Gear Review Just Bought the Berkey Travel Filter Which I Recommend

Thanks to comments by a member of this forum whose screen name I unfortunately don't remember, I bought a Berkey Filter based on his comments and I'm very glad I did. I bought the Berkey Travel Filter as it fits my purposes in terms of my present usage and space. I added the optional Fluoride & Arsenic (?) Filters with it and a Stainless Steel Spigot (which they recommended for a faster output) and it cost me about $270 direct from Berkey.

I bought the Filter mainly for cooking as I thought it would be healthier/safer using filtered water for my pasta rather than tap water. Someone told me as the water is boiled anyway when cooking, I didn't need to filter it but rather safe than sorry and I feel psychologically more secure. The Pasta does taste a lot better with the Filtered water in my opinion. The Berkey is easy to use, it filters water a lot faster than I thought it would (flow rate) and it comes out of the spigot nice and fast. It looks good and doesn't take up too much space. Had no problems with it so far and had no leaks.

My negatives were, Berkey manually packed it too tight and when it arrived I couldn't separate the top from the bottom and was ready to send it back when a neighbor managed to open it by turning it real hard instead of pulling out. The other problem I had was that the Manufacturer includes a 1 page instruction sheet which is not very good and contradicts what is in Berkey's Owner Manual which gives better instructions. If I would have started with The Owners Manual, it would have been a lot easier and faster. It took me over 2 Hours to put it together instead of the 20-30 minutes they stated mainly because I was totally unfamiliar with it and because I had used the Manufacturer's Instructions instead of Berkey's. I did phone Berkey's customer service who was very helpful. I drink Aquafina Bottled Water and that is not going to change as its relatively inexpensive but in the event of SHTF and TEOTWAWKI happens, I'm glad to have the Berkey Filter on hand, especially as I will have 3 months supply of bathtub water stored via a Waterbob emergency kid should the need arise.

 

Thanks for the review, ED, I plan on getting one of those as well. I'm curious to see if it improves the taste of your city water.

 

I wish I could give you an answer to that but as I don't drink tap water directly at all (indirect when cooking), I'm clueless. I will say that the same brand of spaghetti tasted better to me with the Filtered Water. One heads up. if you buy with the Fluoride Filter option, it may take several cycles (filling the top up till it is filtered down, using that filtered water or emptying it into the sink, repeating this 6-8 times. If you don't have the Fluoride Filter, the water shouldn't be cloudy initially at all.

 

You have done well young Padawan

Yes, it will improve the taste of city water, GREATLY in most cases. Been a Berkey user for a long time.

 

Oh I think it was you who brought Berkey to my attention. Thank you very much. Sorry I didn't remember your screen name. I'll probably revise my original Thread tomorrow and credit you.

 

Not sure if it was me or not, thanks, but no biggie either way. Just glad you made a wise choice!

 

I actually got something similar to that originally in the same price range called Aqua Gear. My problem with the Aqua Gear is its way too slow for me as well as another problem that isn't worth going over here. Again I am talking about the Aqua Gear not your item. Also on the Berkey, the main filters last for 3 years. I think the Fluoride filter is for a year off the top of my head. If you're happy with your Pitcher, I'm glad it fills your needs.