Official URL: www.purwater.com
Price Tag: $39.99/Pitcher $20-30/3-pack filters $10/2 flavor cartridges
Rating:  (pitcher) (flavors)

I’ve been planning to buy a water filtration pitcher for a while, ever since my dog accidentally broke the last one with his high-powered tail wagging (he knocked if off a coffee table). That was, um, four years ago? So I’ve been drinking tap water since then. Yeah. So I was very excited to review the PUR Water Filtration System with Flavor Options.

ASSEMBLY

The box and packaging are simple, thank the gods. No three inch plastic to hack through–everything was readily and easily accessible to assemble. It comes with a tiny two-page owner’s manual and a second two-page Technical Information pamphlet. There are only five parts—flavor cartridge, lid thingy (with “flavor wellâ€?), the filter, the pour tray and the pitcher itself. Took me all of 30 seconds to put together, although the filter itself needed to sit in water for 15 minutes while it, I don’t know, prepared itself for battle? I also really like the flashy light at the top that tells me when my filter needs replacing, although I have no idea if it’s possible to replace the battery for that when it’s needed.

EASE OF USE

The pitcher fills well with one reservoir filling (a serious bonus—the last pitcher I used needed two fillings to actually fill the pitcher). Of course, you can’t pour from the pitcher before the reservoir drains through the filter—it leaks if you try. Not as badly as my last pitcher, but it’s still annoying because sometimes I am thirsty RIGHT NOW. But I will say it is SLEEK. The oval design is pretty and can fit in my fridge door if I didn’t have sixteen bottles of ketchup already there.

ECONOMY

According to the info packet, the filter should last for one to two months, or up to 40 gallons. In my house, that will be much sooner than two months—we drink a LOT of water around these parts. The cost for replacement filters is reasonable—Amazon.com offers three for under $20. FAR less than the price of bottled water, I must say.

The flavors are about $5 per cartridge and a cartridge can last up to 75 servings if one push of the button per 8oz is used. More typical use will probably result in about half that or less.

FLAVORS

The flavors. UGH, the flavors.

I wish I could be more positive. These are calorie free flavors, but they are SWEET. Sickeningly, chemically sweet. I like my water plain, admittedly, and I do NOT like those flavored bottled waters that are currently available on the market (which tastes, incidentally, JUST like this flavored water does). The raspberry flavor was slightly less overwhelming.

I will say this—adding the flavors is remarkably easy (there’s a well you insert the cartridge into in the lid—simple to do—and then you press a button and it sprays into your water as you pour it. If you do not press the button then it will dispense plain water.), and I can see how it might help some people drink more water if they hate the way water tastes, or if they generally like flavored water. My daughter, who is two-and-a-half, likes the flavored water quite a bit but I’m reluctant to give her the sugar substitutes that are in the product. My husband, who isn’t a big water fan, hated the taste as well.

The flavor options available are: Strawberry, Peach, Raspberry, Grape and Lemon. You can see the nutrition facts by clicking on the image to the right to enlarge it. Note that this information might change and current nutritional information is always found on the packaging.

SPECS & TECHNICAL DETAILS

The pitcher itself is made of a nice hard plastic from the polystyrene family which does not leech BPA into the water.

Contaminants that this filter reduces or removes includes: Pharmaceuticals, chlorine, agricultural pollutants, heavy metals (lead), sediment (rust), microbial cysts, and industrial pollutants. (See more: http://purwater.com/manuals/PUR_Filter_Comparison.pdf )

The pitcher holds 7 eight ounce glasses of water. (56 ounces, slightly less than a half gallon).

BOTTOM LINE

Overall, I have to say that I love what the filter does to my water—the water from my tap tastes clean and yummy now, and I love that the shape of the pitcher cools the water down (I prefer cold water) quickly in the fridge. But I’d skip the flavors part, frankly, and stick with the straight up pitcher instead.