Water Purifier Review – Grayl GeoPress and UltraPress

I can remember first hearing about the Grayl water purification bottles and how excited I was for this new system on the market. When it comes to water purification, I’m always looking for the absolute best options and I hoard them like I’m hiding Halloween candy from my kids.

Having kids, I’m always looking for the best and easiest ways to deliver clean water to them when we’re out on adventures. The survival straws simply don’t cut it. Did you know that kids are unable to drink from those straws? Ask me how I know.

Ok, I’ll tell you. I had my young kids (5 and younger) try out the survival straw and neither of them could suck hard enough to get the water through the straw. Even if you attached it to a bag or put the straw in a water bottle or even gravity-fed (very slowly), it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a difficult and a bit clunky choice for kids, and for adults, for that matter.

With the Grayl GeoPress and UltraPress, access to clean water couldn’t be easier.

Here’s how the Grayl water purification system works:

Step one is to remove the filter.

Step two, fill the cup with yucky water up to the fill line. It’s important not to go over the fill line so you don’t overflow. They do mention that it’s important not to fill the water bottle with really gunky water. It could clog the filter and even if you try to flush it out with clean water later, the gunk could render the filter useless.

They recommend filling up from running streams, rivers, creeks, etc. However, I filled up from a lake that didn’t look brackish. I made sure to really look around and make sure if it looked brackish and it didn’t.

If you’re concerned about chunks in the water, filter the water first through a bandana and put the filtered water in the Grayl, and press that down.

Step three, speaking of pressing down, once you have water in the bottle, go ahead and press down the filter into the water. The gross water is being filtered through the water as you press down.

Once you’re done, you now have nice clean water to drink from.

It really is that simple!

I can drink from it. My kids can drink from it. My dogs can drink from it. Everyone’s happy!

The water bottles can fit just about anywhere, I didn’t have any trouble carrying them inside of my backpack water bottle holders. Maybe my backpack holders are a bit abnormally large, I don’t know, but they fit just fine for me.

Should you get the GeoPress or UltraPress?

I really love them both, but they do have a couple of different options:

GeoPress:

• Holds 24oz of water
• The screwcap is attached to the bottle, a big plus so you don’t lose the cap!
• Removes 99.9% of viruses (e.g. rotavirus, norovirus, hepatitis A), bacteria (e.g. E. Coli, salmonella, dysentery), and protozoa (e.g. giardia, cryptosporidium, amoebae).
• Filters particulates (e.g. sediment, microplastics) and adsorbs volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PFAS, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, flavors and odors.
• Takes 8 seconds to press down and filter water.
• Up to 350 presses.
• No setup, just fill, press and go!

UltraPress:

• Holds 16.9oz of water
• The screwcap is not attached to the bottle, so can be easily lost, I do wondering why this cap couldn’t be attached, too.
• Removes 99.9% of viruses (e.g. rotavirus, norovirus, hepatitis A), 99.9999% of bacteria (e.g. E. Coli, salmonella, dysentery), and 99.9% of protozoan cysts (e.g. giardia, cryptosporidium, amoebae).
• Filters particulates (e.g. sediment, microplastics) and adsorbs volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PFAS, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, flavors and odors.
• Takes about 10 seconds to press down and filter water.
• Up to 300 presses.
• No setup, just fill, press and go!

With only slight differences, honestly, they’re both a winner. If I were to only choose one, I’d choose the one with a larger capacity, the GeoPress, however, if you’re looking to go more lightweight and can be around more water to purify, maybe the UltraPress is right for you.

It’s really up to you and your needs.

I would consider this an all-around great water purification system for outdoor adventures and even at home for emergency preparedness. Consider using it to purify water from your faucet or rainwater collection system.

Take a look at the GeoPress and UltraPress and see which one is right for you!

Morgan Rogue

Morgan writes for OutdoorHub while also being the founder of Rogue Preparedness where she helps people get prepared for emergencies and disasters, as well as thrive any circumstances.