Nalgene Water Filter System – Epic Review

by Derrick James
wide mouth 32 oz bottle with nalgene water filter

For the prepper, no Nalgene is complete without a Nalgene water filter. These convert a basic, high-capacity water bottle into a survival tool able to turn dirty, unsafe water into clean, safe drinking water.

I’m going to open this article up with a blanket statement, but I’m going to stand behind it: I would be positively amazed if you, dear reader, did not have already have a Nalgene water bottle taking up residence within 100 feet of you right now.

Nalgene has risen like a BPA-free phoenix from its original humble beginnings as shatterproof laboratory containers to its current status as a brand name that defines an entire genus of rugged, brightly-colored dihydrogen monoxide containment apparatus. Simply put, everybody and their moms possess, utilize, and adore American made Nalgene water bottles.

Hell, I have two of them within view right now. A fellow SHTF Blog writer even accessorized his to make it more tactical.

Why shouldn’t people embrace these bottles? Nalgene water bottles are practically shatterproof, are resilient to ambient weather and temperature extremes (though not so much actual fire), have a million accessories, and can be customized like a Mr. Potato Head to truly express how you, as a free-thinking individual, relate to your portable water and imminent hydration while sitting in your cubicle or hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Soccer moms and serious outdoorsmen alike embrace the Nalgene – and they should.

The Nalgene bottle is an almost perfectly evolved, eminently useful way to keep water with you wherever you go. You can also keep ammunition in them.

orange outdoor filter for Nalgene
This bottle from Epic contains the orange outdoor water filter.

Buying an Epic Nalgene Water Filter

Quickly making a name for themselves in the water purification market, Epic Water Filters crashed the water pitcher market with the 1st water pitcher made to remove bacteria, virus, and cysts with their “Nano” water filter pitcher.

But they did not stop there and has since expanded their product offering lineup to include under-sink systems and portable filtering water bottles made from BPA-free materials such as polycarbonates, stainless steel, and more recently glass.

Based out of the Boulder, Colorado region, Epic Water Filters proudly offers Made-in-USA innovative water filters for the everyday person, or for the diehard outdoorsman and survivalists.

Noting the vast quantity of Nalgene products in the market, Epic Water Filters has introduced a brilliantly relatable product boldly dubbed “The Answer” that allows a proud Nalgene operator to utilize their water bottle in a manner that transcends just sipping tap water from a bottle.

They applied their experience and passion for clean water toward producing a purification method for the Nalgene masses. Their product is called The Answer.

What Exactly is The Answer?

The Answer is, in a nutshell, a water filtration system that is a replacement for the standard screw-on cap that comes with a Nalgene bottle. When it arrives on your doorstep, you’ll find that the gray Epic Water Filters box contains just a few parts once you open it.

Inside, you’ll find a new bottle lid that employs a clear plastic cover that flips open smartly upon the push of a button, a short, clear plastic straw slips into the bottom of the lid, and then there’s the actual  filter cartridge.

Mine came with a black-colored everyday filter, though it also can utilize the orange outdoor filter that Epic offers – or you can just buy the outdoor bottle system as an alternate complete filter to switch over quickly as your needs change.

everyday black water filter for Nalgene bottle

An explanation between the two filter offerings – black everyday and outdoor orange – is in order. The standard black filter is geared toward the user who might buy a lot of bottled water or drink tap water from faucets or public water fountains as they run around their daily lives around town.

The everyday filter filters out 99.99% of contaminants you’d find in tap water anywhere including chlorine, heavy metals, trace pharmaceuticals, VOCs, industrial and agricultural pesticides and pollutants, all found in public water supplies in North America and Europe.

The orange-colored outdoor Nalgene water filter employs a different filtration substrate to remove the same nastiness that the black everyday filter gets out – there’s a lot of crossover between the everyday and outdoor – but the outdoor filter is capable of removing biological pathogens such as E-Coli, Giardia, & Cryptosporidium – both of which are really truly nasty bugs that you can pick up from naturally-sourced water – lakes, rivers, ponds, and the like.

The benefit to the outdoor filter is that you can indeed get water from practically any water source you can find; however, this comes at a slight convenience caveat – you’ll need to really crank on that straw and generate some suction to pull the water through a filter this serious.

The everyday filter doesn’t require anywhere near as much suction power to pull water through it; my 5-year old can use an everyday filter-equipped bottle with ease. If you don’t plan on trekking the wilderness and obtaining your water from lakes and rivers, than the everyday filter is likely your best Epic option for everyday use. Both filters will pull problem yuckies out of the water for at least 75 gallons’ worth of hydration, which calculates out to around 3-4 months of usual daily use.

A Useful Answer

I’ve been using The Answer system almost everyday for a few weeks now, and its utility and purpose has impressed me.

While the every filter probably would be surpassed by the Epic Outdoors filter for true survival use, the Nalgene water filter is hands-down superior on a day-to-day basis if your imminent needs don’t include combating microscopic bugs and drafting water from swamps . It’s much easier to pull water through the setup’s straw – really almost as if a filter isn’t there at all.

The outdoor filter will leave you just a smidge frustrated at the amount of water you receive for your work, especially if you’re terribly thirsty – but your bowels will thank you later if you use the Outdoor filter when sourcing water, well, outdoors. I have noticed that the Outdoor filter does start to flow better after using it for a week.

I’ve found true practicality with the filter in my daily routine. As an over-the-road sales guy, I would usually pull into a 7/11 or similar convenience store and buy a bottle of water when thirsty – just how many people (probably you, too, Dear Reader) would perform on the go. Now, my answer to being thirsty on the go and saving money is indeed The Answer – I simply carry my bottle into the store and fill up the Nalgene bottle from the bathroom faucet instead of buying a bottle of Poland Spring water.

Nalgene water bottle with filter in car

When I use the Epic Answer in the gas-station-bathroom method described above, the resultant filtered water tastes great even if the faucet water is terrible, metallic tasting and smelling of chlorine. The wife and kids can use the water bottle on road trips or around the house, and benefit from clean water without carcinogens or other life-shortening chemicals and maladies. All of Epic’s filters are made in the USA, and are 100% recyclable to boot.

Wrapping It Up

Long story short? If you have a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle already (and you probably do), it can save you serious bucks if you buy bottled water frequently, and provide clean water for yourself and your family by removing over 200 tap water contaminants. The Answer is another winner from Epic Water Filters so be sure to check out The Answer if you have a Nalgene bottle (and at this point, who doesn’t?).

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7 comments

SL Haynes December 11, 2018 - 3:24 pm

Seems like a very good idea. Thanks for the review. I posted it to Facebook!

Reply
Ben December 11, 2018 - 11:36 pm

Love it. Never heard of The Answer before but I have a crap ton of Nalgene bottles at my house.

Reply
JAS December 12, 2018 - 5:52 pm

I don’t own a single one of these bottles, all of mine are single wall stainless so I can set them in the fire. The biggest problem I see with this filter is, according to what was written, the straw just pushes into the cap and filter. This leaves the possibility of contaminates leaking into your mouth, especially if you apply any suction while drinking. This is a huge risk if you happen to be drinking from a outdoor source of water. I would want both joints of the straw permanently sealed with epoxy or something.

Reply
Doc Montana December 13, 2018 - 7:52 pm

Interesting situation JAS. My back-of-the-envelope calculation would negate the concern about seepage through the straw connection. The human mouth is capable of about a -30Kpa “vacuum” with is quite small. Loosely converted, that’s about one-third to one-forth of usual atmospheric pressure. That would mean that the straw connection would have to leak under little more than the force of gravity pulling on an inverted water bottle. If you wrap a submerged Epic Water Filter Answer in a plastic bag and can get any flow through the straw (seepage), then there would be concern. But I have the Epic Water Filter Answer as well and the straw connection on both ends is vastly stronger than any pressure difference a human mouth can generate.
All that said, if one is sloppy with the filter and container, then cross contamination is always possible and highly likely. But in most water situations, quantity plays a significant role, and if one is sloppy with something as mission critical as water, then doomed is on the menu no matter the time of day.

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Jas December 14, 2018 - 5:34 pm

I agree that it may not leak and would not be concerned at all if using the urban filter for tap water. However, if I was filtering surface water with the outdoor filter I think I would add a touch of apoxy to the straw as I was pushing it together. I guess I am just over causious with these things but would worry about any little seepage, whether from a loose fitting or a small scratch or ding in the straw.

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Roger Jensen December 15, 2018 - 8:35 pm

I prefer the 2-quart military canteen, more flexibly so less likely to break if frozen, well made, some caps can use a rubber hose with bite value, and the Swiss jacket/vest that I use for a 72-hour kit will hold two of them in the front lower pockets helping to balance out the weight. This looks like a very good system but the Sawyer mini can be cleaned by back-flowing and is supposed to be good for 100,000 gallons of water so the 75 gallons that this system ‘boasts’ of seems rather rather limited. In the ‘sticks’ I always boil my drinking water after filtering just for safety sake. I’ve had Guardia and it’s disabilitating, no fun whatsoever! I keep at least 3 gallons of water (72 hour) in my vehicle at all times (in a cooler so it won’t freeze easily) because in a SHTF situation the normal sources of water (from the tap) may not be running or may be contaminated by something that can’t be filtered effectively such as radioactive dust (read: nuclear war) which would build up in your filter. Paranoid, yes, but better safe than sorry! Still, as a trade item, this has definite possibilities since as you say nalgene bottles are very popular. GLAHP!

Reply
rashishetty February 25, 2019 - 9:27 am

Thanks for sharing this article and here is some information about Water Analyzer instrumentation.

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