so very high.
For me, it works great. My only concern is that the bottle is a fairly flexible, squeezable plastic and I hope that it''s not the leaching kind.
The lid/stopper doesn''t leak water: the straw that you drink through is flexible and tucks away into the lid. For my husband, it comes through too slowly I like to sip, he likes to gulp. So depending on your drinking pace, you may not like this as well as I do!
This is a brilliant idea that is very poorly executed. The amount of pressure required to force water through the filter demands that the structural integrity of the bottle, cap, seals, and air valves be of appropriate strength to withstand repeated applications of pressure.
I bought 4 of these, and read the instructions and other feedback very carefully. OK, I thought, others are having trouble because they are either not tightening the cap enough, or failing to fully extend the straw before squeezing the bottle. When my bottles arrived, the first one out of the package worked perfectly: good seal, water flowed through the filter and out the straw, and you could hear air returning to the bottle after each squeeze. The next three all failed miserably. When squeezing, the bottles either leaked air, water, or both. The return air valve should allow air to go back into the bottle after each squeeze so you can make the next squeeze. But if the air valve lets air out when squeezing, then the water cannot be forced properly through the filter. The cap is joined to the bottle by 3 or 4 threads that are not precise enough to allow a good seal, and the thin O ring between bottle and cap does not provide a good seal. So when squeezing, some water came out the straw, some air came out of the air valve, and water ran down the outside of the bottle through the cap/bottle connection.
Proposed solution: The cap needs to join the bottle with 7 or 8 precise threads to ensure a better seal. Take a look at a typical 1 liter nalgene bottle used for hiking. That''s the way to do it. The gasket needs to be thicker to ensure a complete seal between bottle and cap. The air valve needs to be truly one way, so it stops air from leaving the bottle when squeezing, but allows air to return to the bottle after each squeeze to replace the volume of water that was pushed out through the filter.
As I said, this is a great idea, too bad the design and manufacture is so ridiculously bad. For a water bottle that costs over $20, this thing should be bullet proof.
Buy Sport Berkey Portable Water Purifier Now
About 4 years ago I bought a Berkey Light system which is the large 2.75 gallon capacity filter. It has two filter elements in it and can filter up to 4 gallons per hour. I have municipal water at my residence so the water has a very chlorinated smell and taste. Needless to say I have filtered hundreds of gallons of water through that filter and it still produces the purest, cleanest tasting water. Naturally I was curious as to how well a unit this small would compare. I work at a high school that also has less than tasty water available, even from the drinking fountains. So I mainly keep the sport bottle there, and it has worked great. The Berkey filter element in this bottle does an amazing job. I''ve only used it once in a natural water source when I was kayaking, and it filtered creek water just as well. I read the info on the level of filtration it provides and feel confident and safe in drinking water that has gone through the Berkey filter. Just make sure you rinse the filter real well once you''ve used it in a natural source as it may have floating debris caught in the filter, which over time could clog it up. I highly recommend any Berkey product.
Read Best Reviews of Sport Berkey Portable Water Purifier Here
The Sport Berkey portable water bottle came free when I purchased a counter top system for my kitchen. I have used it for 6 months with municipal water from work, 5 days a week. It is awesome! The water taste great every time, no chlorine taste ever! The only place I have found on care and use of the water bottle is "Fill the Sport Berkey Portable Water Purifier with water, screw on cap and tighten securely to eliminate leaks. Flush water through filter by pulling down lever, so that straw is exposed, and squeeze water thru filter & out the straw. Repeat this flushing process twice before drinking. This removes excess process dust from the filter. After 2 flushes, rinse the bottle & cap. Your filter bottle is now ready to use. Enjoy!" I only wish I''d had these instructions when I started using the bottle. According to this website it last thru 160 refills from ANY source. A very GREEN way to drink filtered water, instead of disposable water bottles. Get the Sport Berkey water bottle, you''ll be glad you did!
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This seems like a good product, it was shipped quickly...BUT there are absolutely NO instructions for it''s use
or any paperwork at all concerning this product. I am disappointed, there should be something to tell you
how to use it, how many uses it''s good for, warranty, etc... But nothing,just the product in the box.
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It''s well made and mounts securely to the handle bars. My Verizon LG fits perfectly into the cell phone pouch, but a smart phone would not fit. The issue I have is with the way the pack attaches to the handle bar mount. I don''t know who''s 12 year-old kid designed this but when you pull the pack up to disconnect it, the pack actually runs over the thumb you''re using to press the release lever. Also, instead of putting the spring loaded clip on the back of the pack, which could be attached to the waistband of your bicycle shorts if you go into a store, it has a plastic bracket which is intended as a belt loop. This doesn''t seem to make any sense because you don''t usually wear a belt with bicycle shorts. A spring loaded clip would have been much more useful for any pair of shorts or pants.
