Filtered water bottles let you create better-tasting water almost anywhere you go. After we tested five of them, our pick is the Brita Premium Filtering Water Bottle. Its activated carbon filter removes chlorine compounds, which are used as a disinfectant in most public water supplies and are the cause of the off-flavor that many people dislike about tap water.
But we have reservations about filter bottles in general. Most of them make you suck the water through the filter, and that’s not exactly easy—it’s like drinking a thick milkshake through a straw. And most bottle filters remove only chlorine, not other things you may be concerned about, like lead, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and microplastics.
If you have access to another source of filtered water, such as a filter pitcher, office water cooler, or under-sink filter, then using that to fill a reusable water bottle is a more convenient and versatile way to bring along fresh-tasting water that’s likely more thoroughly purified too.