Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L
Review by Erin Trail
Safe drinking water is easy to take for granted, until you end up in a situation where you aren’t sure the water you’re drinking is safe. Of if you’re traveling and the drinking water is heavily treated and tastes funky.
Enter the Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L!
The Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L looks and functions as a standard water bottle but has the added benefit of having the super-safe water filtration that comes with other Katadyn water filtration products.
Specifications
- Flow output: 2 L/minute
- Filters out microplastic, microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, cysts), off flavors, and chemicals
- Filter material: hollow fiber with activated carbon polishing
- Capacity: 200 liters for activated carbon, 1,000 liters for hollow fiber filter (dependent upon water quality)
- Snap-closed cap
- Carrying handle
The Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L is fantastic for traveling or for having handy in the backcountry. I went on a trip to Spain last year, and while I’m sure the hotel tap water was (maybe-probably-hopefully) fine to drink, there was bottled water everywhere. We assumed we could just use the bottled water (in a common area) for refills throughout the day. We were wrong, as the hotel closed that area after lunch, meaning we had to take our chances with tap water. About a month after this trip, I met with Katadyn and we talked about their (then not yet released) BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L. I knew that this bottle + filter would be a meaningful part of my travel adventures.
The bottle is shaped like a standard bike bottle, coming in at approximately 24 oz fluid storage. The hollow fiber filter is located inside the bottle and the activated carbon is the final treatment step, located just prior to the drinking spout. You fill the bottle with whatever water and drink straight from the bottle. It’s just that simple.
The actual mechanism of drinking from this bottle is a little different from drinking from a standard bike bottle, mainly because the water must pass through a filter. You can’t really suck water or open the nozzle and have it flow freely. You need to provide a little oomph to get the water to flow – a gentle squeeze with your hand. Also know that the water will flow through the filter at a rate a little slower than just squeezing an unfiltered bike bottle.
The Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L has nice external features that make carrying and using the bottle easy. The bottle material is a transparent, easy to squeeze plastic. Unlike the other BeFree filter systems, you can hold the AC Bottle however you want while screwing the filter into place (the other BeFree systems have to be held at a specific spot). Similar to the newer BeFree AC Filters, there’s a cap that snaps into place, helping to protect the silicone drinking port. The cap isn’t water tight, so if you have a few drops of water that aren’t consumed, you’ll end up with a little minor spillage. The other nice feature, (and also similar to the newer BeFree AC Filters) is the carrying handle. This handle is shaped so you can hook it onto the nook of an index finger or loop it through a pack strap.
Closing Thoughts
The Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L is an easy to pack, easy to use tool to get you clean drinking water, where ever you are. With its more traditional bike bottle form, this Katadyn filter option is easier to use and store, fitting in bike bottle cages, car cup holders, or backpack pockets.
The Katadyn BeFree AC Bottle 0.7L is available in 4 color options.
Erin Trail
Trail Boss of Stoke
Erin is a former Montana park ranger with a degree in environmental engineering. She loves getting into technical details while putting her gear (and herself) through the paces. She shares her home in Colorado with her husband, Will, and her 3 cats (Zipper, Brewtus, and Simcoe).
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