GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier Review

Active Gear Review is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

GRAYL was founded in 2012 when two world travelers put their heads together. They brainstormed a way to have filtered and purified water no matter where they traveled. They were inspired to create the GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier to provide safe drinking water for other world travelers. While I don’t have plans to travel to other countries at the time, I am planning to live off-grid in the Colorado Rockies for 6 months. The only available water source for us will be the funky water from a national forest spigot. Being that we are avid hikers and kayakers, I could really see some value in what GRAYL had to offer.

I ended up ordering the titanium version of the Geopress because I love the lightweight durability of titanium. In addition to the durability, the Geopress Ti with the lid has the capability to be used as a cookpot for backcountry meals. I was intrigued by the possibility and ordered the Geopress Ti with some of GRAYL’s other products. GRAYL’s titanium bowl, plate, spork and stove all took their place in my backcountry gear.

The Design of the Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier

The GeoPress Ti serves as a water collector, filter, purifier, drinking vessel and cook pot all in a single, compact bottle. This is achieved through the genius double wall design. The outside layer of the bottle has foldable handles and a D-ring for attachment. Removing the outside bottle from the inner bottle allows it to be used as a cookpot and water collector. The handles make it super easy to scoop up the water to be filtered.

The inner bottle is where all the magic happens. Attached to the bottom of the inner bottle is the GRAYL Geopress filter. It is a filter and purification system that uses electro-adsorption and activated charcoal to collect all of the impurities in your collected water (even viruses!). Once the outer layer is full, the inner bottle is inserted. Using your body weight, press down on the inner bottle to filter the water.

The top of the inner bottle has a handle and a nice size, attached lid. The lid has a small arrow on it. When filtering water, make sure it is pointed at the white dot so that air can escape the lid while filtering. The overall design is beautiful with an earthy, multicolor design on the exterior of the bottle.

Straight to the Water!

The first thing I wanted to do when my GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier arrived was run straight to the water’s edge and scoop up some water, so that’s what I did. In anticipation for the arrival of my GRAYL goodies, I had watched a few videos of the Geopress and had a good idea of how it worked. It was so simple! I scooped up the water, inserted the inner bottle with the filter and filtered my water. I maybe should have read some additional directions because I didn’t think to unscrew the cap which made it nearly impossible to insert the inner bottle. Once I figured that out, it was easy going.

I do want to add that it does take some brawn to push the filter into the outer bottle. With a filter that filters and purifies all the way down to the virus level, it really has some work to do. Don’t let this discourage you. Once you realize that it is necessary to push hard for that level of filtering, you will wonder why you ever used anything else.

Go Ahead! Add your Drink Mix.

The design of the GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier employs 6 flapper layers to prevent backflow into the filter. For this reason, it is perfectly acceptable to mix in your drink mixes with the filtered water. There is no concern of contaminating or plugging up the filter. This brings this bottle to a whole new level for me since I frequently want some sort of endurance fuel on my adventures. The wide mouth of the Geopress inner bottle allows for you to easily add your drink powder without a mess.

Using the GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier as a Cookpot

Before I wrote this review, I wanted to use the Geopress outer bottle as a cookpot so I could accurately report its performance. I was skeptical that the heating time would increase due to the tall, thin design of the pot. My concerns were not warranted and I didn’t find that the narrow base of the pot extended the time to boil water at all. The pop out handles stayed cool since they were so far away from the heat source. I used the pot over GRAYL’s titanium camp stove so I can’t say how hot the handles may be if cooking over a larger heat source.

Honorable mention needs to go to the neat little pot lid that comes with the Geopress. It is neatly vented and has a triangular handle for easy handling. The venting will keep your pot from boiling over and the lid stays neatly in place.

Water poured nicely from the bottle after it was boiled and I didn’t spill a drop adding it to my camp meal. I don’t think I would want to cook any food in the pot itself as cleaning way down in the bottom of the pot may be difficult. I thought that a great alternative to cooking in the pot would be to add the boiling water to my food in the GRAYL titanium bowl.

The Many Uses for the GRAYL Geopress Ti Filter and Purifier

When I first laid eyes on the GRAYL Geopress Ti, I envisioned using it for backpacking, kayaking, working at remote wilderness locations and foreign travel. While I know there are probably a thousand other uses for this water filter and purification system, these were the ones specific to me. I did try out the Geopress while working in the remote wilderness and also while on a full day-pack trip.

I found that the bottle was completely appropriate for these uses, had an appropriate volume at 21 ounces of filtered water and was easy to carry with its slim design. It will be a no brainer for foreign travel since the filter and purification specs greatly exceed the capabilities of any mechanical water filter I have used in the past.

As far as for a backpacking water bottle, I wasn’t sure at first. It was a little heavy once the filter was saturated (even when the bottle was empty). It was so much heavier than some of the other water filters I had used. I then began to calculate the weight of the items I usually carry: A filter and reservoir bag, metal cookpot and lid, my water bottle. All of these things are now included in one compact bottle that not only saves space, but is about the same weight as the items it replaces. I’m optimistic that it is a solid choice. I will be sure to update this review if I find out anything different.

Difficult to Use While Kayaking

I did not love the Geopress as my kayaking companion (which I had hoped for most) because of the force required to filter water. It was impossible to filter the water while still sitting in my kayak due to the weight needed to press the inner bottle. I had to stop and use a rock or the ground to press the filter in. This required me stopping on the bank of the reservoir. I decided this just wasn’t practical, especially if I was going to do open water kayaking with no nearby banks.

While this was a little disappointing, I still feel like the other uses for the Geopress make it a very valuable companion.

Technical Specification from the GRAYL Website:

• Capacity: 24 oz (710 ml)
• Weight: 20.125 oz (570 g)
• Height: 10.125″ (25.7 cm)
• Diameter (at base): 3.25″ (8.2 cm)
• Materials: Titanium, BPA-FREE polypropylene #5, food-grade silicone, TPE and ABS food-grade plastic.
• Active Technology: Electroadsorption and ultra-powdered activated carbon.
• Fastest Flow Rate: 8 seconds per 24oz (5 liters/minute)
• Removes: waterborne pathogens (99.99% of viruses, 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.9% of protozoan cysts), including Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Giardiasis, Cryptosporidium, E. Coli, Cholera, Salmonella, Dysentery and more.
• Filters: particulates (i.e. silt, microplastics, etc.); ultra-powdered activated carbon effectively adsorbs chemicals (including PFAS & VOCs), pesticides, heavy metals, flavors, and odors.
• One-Way Electrolyte & Drink Mix Valve: six duck bill valves prevent back flowing of water (or other beverages) through the Cartridge while also allowing clean filtered water to pass through the Cartridge into the Titanium Inner Press.
• Durability: built tough to perform in harsh conditions and withstand 10 ft drops at full capacity onto concrete.
• Cartridge lifespan: rated for 350 cycles (65 gal. / 250L), as “press time” reaches ~25 seconds (or three years have elapsed since first use) it’s time to replace your purifier cartridge.
• Cartridge shelf life: stored under proper conditions, an unopened Purifier Cartridge has a shelf life of 10 years. After a cartridge has been used, it lasts at least 3 additional years.
• BPA-Free materials: made from polypropylene #5, food-grade silicone, TPE, ABS food-grade plastic.
• Testing standards: independently tested by a certified laboratory to meet or exceed NSF/ANSI protocol 42 and 53 for pathogen and chemical removal. Meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Guide Standard and Protocol for testing microbiological water purifiers.

My Final Thoughts and Recommendations:

GRAYL really did some nice work in the design and innovation used in creating the Geopress TI. The processes using electroadsorption and activated charcoal bring this system to a whole different level than your standard mechanical filters. There are no annoying bags to fill in streams or fragile filters to fail while on a trip. The Geopress Ti is durable and reliable. It has even passed a freeze test during factory testing. They do not recommend it, mind you, but it is notable indeed.

The compact portability of the all in one Geopress system is really exceptional. It is easy to fill, easy to filter and safe to drink. The filter and purification remove all odors and flavors (even chlorine) and the water tastes so perfect. The Titanium bottle protects the filter and the double wall design keeps the ice cold mountain water cold all day.

The 24oz. GRAYL Geopress Ti with the cook lid is $219.99. It is well worth the money for the exceptional design and the safest water you will ever drink. GRAYL offers many bottle option for their Geopress design and a full line of titanium camp products. To check those out or pick one of these up for your next adventure, visit www.grayl.com.