REVIEW – Every minute, a staggering one million plastic bottles are purchased, many of which simply contain filtered water, and that figure is on the rise. Homeware designer Black+Blum aims to help curb that rampant bottled water consumption with their double-duty water filter and infuser bottle, the Eau Good Duo.

What is it?

The Eau Good Duo is an easy-grip, dual-purpose plastic water bottle that has both charcoal purification and infusion capabilities. It’s meant to act as a natural replacement for that packaged bottle of water that you’d normally grab from the fridge or gas station.

Hardware specs

• holds 700ml/24 fl oz
• 122g/4.3oz empty weight
• 24.2cm/9.5″ high x 8.2em/3.2″ max width
• built-in infuser cap filters infusing ingredients
• easy-grip silicone hand strap
• bottle made from taste-neutral, lightweight Tritan
• fast-flow polypropylene spout
• binchotan charcoal filtration stick

What’s in the box?

• one Eau Good Duo bottle
• one charcoal filter (good for 6 months)

Design and Features

The Eau Good Duo can be used just like any other water bottle. Fill it up and hit the road. It’s perfectly fine for that, and the silicone hand straps and quick-flow spout make it a nice little sports bottle. But it’s true strengths lie in its purification and infusion functions, which I’ll get into below.

One note about the spout, at least on my sample bottle, it was really hard to open. I think if the spout were made of a more flexible or softer material, it would have been easier to wiggle and pull up with my fingers, but most of the time I had to employ my teeth to pull it out, which is probably cringeworthy for any dental professionals out there. The other option was to completely remove the cap and push the filter from the other side, popping the spout up… or just drink directly from the bottle.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you decide to drink from the capless bottle, the threading for the cap is on the inside of the bottle, so the outside is nice and smooth, like drinking from a glass.

After using the bottle for several weeks, I’ve found that it was best to simply treat it as a replacement for a single-use water bottle. Since it’s roughly the size of a bottle of Dasani or some other 20oz water, I found myself grabbing it out of the fridge in the morning for my commute into work, refilling it when I arrived and grabbing it out of the work fridge around lunchtime. That allowed for enough time to purify and chill the water in each instance.

Infusion

One could make the argument that pretty much any container could be used to make flavor-infused water, but there are a couple of built-in features that make the Eau Good Duo good for that purpose. One being the wide opening, allowing for easy insertion of ingredients, and the other being the fast-flow filter on the spout. The filter keeps seeds, stems and other pieces of fruit or mint debris from blocking the flow of water.

I really like the design of the spout. It allows for the water to flow quickly without creating that suction vacuum effect on the bottle.

Of course, placing an entire wedged lemon or bunch of strawberries into the bottle takes up a lot of space, and since the bottle can only hold about 24oz of liquid, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for actual water. In each of my tests, I was able to gulp down that delicious lemon water in a short amount of time, leaving me wishing the bottle was at least a little bit larger.

Filtration/Purification

Binchotan charcoal is a type of activated charcoal that has been used for hundreds of years as a natural water filter. When left in a bottle of water overnight, it purifies water by absorbing chemicals (such as chlorine) and heavy metals commonly found in tap water. This leads to better tasting and pH-balanced water.

The Eau Good Duo comes with a perfectly-sized charcoal stick, ready to be inserted into the bottle and locked into place with a quick squeeze on the nifty locking mechanism. One of the key factors to remember about charcoal purification is time. The instructions recommend 8 hours for the best effect, and once you’ve downed that 20 oz or so of purified water, it’s another 8 hours until you can drink some more, if you want the best taste.

The charcoal sticks absorb chemicals and flavors for about 3 weeks or so and then can be “recharged” by boiling them to release the absorbed chemicals. The stick should be replaced every 6 months.

I don’t buy a lot of bottled water, but over the last few weeks, I tried to imagine that every time I emptied the Duo, that was one less plastic bottle I’d be putting out into the world. That’s a lot of bottles for just one person! Not to mention potentially a lot of money.

Positives

• charcoal filter neutralizes water flavor well
• spout filter flows well and keeps infused ingredients from blocking water flow
• replacement for individual bottles of water

Negatives

• is not insulated
• spout is rather hard to open
• bottle could be a bit larger

Final thoughts

Overall, the Eau Good Duo is a nice little water bottle. I almost wish it was a bit larger so that one could purify more water at a once, since it takes about 8 hours for full effect. But it’s super-lightweight, has a unique, easy to carry design, and I love the high-flow spout. And most important, it accomplishes the goal of keeping plastic out of the landfill.

Price: Pre-order for £25 (approx. $33.42)
Where to buy: The Eau Good Duo filter/infusion bottle is, at the time of publishing, only available for pre-order on Crowdox. One bottle plus 1 charcoal is £25.00, or about $34. There are two other pre-order levels with additional charcoals and bottles.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Black+Blum. Visit their website for more information and to check out their other products.

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Black+Blum Eau Good Duo water bottle review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 1, 2018 at 2:51 pm.

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Two ideas among many that I am big fan of are hydration and multi-functionality.  Where is this going, you ask?  Allow PACElid to elegantly link these two ideas together.  When I’m out hiking, rucking, traveling or even just running errands around town, I usually have my Nalgene bottle along, and PACElid lets me take a few other small items along for the ride.  How does it do this, you ask?  Let’s check out PACELid in a little more detail.  Gadget on!

What is it?

In military terminology, PACE is an acronym and methodology used to build a communication plan.  PACE stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency means (i.e. technologies or systems) of communication.  Chris Way, inventor and developer of PACElid, has for the past 20 years “worked and played side by side with some of the most experienced and accomplished athletes, climbers, and military/government operators” and learned the value of trustworthy and reliable gear.   Chris founded Northstar Gear Co. as a way to produce PACElid, which is a screw-on lid for several popular wide-mouth water bottle brands that has its own storage compartment inside, allowing you to take along a few items atop your bottle.  PACElid began as a successful Kickstarter campaign and has since become a successful product in its own right.

Hardware specs

• Injection-molded high-impact plastic material
• Watertight screw-down lid
• 2017 version with universal threads fits wide-mouth Nalgene, Klean Kanteen and Hydroflask bottles. Original version (reviewed here), fits only wide-mouth Nalgene and Klean Kanteen bottles.
• Available in Black, Red, Green and Blue colors

What’s in the box?

• PACElid
• Northstar Gear Co. logo adhesive decal
• Northstar Gear Co. compass adhesive decal

Design and features

Right out of the box, PACElid looked and felt like a very high-quality, durable item, one designed and built for folks who are hard on their gear, go on hardcore adventures, or both.

PACElid has a series of notches around the perimeter of its lid, which makes it easier t0 grip when twisting the lid on or off.  Note that the newer, 2017 version has a series of raised fins around the perimeter, along with the notches.

This original version of PACElid has a cool visual appearance molded into it, as seen in the image above (more on this below).  In addition, the Northstar Gear Co. logo is embossed into the top of a small, raised “button” on the PACElid’s lid.

Note that the version being reviewed here is the original PACElid, one that is compatible with wide-mouth Nalgene bottles and Klean Kanteen bottles.  (The latest version, the 2017 version with universal threads fits those plus Hydroflask bottles.)

One of the subtle yet functional features of PACElid is the small loop molded into its side.   This loop can be used to attach PACElid to its bottle (so you don’t lose it), or it can be used to attach items like a carabiner or other fastener.

Above, a closeup of the PACElid’s surface.  While the surface appears as if it would feel “grainy,” it actually doesn’t.  This texture is just below the smooth surface and is visible, but not tactile.

So what does PACElid look like on the inside with its lid removed?  See image above.  It’s basically what you’d expect: a cylindrical space with a raised bottom to allow clearance for the bottle threads.

Above is the Nalgene bottle that I used in my evaluation of PACElid.  It is a standard, wide-mouth 32-oz Nalgene bottle (and Boiler Up! to you Purdue fans out there).

Above is a side-by-side photo of what PACElid (on left) is replacing: the Nalgene bottle’s lid (on right).

And finally, the above image shows the PACElid atop the now lid-swapped Nalgene bottle.  PACElid is obviously a much larger lid than the stock Nalgene lid, but it does have a screw-down compartment inside.

I wanted to try loading PACElid with a few small EDC items to see how much it could hold (see above).  I included my Leatherman Squirt PS4 mini multi-tool, a set of earbuds for my iPhone, a small set of EDC tools, most of which I reviewed here a while back, and a small One-decade Rosary.

As you can readily see in the photos above and below, all of these items fit inside the PACElid’s compartment with a bit of room to spare.

I took the now-filled PACElid on a short wintertime ruck (hiking with a weighted backpack) and it performed flawlessly.  I even dropped PACElid on the hard ground a couple of time and it was not damaged at all, save maybe a few scuffs.  It was really convenient to have the EDC items at hand and readily accessible.

In the above photo, I had taken PACElid on a family vacation where we did a lot of hiking.  I dropped a few handfuls of jelly beans into the PACElid’s compartment, filled my Nalgene bottle, threw it all in my backpack, and took off.  The jellybeans were a nice little “pick-me-up” along the trail.

What I like

• If you already carry a Nalgene, Klean Kanteen or Hydroflask, PACElid gives you a quick and easy way to store a few items along with it
• Very reasonable cost

What needs to be improved

• Even with PACElid empty, the combination of water bottle and PACElid can be a bit top-heavy if the water bottle itself is not full of liquid

Final thoughts

PACElid is a really clever idea that was realized into a really durable, well-built product.  It gives your water bottle a little bit of extra versatility by providing some extra storage space, and couldn’t we all use that?  It’s a great product and I’m looking forward to seeing what else Chris Way and Northstar Gear Co. come up with in the future.

Price: $19.99 (2017 version with universal threads), $24.99 (original version, reviewed here)
Where to Buy:  PACElid.com (2017 version with universal threads), Amazon (original version, reviewed here)
Source: Item was purchased with the reviewer’s own funds.

The post PACElid (original version) review appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

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Tagged: Water Bottle

PACElid (original version) review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 26, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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