Epic Water Filters Review: 4 Bottles Tested

Looking for the best water bottle with filter? We put four Epic Water Filter bottles to the test to see which bottle / filter combo was the best.

This review is going to look at the following 4 bottles:

• Escape Glass Water Bottle
• Nalgene OG Grande
• Nalgene OG Ultimate Travel Bottle
• Nalgene Outdoor OG Woodsman

The Big Differences

The big differences between these bottles really comes down to three factors.

1. Use
2. Filter Capacity
3. Size

Use

The Escape and Grande bottles and filters are designed to be used with traditional tap water.

The Outdoor and Ultimate travel bottles are designed for more rugged filtration, like pulling drinkable water from a river or stream.

Filter Capacity

All four of these bottles can filter quite a bit of water, especially considering their relative size.

• Escape: up to 75 gallons
• Grande: up to 75 gallons
• Ultimate Travel: up to 100 gallons
• Outdoor: up to 100 gallons

75 and 100 gallons might not sound like a lot to some, however, bear in mind that full sized Brita and PUR filters recommend replacing every 40 gallons.

These small filters are able to filter significantly more volume than we would have expected.

Size

The overall size as well as how much water each bottle can hold is another difference between these models, or really a way for one bottle to stand out.

Here is the liquid capacity of each unit:

• Escape: 32 oz
• Grande: 48 oz
• Ultimate Travel: 32 oz
• Outdoor: 32 oz

RELATED: Epic Water Filters on Amazon

The Design

The design of each of these bottles shares some design similarities and differences. Here’s the rundown of each bottle.

The Escape Glass Water Bottle

The Escape bottle is fully glass with a screw-on plastic lid and silicone cover with a perforated water droplet pattern.

Like the other bottles in this review, the Everday filter is located at the end of the straw and filters water as it is sucked up the straw.

The bottle is dishwasher safe and the silicone cover slides off the bottom of the bottle when it’s time to wash. Though it should be said, it’s quite a task to get the silicon sleeve off the glass bottle.

Nalgene OG Grande

The Nalgene Grande is an all-plastic bottle with the filter located at the end of the straw and a screw-on plastic lid.

There is a flip-up sip top and a carrying handle to carry in your hand or to hook onto your pack with a carabiner or similar.

The Grande is the tallest bottle in this review, however, it’s still relatively slender, allowing it to easily go in your bag.

Nalgene OG Ultimate Travel Bottle

The Nalgene Ultimate Travel is made of a semi-matte plastic with a black screw-on lid with a clear sip-top cover.

There is a bright orange release to open the lid and take a drink.

Like the other models, this bottle has the filter located at the end of the straw and a convenient carrying loop on the side of the lid.

The Ultimate Travel bottle is also the only one in this comparison that can be compressed and “squished” by squeezing it. See the image above.

Since this bottle is designed for travel and other on-the-go scenarios, the squishable form factor is a nice attribute to have.

Nalgene Outdoor OG Woodsman

The Nalgene Outdoor is a standard hard Nalgene bottle with a larger filter (relative to the Escape & Grande). It has a semi-opaque plastic bottle with a matte plastic black screw-on lid.

As with the other bottles, the filter is located at the end of the straw and there is a flip-up sip-top lid.

The Size

When considering the sizes of these Epic Water Filters, there’s two thing you should consider:

1. Dimensional Size
2. Liquid Capacity

Dimensional Size

Liquid Capacity

The Nalgene Ultimate Travel and Nalgene Outdoor bottles are the shortest in size, both measuring 9″ tall and 3.3″ in diameter, with a 32 oz. liquid capacity

The Escape bottle is a little taller and more slender (9.8″H x 3″ diameter), but it actually has the same liquid capacity as the Ultimate and Outdoor bottles.

The Grande is the largest bottle in this review with a capacity of up to 48 oz and 11.8″ tall.

Testing

To test these Epic Water Filters we looked at three main tests for the water quality of each bottle.

1. TDS Testing
2. Water Quality Testing
3. Lab Results (direct from the manufacturer)

TDS Tests

TDS stands for total dissolved solids. It is a measure of the dissolved combined content of all substances (both organic and inorganic) in a liquid.

If you have “hard” water that most likely means you have high TDS. Similarly, if you use a water softener, that can increase TDS because there is salt dissolved within your water.

Higher TDS does not necessarily mean your water is bad (ie, mineral water has a higher TDS, but is still healthy). But in general, a lower TDS is better.

To measure TDS we used an electronic tester and took a baseline measurement of our tap water. Next, we measured the TDS of each water bottle filter to determine the reduction in TDS.

Below is our TDS testing data:

And here’s how well each water filter bottle improved:

As the data shows, the biggest improvements were via the EveryDay water filter included on the Escape and Grande. Both had notable, but not incredible reductions in TDS.

The Ultimate and Outdoor water filters did not significantly reduce TDS.

Water Quality Testing

This test looked at 16 different contaminants and water quality indicators. To perform the test we first took a baseline measurement of unfiltered tap water.

Next, we tested the filtered water from the Escape / Grande bottles and the Outdoor / Ultimate bottles. The new values were documented as a way to see how well each bottle purified the water.

The Escape and Grande bottles also use the same filter (the EveryDay Filter) so there is one value documented.

Similarly, the Outdoor and Ultimate Travel bottles both use the same filter (the Outdoor Filter) so there is also only one value documented.

All of the following measurements are in milligrams per liter (mg/l), except pH.

Below are the biggest takeaways from the water quality tests:

• Copper – Both the EveryDay and Outdoor filter notably reduced copper in both respective tests
• MPS – Monopersulfate was the same as the baseline for the Outdoor / Ultimate filter, but slightly higher on the Escape / Grande. In our view, this is most likely due to the relative accuracy of the test. We don’t have any reason to believe the Escape / Grande filter would increase MPS. However, neither the EveryDay or Outdoor filter reduced MPS in our tests. That much we are more certain.
• Ammonia – Ammonia Chloride was reduced notably in both filters, from 50 mg/l to 0.
• Bromine – Bromine was also reduced notably in both filters, but especially the EveryDay filter. In the Outdoor filter it was reduce from 1 to 0.5, and from 1 to 0.25 in the EveryDay filter.
• pH – pH was slightly reduced in both filters from 8.2 to 7.9

Lab Results

Want to read more details about exactly what each bottle filters out?

Epic Water Filters releases full laboratory reports for each of their two filters.

• Click here to see the lab results from the Everyday Filter.
• Click here to see the lab results from the Outdoor Filter.

Usability

Okay, let’s talk about usability. All four of these bottles are intuitive and designed to just fill and go. Super easy.

How do you drink from it?

All of these bottles have the same method of getting water out of the bottle. They use a plastic screw-on cap with a semi-flexible straw that flips out.

The Escape, Grande, and Outdoor all use the same lid.

The Ultimate uses a slight variation that has an additional clear plastic cover. You press the bright orange button to release the clear cover and the straw pops out.

Since you are sucking the water through a filter it does require more suction than non-filtered straws. The Outdoor filter requires notably more suction than the EveryDay filter.

How does it filter water?

The process is essentially the same on all four of these Epic Water Filters.

There is a filter located at he bottom of the straw. As water is sucked up from the bottle through the straw, it is forced to pass through the filter.

And as it does contaminants are removed and the water becomes safe to drink.

Here’s a quick side-by-side of all four of the filters so you can see the similarities and differences.

As mentioned above, the Escape and Grande bottles use the Everyday Filter, while the Outdoor and Ultimate use the Outdoor Filter.

Recyclable Filters

A water bottle with a filter isn’t really that unique, there is one thing that’s pretty unusual about the Epic Water Filters.

That difference is that the filters on all four of these bottles are recyclable.

This helps to reduce carbon footprint and environmental impact as well as reuse the material for future needs.

You can recycle Epic Water Filters at a recycling center or any recycling bin that accepts plastic #7.

You can also opt in to their Recycling Program. This program allows you to collect 4 filters and mail them back.

In exchange, the manufacturer will send you a new filter, free of charge.

Which bottle is right for you?

Alright, so you’re at the end. Does one bottle stand out as the right Epic Water Filter for your needs?

If you’re still unsure, here are a few more ways to break down which bottle is best.

Best for Rugged Use

WINNER: Nalgene Outdoor OG

The Nalgene Outdoor OG Woodsman bottle is designed for rugged outdoor use. It includes a carabiner (not suitable for climbing) to clip it onto your backpack or body, etc, making it a great option for hiking, camping, or other recreational outdoor activity.

It also uses the more rugged Outdoor Water Filter, which is designed to clean water even from questionable sources, like a nearby river or stream.

Best for Travel

WINNER: Nalgene OG Ultimate Travel

The Nalgene OG Ultimate Travel bottle is lightweight and one of the smallest bottles we’ve tested here, making it a good option for travel. It also uses a flexible material that squishes where you push it.

This little bit of “give” means that it’s very unlikely to break under strenuous packing excursions. Similar to the Outdoor bottle, the Ultimate has a carabiner for clipping it onto bags, packs, or bodies as well.

Best for Every Day Use

WINNER: Escape Glass Water Bottle

If you’re looking for a water filter bottle that is ideal for every day home, office, or gym use, the Escape is our preferred choice.

The glass interior makes clean up super easy. In addition, the exterior silicon sleeve is provides a nice grip, while also protecting the bottle from damage. In our view, this is the perfect bottle for standard every day use.

Lastly, this bottle is available in three distinct colors—blue, black, or white.

Best for Large Capacity

WINNER: Nalgene Grande

The Nalgene OG Grande is the clear winner if you’re looking for the bottle with the largest capacity. This bottle is the only one in this comparison that can fit up to 48 oz, whereas the other 3 bottle max out at 32 oz.