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No one wants to get sick while they travel and one way to avoid it is to invest in a safe water filtering system. Luckily, today these sophisticated systems come in the shape of a handy water bottle! This guide will review our Drink Safe Systems Travel Tap bottle and discuss other options on the market too.
Although it is unlikely that you will need a filtering water system in most developed countries, you will need one for Less Economically Developed Countries. To check if the country you are visiting next has questionable water click here.
Why do I need Travel Tap (or other systems?)
- Better for the environment
- Cheaper in the long run
- Questionable water in certain countries (specifically LEDCs) could make you sick
Plastic Fantastic
I’m not an eco-warrior but try to be environmentally conscious. When we travelled previously around Southeast Asia, I was disgusted with the amount of litter we found in Halong Bay in Vietnam. This waste mainly consisted of plastic bottles! Not only does this carelessness by tourists make an area look dirty but it can take up to 1000 years for plastic to biodegrade, terrible for the environment and animals.
Financial Impact of Using Water Bottles
The recommended daily amount of water a person should drink every day is two litres. While backpacking around hot climates it is likely you’ll need to consume more than this recommendation as your sweat your ass off touring busy cities and hiking in scenic mountains. The cost of purchasing fresh, bottled water soon mounts up, so it was not only for environmental reasons that we (Craig and Gemma) decided to invest in a portable water filter bottle but also for financial purposes.
Let’s say that a one-litre bottle of water costs 50p (you’ll find that this is generally cheap for bottled water in LEDCs, it’s a misconception that everything in developing countries is cheap). You will spend at least £2 per day on your recommended daily amount of water intake. Travel for one month and you might spend approximately £60 of your budget on something that we take for granted as being free.
Another benefit of using a water purifying bottle is that you can stick it to the man at the airport. Airports are notorious for inflated prices, just carry your empty Travel Tap or Water to Go bottle through customs and fill up using the tap when you have cleared security – winning!
Choosing a Purification System
Sterilisation Pen
One way to treat water and ensure that it is safe to drink is by using a sterilisation pen such as the popular SteriPEN. This pen purifies the water by killing bacteria and protozoan cysts with a UV light. However, if you choose this method, bear in mind it takes a few minutes before the water is drinkable and can only be used with clear water. The SteriPEN is one of the more expensive options on the market.
Filtering Bottles
There are many types of filtration bottles on the market which remove impurities, in fact, you might even use one in your own homes to keep water cold in the fridge. However, these by themselves do not purify. You have to marry up the sterilisation pen with the filtering bottle to ensure that the viruses have been banished and that the water from filtering bottles is fully safe to drink.
See more reviews
Drink Safe Systems Travel Tap
DrinkSafe Systems Travel Tap combines the purifying action of the sterilisation pen and the filtration process of the filtering bottle in one action.
You simply unscrew the lid, fill the water bottle up under a tap or in a stream (great camping water filter!) then screw the lid back on. You can safely drink the water immediately just by flipping the spout and sucking the water through the straw. Do not squeeze too hard on the body of the bottle or tip the bottle. The water needs to travel through the straw for the filtering and purifying process to work.
Another benefit is the quantity of water you can filter with one bottle. The Travel Tap delivers 1200 litres of safe drinking water before the filter has to be replaced. This equates to roughly 300 days for two people.
The Travel Tap is also handy for those who like to hike as it filters out 99% of bacteria and if needs must, it is safe to use in murky (not muddy) water. We used it during the many hikes around South America, I even filled it up using nature’s water at the Colca Canyon!
At just under £30, the Travel Tap seemed good value for money plus I’d previously seen something similar on Dragons Den (British TV show where the public bid for support in starting a new business) a few years ago and being a bit of a survivalist at heart, I’d always wanted one.
Water To Go [quote TSA15 at checkout for 15% off] delivers a similar system also popular with travel fans.
Water Purification Bottle Travel
Being a sad, ‘survival nerd’, I know some basic survival skills for purifying bad water so initially, I was sceptical of such a simple and relatively inexpensive device. Could this really prevent Dheli Belly? It seemed too good to be true! I’m pleased to report that after four months in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Cuba, neither of us have had any signs of a dodgy tummy! Good water bottles are essential for travel.
Criticisms
My only two gripes with this portable water purifier by Drink Safe Systems Travel Tap are minor. It’s too big to fit under small sink taps, this has been an occasional issue. Also, when you need immediate H20 to get a thirst-quenching/hangover remedying gulp, it can be annoying squeezing out a mouthful at a time. Minor, like I said.
Conclusion
Overall, I think everyone should own a filter and purifying bottle to take on holiday.
Thanks to the capitalist world we live in, the price of the likes of Drink Safe Systems Travel Tap will continue to drop as more people buy them. If the price gets low enough it’ll become feasible to distribute them to developing countries, so what are you waiting for? What do you think of our water purification bottle review? For further reading check out this traveller’s guide to safe drinking water. Don’t forget your 15% off the Water To Go bottle [quote TSA15 at checkout] – a gift from us.
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DISCLAIMER
» Travel Tap may only ship to Europe, apologies!
» We have no affiliation with Drink Safe Systems Travel Tap, I just really like the product and feel it was the best water filter bottle from online reviews.
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I almost brought a reusable bottle with me on my last trip since that’s all I use at home, but I realized it would be not so useful in some countries. I definitely didn’t want to be drinking out of the tap in certain places, so I opted to simply buy a cheap bottle of water whenever I needed one. Of course the environmental impact was my concern with every purchase, so there was a lot of guilt associated with my choice not to bring my own bottle. I at least disposed of them responsibly, but who knows where my plastic bottles went to in the end? Anyway, this is a great solution and an idea I’ve considered for some time. It’s nice to have someone else test out the product with real travel first! 😉
I totally vouch for it Tracie, no sickness here *touch wood*
I totally love that system. Coming from a thirld world country, visitors are really hard to pleased to drink tap water even if I said it’s safe (at least in the city I lived in) or I just used to it. Normally, buying liters of mineral water will leave number of plastic bottles. This travel tap is perfect for on-the-go people and be environmentally-conscious, at least. 🙂 We are loving the environement as we travel anyway so let’s preserve it.
It really upsets me when tourists don’t consider the environmental impact of their actions!
Interesting and informative article, thanks for sharing.
Hope it helps.
Hi! I´m leaving for Central American in about week and still trying to figure out which purifying bottle to get. I´m PRETTY sure I will go for the Travel Tap but I´m reading mixed reviews about the two different caps. I´m planning on using it to filter water and fill another bottle to have two with me when going for hikes etc. Do you have a pull top or a flip spout bottle? If you have the flip spout, which sounds nicer to have, is it possible to fill another bottle using it (I know it´s annoyingly slow..)? Also some people say, it´s prone to leaking if it´s not held upright. So it can make a mess in your bag. These reasons make me think that I should get the pull top one which I know I would not like to drink out of.. I really appreciate if you can help 🙂
Cheers, Jo
Jo! We got your comment over on Facebook, glad Craig’s response helped you out. Happy travelling 🙂
Great review! I just bought a Steripen for my trip to Kenya and I wish I knew about the Drinksafe one before I bought the other one! Ah well! It looks very useful 🙂
As long as you are safe Lauren! We’re now in Nicaragua so dusting off the bottle after six months in North Am.
I used to own a similar product to Travel Tap but this looks better. I really like the idea of SteriPen and might be buying one soon for myself. A very helpful post. Thanks 😀
Glad we could help Vedante!
Pretty interesting, and not something I’ve ever thought about while on the road. But then I usually substitute beer for water very easily, and having been brought up in India, I think I’m fortunate in that way that my system is more adaptive to lesser water/food, but it’s really amazing that travellers are starting to become aware of the footprint they leave behind, and its impact on the local environment. Minimise the damage as much as you can, so our coming generations may also be able to enjoy the privileges we have 🙂
The beer is cheaper than the water in Nicaragua so far, it’s so dangerous!
Excellent tips, Gemma and Craig! I will definitely bear these tips in mind!
Saved our bacon for South Am!
DrinkSafe Tap – just bought two through your Amazon link, hope you get the commission.
We are two Scots heading for Cuba. Also live in Spain and am disgusted by the amount of plastic bottled water use when virtually every supply is potable in Spanish Cities and towns. There is simply no need for it.
Jim, that makes me so happy. There’s a handful of Scotland travel bloggers doing a beach clean at North Queensferry this June to help highlight the issue. We’ll be sharing evidence on our Facebook page if you want to follow along.
Do you know if you can use travel tap to fill other bottles?
Hmmm, you would have to use the straw and squeeze the water from the bottle into the new bottle.