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Seychelle Water Bottle and Purifier Review

Seychelle Bottle Purifier

I got a new water purifier a few weeks ago from Seychelle.com that works with a screw top bottle. The filter element qualifies as a purifier because it is EPA approved to remove viruses and bacteria to 99.9999%, and other biologicals like Giardia and Cryptosporidium to 99.99%. That’s excellent. It even removes chemicals such as DDT, MBTE, and Benzene, as well as dissolved solids like arsenic, lead, mercury, zinc, and aluminum.

Unfortunately, the bottle leaks around the threads, where the top joins the rest of the bottle. I tried wrapping the threads with plumbers tape, but even that doesn’t stop the water in the bottle from running out along the sides and down my chin when I drink. That’s bad because it compromises the entire system, leading to something that’s called cross-contamination, because good water is mixes with bad, either in the bottle or on your mouth and hands.

Seychelle Water Purifier

I really should know better by now. Every bottle system that I’ve ever tested, where there’s a filter element in the cap, has failed for me, including the McNett Aquamira Water Bottle and the Bota Outback Bottle. They also suffer from leaks around the water cap threads.

The only in-bottle filters that don’t suffer from this defect are those where the filter element reaches to the bottom of the bottle, such as the Katadyn Micro Bottle Water Filter. The only problem with that system is that it is just classified as a filter by the EPA and not a purifier because it won’t remove viruses without additional chemical treatment.

Darn! I hoped the Seychelle was going to be a winner.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and purchased it using their own funds.

19 comments

  1. Informative and concise review. Thanks for including references to other water purifiers. It takes the hard work and time out of trying to find the right product.

    Allan McDonald @

    EQUIPnTRIP

    • There is no date so I don’t know how old this review is. Also would like to know if you contacted the manufacturer. I’m sure they would send a replacement. I have their water filter pitcher and works great. Has highest filtration of contaniments

  2. Have you tried the Ech20 system by Ecousable?
    https://www.ecousable.com/
    I do not have one but have been very curious!

  3. I wrote a review of it for trailspace.com last year and rated it a top pick. It's not a purifier, but is an excellent filter nonetheless. It has one major flaw, in that you can't see how much water is remaining because of the steel bottle. But it does not leak around the top, and the filter reaches to the bottom of the bottle. It also does not require a lot of energy to such the water through the filter. I'm pretty sure that the filter element and bottle are manufactured by Seychelle and just repackaged by ecousable, so you might get a better price going straight to the manufacturer.

  4. A little clarification on the mechanics of screw caps. What keeps the system from leaking is probably not the threads but rather the seal of the bottle mouth rim to the washer inside the cap. The threads are there to deliver the rim of the bottle to the washer in a perfect connection of two planes. One the washer and one the rim of the bottle which is machined dead flat and perpendicular to the axis of the bottle. In a perfect system these two surfaces meet to such a close tolerance that a washer is not needed. I think a better fix might be to investigate a different type of washer that is more forgiving and therefor able to compensate for the manufacturing inaccuracies of the bottle rim.

    You have obviously never done any plumbing repairs or you would never have tried that ham-fisted teflon tape trick.

  5. Easy Steve-man. Go back to your wood pile, while I try your washer trick.

  6. Seriously, you might try a semi-rigid adhesive as a quick modification to the cap washer "seat". Something not water-soluble like denture adhesive might actually be perfect.

    To get some better adhesive grip, rub a little 200 grit sandpaper on the washer then clean with a moderate strength solvent. Place a very small tight bead on the washer where the rim contact point is. To set the adhesive and create the new washer, rub a small amount of petroleum jelly on the bottle rim so it won't pull the adhesive away after you screw it in. A little trial and error might deliver good results.

  7. Great review – as always. Excellent pointing out the issues with cross contamination. Potable water is always such an issue when you are walking in areas where industry and mining are or have been. Little critters are bad enough because they can make you sick today, but the heavy metals and other chemicals usually impact your health tomorrow. I have and use the Katadyn on day hikes, but prefer my still take my First-Need of longer trips.

  8. It sounds like the bottle is deflecting more than the gasket can handle.

    I see Sovereign Earth has a new product out.

    Maybe the steel bottle won't leak.

  9. I've had an eye on their in-line filter for a while as an alternative to the Frontier Pro as a gravity filter. I've heard good things…

  10. You heard right George. Here's a review of the same product, just packaged by a company in the UK – https://sectionhiker.com/aquaguard-eliminator-inli…. I've used it both as an inline and a gravity filter and it rocks. Much easier to suck on than a Frontier Pro, which you have to bite down on. I just ordered a replacement from Seychelle direct and plan to use it next week in the Gunks and then on a 200 mile section of the AT in Maine this fall.

  11. First Need

    I just got back from a Salisbury CT to Rt 41 MA section hike – I filtered all the water water for five people on three day trip where most of the food dehydrated items.

    Worth its weight.

  12. The first Need XL is still the king of purifiers. I've kept mine and even have replacement filters for it still.

  13. I've got the inline filter too and have made it into a gravity filter. Testing it on trail the next 2 weekends. Have several friends who have it and all give good reports on the inline. Works on virus and bacteria.

    Website says it removes/reduces Organics and In-Organics such as DDT, PCBs, THMs, Lead, Copper, Mercury, Arsenic and Chromium 6, as well as pathogens such as Guardia, Cryptosporidium and E- Coli Bacteria.

  14. I was just looking at the seychelle purifier and noticed the at uses Iodinated resins. As far as I know I would not want to drink water that was purified by Iodine. Iodine causes liver damage and other health risks. I would just use the first need.

  15. They have since re-designed and fixed the leaking cap system on the advanced filters. Never found a problem with the stainless steel bottles.

    Also the Iodine resins are within the filter and only treat the water with no Iodine entering your body according to the Seychelle website.

    I have found the new bottles to work very well.

  16. Just thought I’d through this into the mix. It’s an email I received this morning from First Need concerning the First Need XL pump water filter. I emailed the company because as the mayor-elect of a southern Oregon coastal city where we are always looking for ways to sanitize water of microorganisms (including viruses, protozoa and bacteria), suspended solids, pesticides, herbicides and solvents, as well as suspended solids and even dissolved heavy metals such as arsenic (very prevalent here in the ground). This is a kind of grail quest in preparation for a major Cascadia Zone earthquake-tsunami event. Federal and state authorities have said there is a forty percent chance of this occurrence at time during the next fifty years and that all disaster aid and relief will be centered in the areas with the greatest population densities. This will mean that rural coastal communities may not receive medical assistance, fresh water or food for up to three weeks or a month.

    I try to talk with folks about the advantages of UL hiking gear and fitness, but sanitary conditions for safe water will certainly be problematic. We are trying to arrange grant funding for emergency conditions, for generators and reverse osmosis devices but we also trying to look at all of our options…

    First Need responded to my query in this way, describing the benefit of the First Need XL water filter.

    Thank you for your inquiry and for your interest in our First Need® XL portable drinking water purification system. Besides producing great tasting water, First Need has been independently certified to meet USEPA Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Purifiers for ability to remove bacteria, cysts and viruses without the use of chemical pesticides, double processing or hold time.

    In response to your inquiries – First Need systems are intended to remove specific microbiological contaminants, such as pathogenic bacteria, cysts and viruses; organic contaminants such as herbicides, pesticides and solvents; as well as aesthetic contaminants such as particles, color, foul tastes and odors.

    The systems are intended NOT to remove dissolved salts and minerals which in most cases are considered beneficial but might also include organic, mercury or other heavy metals if dissolved in the source water.

    Thank you again for your inquiry. We appreciate your interest in our products. Please contact us if you have additional questions or when you are ready to order. I am available by phone, (800-441-8166/610-363-7900), M-F, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EST) and by facsimile (610-363-0412) or email ([email protected]) 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Our address is 151 Sheree Boulevard, Exton, PA 19341.

  17. Time has moved on and they’ve improved the both the bottle and the filter. I’ve used the last couple of iterations of the pull top with no leakage issues, and the new design can filter almost all the water in the bottle, while with the old design there was a lot of unusable water, which wasted weight.

    Compared to the Sawyer, it’s much more effective with viruses and chemical contaminants, and there’s no need to back-flush. The UK Armed Forces did a very comprehensive study which confirmed the many certifications from other labs – it’s very likely the best validated lightweight filter on the market.

    Flow is nothing great, but I find it acceptable considering the very high performance on offer.

    The current bottle is also excellent as a scoop, and comes with a loop that makes it easy to suspend from a walking pole to reach down step banks.

    I’ve also used the Squeeze, but much prefer the Seychelle. It’s significantly safer, less hassle, and more compact in use. And most importantly, no infections over hundreds of days of use, despite having to rely on some very sketchy water at times. A very underrated filter, in my experience.

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