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You hear it all the time, from doctors, wellness experts and dieticians: drink more water. Water is our lifeblood, but many of us have excuses for why we don’t drink enough of it, like that it’s boring or inconvenient.
One of the easiest ways to make drinking water a habit is to keep a bottle on your desk, in the car or within arm’s reach. But anyone who’s got a go-to water bottle knows that if you don’t take care of it and keep it clean, it can get kinda gross.
LARQ PureVis Smart Water Bottle Review
The LARQ Bottle (an alumni of Shark Tank) bills itself as “the world’s first self-cleaning water bottle and water purification system.” It uses UV-C LED light to eliminate bio-contaminants from your water and bottle. I had a chance to test out two double-walled LARQ PureVis bottles; the larger 25-ounce LARQ Bottle bottle and the smaller 17-ounce size. Read on for my review of the LARQ PureVis Smart self-cleaning water bottle.
Design
The double-walled bottle is big, and that’s what I wanted; one that doesn’t need constant refilling. The inside is stainless steel. The outside has a kind of textured, powder-coated painted steel coating, that I found to be slippery. Particularly with a bottle of this size it can be heavy to carry around when it’s full. That said, the LARQ does offer carrying loops and soft sleeves with handles. The LARQ lineup is definitely chic; a little more modernism and less phys ed class, if you get my drift.
Features
Double-Walled Design
The LARQ Bottle is designed for water, pure and simple. The company says it does not recommend using it for other drinks. It will keep cold water cold for up to about 24 hours or hot for nearly 12 hours. You can add ice, though LARQ notes it may impact the efficiency of the UV light since LARQ uses line of sight to kill germs and the ice may keep the light from fully penetrating the bottle.
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The bottle is very well insulated in my opinion; even after dragging it around outside on a hot California vacation day, my water was still cold and the ice had only barely melted.
Self Cleaning With UV Light
LARQ bottles have a small UV light built into the lid. Powered with a rechargeable battery, the bottle runs a cleaning cycle every two hours to purify both the water you put inside and to clean the inside of the bottle. You can also turn the cleaning cycle on any time and the light fills the bottle, zapping — according to LARQ — up to 99.9999% of bio-contaminants from your water and bottle. There are no filters to change or other components to the bottle.
Why Do I Need a Self-Cleaning Water Bottle?
There are a few reasons why a self-cleaning water bottle is actually a really good idea: If you’re traveling and water quality isn’t guaranteed, being able to purify your own water and keep your bottle extra clean can be a lifesaver.
More relevant to many of us, however, is that while most of us think water is water and never gets dirty or contaminated when it comes out of a nice city faucet, the truth is nasties can grow inside your water bottle thanks to cross-contamination. Think germs from backwash, chapstick, lipstick, food particles and even sweat getting in there. Yeah, it’s gross … and it’s probably in your WATER BOTTLE NOW. Not to scare you, but it’s probably true. Go and wash that thing out.
Battery & Charging
During the time I reviewed the LARQ PureVis smart bottle, the charge lasted a very long time. In fact, LARQ states the battery can last up to about a month on a full charge depending on usage. The bottle cap recharges using MicroUSB. If you want to turn your bottle off for a while and save battery, just hold the LARQ bottle cap for five -10 seconds until you see a white light flash.
The Verdict
Overall I really like the idea of this bottle. I like that I can be confident my water is pure and the bottle is cleaned thanks to the UV light inside. I like drinking from the bottle; it keeps water chilled and the narrow mouth makes it easy to sip. I love the look of it, too.
On the downside, the outside of the bottle can be a bit slippery to grip, particularly when full and with sweaty hands, but you can buy accessories to mitigate this.
So Should You Buy It?
I love this bottle and got one for my husband, who is now a fan as well. While I haven’t done any microbiology testing to see if the bottle is truly killing bacteria, I can say that when I’m lazy about washing the bottle, it has never gotten gross, green or nasty. You should buy it if you plan to travel, or are just the forgetful type when it comes to cleaning your daily water bottle.
Pros:
- Keeps water and bottle clean
- Very nice design
- Different sizes available
- Double-wall design holds temperatures well
- Recharges quickly & easily
Cons:
- Exterior can be slippery
Score: 9/10
How Long Will It Last?
I’ve had my bottle for several months now and it has been on many road trips, hikes and both inside and outside the house. It has held up against knocks and dings well and still insulates extremely well. The battery still seems like it’s lasting appropriately and everything continues to work well. I have no doubt I will have this bottle for years to come.
What Are the Alternatives?
While I can say great things about my LARQ experience, I have not tried any of these other bottles so I can’t say if they’re better or worse — just that they’re out there. If I can get hands-on with any of these, watch for reviews soon.
Hydrate Spark
HidrateSpark claims to be the world’s smartest water bottle that tracks your water intake, glows to remind you to drink, and syncs via Bluetooth to a hydration app. No purification here, but it could help you to drink more H2O.
Pül SmartCap
This bottle is designed to help monitor how much water you’re drinking. With a companion app, it can remind you to drink water and track your sipping. You can even add the smart cap to your other favorite waster bottle and still get the smarts.
CrazyCap 2.0
The only alternative in this list that offers cleaning properties, this narrow-mouth bottle is available in two sizes and comes in a ton of colors.
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