In addition to writing about adventure travel and adventure sports like hiking, camping, and biking, I also write about the gear you need for those pursuits. For the last decade, I’ve tested and reviewed everything from ski jackets and hiking shoes to bike saddles, carry-on luggage, stargazing chairs, binoculars, and more. I see new gear pitches and products almost every single day — so when I see one that gets me genuinely hyped up, that’s a good sign that it’s a very cool product.
Photo: Suzie Dundas
I Tested the Coolest Gear Item of the Year on a Hiking Trip to the Redwoods
Enter the GeoPress water bottle from Grayl, a brand that exists mostly because of that one product. I first saw a Grayl GeoPress in action at a media event in July, and of the literally hundreds of products displayed, this water bottle stood out the most. It started as Kickstarter project and hit the market in 2021, but I just got my hands on one this year.
How the Grayl GeoPress is different
Just another water bottle with a filter? Not so fast. Photo: Suzie Dundas
The GeoPress is a water bottle with a built-in filter. If you’re an outdoorsy person or hiker, you’re probably thinking “ugh, another water bottle,” or “duh, water filters are a pretty basic item.”
And my friend, I know.
But the Grayl GeoPress is no regular water bottle filter. To start with, it’s a two-part bottle. There’s the outer bottle you fill with water, and the just-slightly-smaller inner bottle, and all the dirty water stays in the outer bottle. By the time it reaches the inner bottle, it’s filtered. That means you can use one GeoPress to filter water for everyone in your group, no matter how many bottles you have, since the filtration happens before you drink (unlike bottles where the filter is in the straw). It uses vacuum pressure to filter the water (sort of like an AeroPress coffee maker), using the pressure of your body weight to filter a full bottle in about 10 seconds.
Sound cool? It is. I picked up one to use on a hiking trip in the California redwoods, and having it was a huge upgrade to my hydration game. So I stand by my assessment: it’s one of the coolest pieces of outdoor gear I’ve seen all year.
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How it works
The Grayl GeoPress bottle has two pieces: an outer cup for filling with dirty water, and the inner bottle and filter, which holds the clean water. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Unlike other water bottles with built-in filters, the bottle you drink out of stays totally clean. And the filtration happens before you drink, not during, so you don’t need to worry about having barely any water come out when the filter is dirty.
The process is easy: Scoop dirty water into the outer bottle, place the bottle you drink out of on top, and slowly shift your weight forward to nest the two. The pressure forces dirty water through the filter, leaving the inner bottle with only clean water. Make sure to remember to unscrew the drinking spout so air pressure can get released, or the lid will come off and explode water in your face…not that I learned from experience or anything.
A bit of forward pressure, and boom: the combo creates a vacuum effect, filtering the dirty water through the filter on the bottom of the inner water bottle. Photo: Suzie Dundas
This cool tech means the inside of the bottle will never have dirty water in it, and that can you filter over and over and over to fill as many other bottles as you need. With other water filter bottles, every person needs their own. But not so with the Grayl GeoPress. It also means you can add electrolytes, flavoring, or whatever you want to your water, which you can’t do with other bottles where you’d be adding them into dirty water.
The GeoPress is easy to use
You can fill it up from almost any outdoor water source, so a gorgeous natural waterfall in the redwoods isn’t technically required. Photo: Suzie Dundas
I’ve used water filtration bags, and found that I have to squeeze them so hard to get water through the filter that it hurts my hands. But because all you have to do is push on the GeoPress, it didn’t hurt my hands at all. And really, you don’t even have to push. Once you’ve filled the outer cup from a dirty water source (as with all water filters, avoid salt water or water sources near agriculture), just set the bottle on the ground, put one palm on each side of the lid, and slowly shift your weight forward. I weigh about 135 pounds, and even a minimal shift forward was plenty to activate the filter. Brand new, it took about 10 seconds for me to finish the filtration process. That’s much quicker than most other external water filters.
It’s useful during international travel, too
Chug away — the high-end charcoal filter removes viruses, bacteria, protozoan cysts (like giardia), pesticides, metals, microplastics, and more. Photo: Suzie Dundas
I’ve carried a filter with me on trips to places where water isn’t always reliably clean, and it’s a little annoying. I have to carry a filter and a bottle, and after I’ve used it, I have to put a wet filter back into my purse or backpack. Fortunately, the GeoPress’s all-in-one design means I can fill it from hotel room sinks or public aquifers and have clean, drinkable water in about 15 seconds without carrying any extra tools or devices. It doesn’t leak at all, provided you don’t overfill the bottle.
International, urban, and travel use is why I opted for the olive green color, so it would stand out a bit less in everyday situations. However, if you’re prone to leaving things behind at campsites or snack breaks on the trails, you may want to pick a brighter color so it contrasts against leaves and grass a bit better.
It’s rugged enough for heavy outdoor use
Dirtied and scratched, but extremely durable. Photo: Suzie Dundas
I have to admit, I have broken several Sawyer water filter bags, either because they popped, or they got ripped or torn on rocks. While they’re much cheaper, it feels wasteful to replace them so often. My GeoPress seems able to withstand the elements better, and while hiking in the redwoods, I dropped it and banged it on roots and trees (both on purpose, and not). I dropped it, scratched it, tossed it on rocks and dirt, and covered more than 20 miles of hiking in two days with it by my side or in my backpack.
While the top and sides are a bit scratched, it’s not at all damaged. I was also worried that the outer bottle (the part you put dirty water in) would come loose and fall off, so I tested it by holding it dangling from my hand for about nine miles. But between the tight fit of the two bottles, and the vacuum pressure of filtering, the outer bottle never once seemed like it was coming loose. In fact, the first 10 times or so I used it, I had to pull pretty hard to even separate the inner and outer bottle.
I’m not at all worried about its durability, like I am with “outdoor” bottles that have metal latches or hard plastic pieces that can crack.
The downsides
The Grayl GeoPress fits well in all travel backpacks and pockets I tested, but the grippy material is a little harder to slide into fabric pockets. Not hard — just harder than your average plastic or metal bottle. Photo: Suzie Dundas
I won’t list price as a downside ($99), because affordability is relative, though that’s pricier than more basic products like the LifeStraw Sip. But there are two factors worth considering.
First, the water bottle isn’t quite as big as it looks, since the cartridge takes up about 1/5 of the space in the bottle. You need to fill the outer bottle only to the fill line. If you overfill it, the filter won’t push down any more when you’re filtering. And if you keep pushing, it will (once again) explode in your face. A standard Nalgene holds 32 ounces; the GeoPress is 24 ounces. So you may want to carry a second bottle if you’ll only have one chance to fill up and filter during an all-day hike. However, the capacity is the same as other bottles from outdoor brands like Stanley, Yeti, LifeStraw, and more.
The filter needs replaced every 350 pushes, or 65 gallons, and costs $30 to replace, though every purchase comes with a free one. I thought that seemed like a lot of replacements, but then I looked at comparable bottles, and it’s comparable to the most-used alternative: the $65 LifeStraw 24-ounce “Go Bottle.” That filter needs replaced every 26 gallons. Of course, somehow, the Sawyer bottle with a filter built into the straw claims to be good for 100,000 gallons. So I’m hesitant to claim the Grayl is better or worse than any industry average.
Fortunately, you don’t need to count how many times you’ve pressed: it stops working when it’s dirty. So if it’s filtering water, you’re good to go.
If the Grayl GeoPress pushes all the way down, it means the filter is good to go. It won’t filter (and therefore won’t push down) if the filter needs replaced. Photo: Suzie Dundas
The other downside is maybe petty, but noticeable. The bottle is made with a rubbery-feeling exterior, which makes it easy to grip when it’s wet. But the grippiness also makes it harder to slide into a backpack pocket as compared to a metal or smooth plastic bottle.
The GeoPress actually does come in a metal version. It’s called the GeoPress Titanium, and is designed to fit smoother into backpack pockets. It’s also entirely metal, allowing the outer cup to double as a cook pot on camp stoves. The downside is it’s twice the price, at $199.
The verdict: who will like the GeoPress the most?
The GeoPress Titanium, above, weighs less and has applications for camp cooking, so it may appeal more to backpackers focused on saving weight. Photo: REI/Grayl
The pros: Fast and easy to use, two-bottle system is quick and allows you to fill unlimited bottles, durable, all-in-one system, easy to clean
The cons: Heavier than other bottles, filter eats into the volume a bit
It’s no secret that I find the GeoPress to be a useful little item, and I expect I’ll use it quite a bit on day hikes, paddleboard sessions (on fresh water), or road trips where I’m filling up water from gas station sinks.
The GeoPress seems well suited to any hiker or traveler who wants both easy access to clean water, paired with the ability to fill other bottles and containers. However, it may not appeal to ultralight backpackers who count every ounce, as something like an ultralight Nalgene (3.5 ounces) plus a Sawyer bag and filter (2.5 ounces) weighs less than the GeoPress’s 15 ounces. So it’s probably better for day hikers, travelers, and people spending extended hours outside, rather than multi-day backpackers. And obviously, it’s best for people who expect to have water sources available while outdoors.
But if you want an all-in one bottle without the need to carry a filter and bag, it’s ideal. And if you are used to chugging water when traveling and hate having to rely on filtered waster or buying bottles of water, it’a a no-brainer. Either way, for most people, it’ll be a really convenient and quite useful piece of outdoor gear. 