**REVIEW** Eco Filter Water Bottle

I'm doctor-ordered to drink LOTS of water. It's easier to follow those orders if I have a good, re-usable water bottle on hand. With that in mind, I was pleased when I got this for a birthday gift:

22 ounces

 It's the Eco Bottle by Smart Planet.

BPA Free

 The whole "BPA-free" thing has become a trend. I had no real idea what the fuss was about. Now I do. Trust me, my brain needs no more problems. Matter of fact, I need none of these problems.

Love the hook for carrying it

Funny story: The instructions told me how to prepare the filter. That went fine. Too bad there wasn't a "For Dummies" add-on telling me how to actually use the bottle for drinking. I spent the first ten minutes wondering why sucking on the spout only produced a mouthful of air and a tiny bit of water. I was trying to come up with a way to exchange the gift before it dawned on me to tip the bottle. You know, to actually treat it like what it is - a water bottle. (My niece almost begged me not to include that part in this post!)

If you are done laughing now (or just shaking your head), I can tell you that I love this gift.

I'm not the most eco-conscious person on the planet - or, for that matter, in my family. This bottle makes it easy for me to be better about that.

What I like most: the spout (now that I know how to use it!). It flips down when not in use. This is nice because I like to tote my bottle everywhere and I usually keep it in the satchel that I call a purse. Also, it's got a nice slim design and the little tap for carrying it easily. It's labelled as being good for 580 uses (or approximately six months). I'm looking at getting 88 ounces of water per day. I had to use a calculator to figure that 22oz each, 580 uses gives me 145 days of getting my 88 daily ounces before I will need to replace the filter.

The spout is open in this pic.
It flips down to prevent spills

While there isn't much else to say about the design, the total idea is very nice. It's a neat and handy way to get your filtered hydration. At 22 ounces, it holds more than the 16 ounces I was getting from my previous bottle (which was bigger around and harder to carry). This one fits in my car's cup holder. (By the way, Smart Planet also has a cool-looking squeeze bottle; an infuser bottle that I'd love to try; and, just because I'm a little bit "country" at heart, a Mason Jar type "drinking jar" that I just plain like the look of. Must be a lot of folks like me because the jar is currently showing as "sold out". Hah.

By the way, Alaska is one of those states with great water. The water here tastes so good, I can drink it for dessert. Other states should be half as lucky. I've lived in places in Texas and Arizona where tap water would put an industrial water filter through its paces. (I will never be completely convinced that the water in Texas isn't one of the factors that caused my illness!) I saw water that could be used to dye hair an odd shade of rust. One of the places in Texas had water so bad that I didn't even want to wash my clothes in it. In Arizona, I had to have our water delivered. That was one bill I cared about more than I did the mortgage. I couldn't afford to get a filter for the bathroom, but I learned to keep a jug of filtered water in the shower for rinsing. After I doused myself with the filtered water, I'd coat myself in baby oil. That was for the stench the shower water left behind. Horrible.

No offense to Texas or Arizona, but for beautiful states, you guys have some nasty water.

I'll be moving soon and I've heard the water is decent where I'm relocating. Still, I will keep this bottle handy.

Peace
--Free