When hiking or backpacking, everybody needs a good way to treat their water. It could be chemical treatments, boiling, or even UV purification, but most of the hikers I know use filters.
I’m generally a fan of squeeze filters like the Sawyer Squeeze because of their versatility (see my review and breakdown of their lineup here). But a quality filtered water bottle is easier and quicker, and when I just want to be able to fill up and go that’s what I’ll reach for. “Quality” is the key word, because although many filter companies make filtered water bottles, all but one are more of a pain to use than they’re worth
That one bottle is the Epic Water Filters Nalgene OG Outdoor. I’ve been using it nonstop this summer and I’m thoroughly impressed. Read on for the full review.
Full disclosure: I received this filter for free to try out from Epic Water Filters, but all opinions are my own and I genuinely love this water bottle. I am an Epic Water Filters affiliate, so if you find this review valuable and make a purchase through one of the links on this page, then I receive a small kickback.
Epic Water filters Overview
Epic Water Filters is a company founded with sustainability in mind. They aim to eliminate single-use plastics by making tap water more drinkable, and building epic filters that remove just about every possible contaminant. That includes microplastics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals. All of their filters are independently tested and NSF certified, and their ethic is definitely one I can get behind.
They make a variety of filters, including countertop dispensers, pitchers, and water bottle filters designed to be compatible with popular bottles like Hydro Flask and Nalgene. They are also a 1% For The Planet member, so 1% of every purchase is donated back to environmental causes. It's a commitment that surprisingly few outdoor gear manufacturers make, so I love to see that Epic does.
Their focus is on tap water, so most of their filters aren’t actually designed to remove backcountry pathogens like bacteria and protozoa. But they do make one filter, the Outdoor series, that can remove this stuff on top of everything else. This is the one I’ve been using, and so far I love everything about it. Here are the specs:
- Kit Includes: 32 oz Nalgene bottle, Epic easy sip lid w/ carabiner, filter, filter straw
- MSRP: $42 (replacement filters cost $30)
- Filter lifespan: 75 gallons of water, or roughly 300 liters of water
- Removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.999% of protozoa
- Recyclable filter
- Replaces 750+ single-use plastic water bottles
- BPA free plastic components
- Made in the USA
- Dishwasher safe (except the filter itself)
Here’s how Epic stacks up when it comes to my three most important considerations for a backcountry water filter.
Ease Of Use
I generally don’t like filtered water bottles. They’re great in concept; just fill up your bottle and drink like normal, with no squeeze, pump, or gravity filtering to deal with. The problem is that the filtered bottles made by some of the biggest names in the filter game are just too hard to drink from. Both the Sawyer Select and Lifestraw Go filtered bottles require a lot of sucking to actually start filtering water, to the point where those bottles just gather dust in my closet.
Epic solved this problem with authority. This bottle is so easy to drink from that when compared to other options it feels like you’re not even drinking through a filter at all. This seems to be due to the structure of the filter; instead of being filtered through a single small tube, water can enter the filter membrane from all sides. Like any outdoor filter, it slows with regular use, but it’s still leagues above other similar bottles.
Measuring the flow rate of a filtered water bottle, especially one where squeezing isn’t an option, is difficult. I haven’t developed a reliable flow rate test for filtered bottles, but in my experience, the Epic Outdoor is easier to drink from than any other filtered water bottle I’ve tried.
Water Quality
When I first tried this filter and noticed how easy it was to drink from, I initially wondered if it might be because it’s less thorough than other backcountry filters. It turns out that it is, but not enough to matter in the real world.
Epic Water Filters outdoor series removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.999% of protozoa, while Sawyer Squeeze filters and Lifestraws remove 99.99999% of bacteria and 99.9999% of protozoa. That difference is minuscule, and they all meet NSF P231 standards for “microbiological purification.” Though none of them filter out viruses, they’re all more than capable enough to stop common backcountry pathogens.
The other great thing about Epic is that it doesn’t just filter protozoa and bacteria, unlike virtually all backcountry-specific filters. It also meets NSF water filter standards for pesticides, chemical additives, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals (among other contaminants). Their filters use an activated carbon filter to accomplish this, so the longer you soak it, the better it'll work. But for backcountry pathogens, the hollow fiber membrane will remove everything as you drink from it.
Most backcountry water sources don’t have common tap water contaminants, but the fact that Epic Water Filters work for both means I've been confidently using my filtered bottle as a daily water bottle, too.
It’s important to note here that Epic makes two bottle filters, called the Everyday and the Outdoor. They look similar (though the Outdoor filter is colored orange to be able to differentiate), but the Everyday filter won’t remove bacteria and protozoa. So if you need the filter for hiking or backpacking, make sure to get the Outdoor.
Weight
The only other filtered bottle that matches the ease of use and water quality of Epic is the ever popular Grayl Geopress (see a full review here). It’s a slick design, and the fact that you prefilter the water just by pressing the filter down into the container means it’s also super easy to drink from. But it weighs 16 ounces dry (with only a 24-ounce water capacity), and that makes it way too heavy for backpacking. Even the new Grayl Ultrapress weighs 12.5 ounces, and they only achieved that by sizing down to a 17-ounce capacity.
A whole Epic Water Filters kit, which includes a 32 oz Nalgene bottle, an Epic branded sip lid, and the interior filter weighs just under 10 ounces wet. The filter itself weighs just 2 ounces wet, making it comparable to Sawyer Squeeze or Lifestraw standalone filters.
But because the included lid is Nalgene compatible, you can use this filter with a Nalgene Ultralite or Nalgene soft bottle to reduce weight even further. That's an option you don’t have with other bottle filters. Though bottle filters are never particularly versatile, Epic wins big points for versatility here.
Price
At $42 for the whole kit, an Epic Water Filters Nalgene costs almost exactly the same as the comparable Sawyer or Lifestraw Filters. And if you already have a Nalgene, you can just get the lid and filter for 35 bucks. As far as I'm concerned, it could be significantly more expensive and it would still be my top pick.
It isn't quite that simple, though, because Epic filters have a much shorter filter life than Sawyer or Lifestraw filters. Those filters should last for thousands of gallons, mainly because each of them can be backflushed with clean water to restore their filtering ability. Because Epic water filters can't be backflushed and use activated carbon to remove extra impurities, they max out at about 75 gallons of water. That means they'll need to be replaced much more often.
Replacement filters cost $30 each, or $24 each if you subscribe to their auto-delivery service. That comes out to a significant difference in cost over time, but it's one that I'm okay with just for the fact that I actually use and like the bottle. I also love that they offer filter recycling services, and if you recycle three filters at once they'll send you a brand new one. At less than 100 bucks for a year of ultra-clean water and easy drinking, I think it's worth it.
Final Thoughts
I don’t use a filtered bottle on every trip, but when I do, it’ll be the Epic Water Filters Nalgene OG Outdoor. It’s plenty easy to drink from, keeps weight to a minimum, and is capable enough to handle just about anything you could throw at it. If I was in a situation where really nasty water was the only option, I might go with a Lifestraw or Sawyer for slightly better performance. But for basically all normal situations (and even day-to-day use), the Epic Outdoor series is my new go-to.
If you want to see for yourself, you can get them direct from Epic Water Filters or from Amazon.
