Berkey Travel Water Filter Review: Large Capacity, But Is It Worth It?

Introduction

The Berkey Travel water filter is a countertop filtration system built from stainless steel. It features two large tanks for storing filtered and unfiltered water, along with two black Berkey filters that have a long filter life of up to 3,000 gallons per filter. It is part of a series of Berkey filter systems designed to store large amounts of filtered water on your countertop. But is this extra-large water tank worth the hefty price?

Who This Product Is For

The Berkey Travel is designed for those who need a large volume of filtered water readily available. It can hold up to 1.5 gallons of clean filtered water in its stainless steel reservoirs. While the name “Travel” might suggest a small, portable unit, it is really only small in relation to Berkey’s other, even larger water filters. Compared to most water filter systems, the Berkey Travel is still extremely large.

This system is best suited for a permanent spot on a countertop where you can fill it and leave it. It is bulky, tall, and heavy when fully assembled with water in the bottom tank. It can be broken down by separating the hopper and clean water reservoir, but you will need to empty it before doing so. It would be difficult to fit this in a refrigerator due to its size, and when fully assembled, it is best used on a countertop where the water will not be chilled.

Main Strengths

The Berkey Travel sets itself apart from many other water filters due to its impressive build quality. Constructed out of stainless steel, it takes a different approach than many other brands which are mostly made out of plastic. The hopper and water reservoir come in two pieces, both made out of metal. The metal has a strong feel and will likely not crack or dent from repeated daily use.

The system comes with two of Berkey’s own black Berkey water filters, which are designed to handle large volumes of water over their expected life of an estimated 3,000 gallons of water. According to the manufacturer, the filter addresses trihalomethanes, inorganic materials, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, VOCs, petroleum products, perfluorinated chemicals, rust, silt, sediment, and even radiological contaminants.

Assembling the Berkey Travel was simple and took about five minutes. Maintenance is also relatively low, with an estimated annual maintenance cost of just $20. A new Berkey filter costs $166 and lasts for 3,000 gallons, which comes out to a cost of just 6 cents per gallon. This is considerably less than the average cost per gallon of 21 cents.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Unfortunately, the Berkey Travel had mediocre water filtration performance based on third-party laboratory data and testing. It failed to fully remove a number of serious contaminants, including dichloromethane, bromodichloromethane, uranium, lithium, cadmium, and arsenic. The third-party health risk analysis showed unsafe levels of these contaminants, all of which can have serious health impacts over prolonged exposure.

The travel Berkey scored a 73 on the lab report, 10.7 points below the testing average of 83.7, making it the second worst health risk analysis score seen to date. If fluoride is a concern, Berkey offers an add-on fluoride filter that can be attached to each individual filter. This would help reduce the fluoride levels detected in laboratory testing, though the specific fluoride filters were not tested.

The aesthetic properties of the filtered water were also a concern. The travel Berkey had one of the worst scores on its aesthetic properties, with a score of 35 out of 99. The report showed high levels of sodium in the sample, which could give the filtered water a salty taste. Additionally, the report identified magnesium, total dissolved solids, and pH levels as a likely source of taste issues. All of these metrics are at higher levels than average, which could lead the water to taste more bitter.

The filters also have a slow filtration speed and a lengthy priming setup procedure. Due to its large size, the 0.70 cups per minute filtration speed takes a while before the water tank is full. Priming the two black Berkey filters and getting them ready to use took longer than any other water filter system tested to date. Each filter needs to be sealed up against the faucet for water to flow through the pores. The issue faced during testing was creating that perfect seal that allowed the water to only push its way through the filter. The tan rubber seals shown in the instructions did not work well in creating the seal, and the blue rubber funnel provided also did not create a proper seal on the kitchen faucet. It was only after moving to a regular faucet head without the buttons and spray features that a proper seal was created.

During testing, placing the travel Berkey completely assembled in a permanent spot and then filling it worked best. It has no handles, and the top hopper is not secure to the bottom. Once you start to fill the top with water, the system becomes more unstable and more difficult to handle.

Buying Advice

The Berkey Travel is a very tall water filtration system. It towers at 19 inches tall with a diameter of 7.5 inches, which means the water tank will dominate the counter space. Its water intake tank sits on top with a volume of 1 gallon of unfiltered water, and the bottom tank holds 1.5 gallons of filtered water.

For the size, low purification performance, low aesthetic rating, and poor usability, the Berkey Travel is just not worth the high price point. The main concern is simply the filter performance. The filtered water contains a number of serious contaminants based on third-party laboratory testing. There are numerous other filters that offer significantly better performance, many for less money compared to the Berkey.

Conclusion

While the Berkey Travel water filter offers a large capacity and impressive stainless steel build quality, its mediocre filtration performance and high price make it difficult to recommend. The slow filtration speed, lengthy priming process, and poor aesthetic properties of the filtered water further detract from its appeal. For those seeking a reliable water filtration system, there are better-performing options available at a lower cost.