For years, I’ve relied on the Bota “Outback” Water Filter system. It was lightweight, versatile, and extremely effective. However, this past week, my bottle finally cracked (as they seem to do about every 5 years of regular use) and, lo and behold, I’ve just learned that Bota has gone out of business as of July 2012. So I’m wondering — what’s the best CURRENT system for drinking pure, fresh, healthy water on a mission trip or while traveling cross-culturally? I’ve come across several options, some of which seem promising. Does anyone have personal experience with these (below)? If so, please log on to the web version of this item and use the comment box to give your own review — or a better option, please. Thanks!

Water filter pumps, like the Katadyn Pocket Water Filter that we all used back in the early nineties… or Katadyn MyBottle Water Purifier, the Sawyer Personal Water Bottle Filter, and other filters similar to the Bota “Outback” I’ve been using… or filters that are ultra-violet-light-based (UV light) like the relatively new CamelBak All Clear Water Purifier Bottle and the SteriPEN Adventurer Opti Water Purifier.

You can Google any of these (and others) and learn more about them. The question I have is — which is the best value, the easiest to use, and the most appropriate for the kind of travel that we do, as cross-cultural travelers. My immediate thought would be to lean toward that with which I’m familiar – so replace the Bota with the Katadyn “MyBottle” or something similar. Your thoughts? Thanks for any advice or review you can offer. To respond, please go to the Brigada web version of this item and use the comment boxes below it.