What if you could filter water in 15 seconds or less by simply pressing down? What if that motion also purified your water so it was delicious enough to drink?

Water’s a big deal when you’re traveling. In a matter of a few gulps, you could jeopardize your health. That’s why purifying water on the road is so important. But shaking, pumping, waiting, squeezing to purify your water can take a while.

Especially when you’re so thirsty even mud-water looks yummy.

What’s why Grayl cup was invented. It purifies water like working a French press. Push down. Clean water rises up in the inner cup. What’s even better? A clear, plastic cup that purifies your water, switches filters easily, and works like a mug so you can drink your freshly-pressed clean water.

Enter the new Grayl Quest cup.

Disclaimer: the nice folks at Grayl were generous enough to send me their newly launched Grayl Quest cup with some filters to test out.

What’s different in the new Quest cup?

Unlike it’s predecessor — the Legend — the Quest comes with a clear outside cup. So now you can fill up the outer cup with water and easily see the water line. The Legend is a hybrid design of stainless steel inner cup with a hard-plastic outer cup.

Plus, the Legend was all stainless steel and almost 4.5 ounces heavier than Quest. Fill that stainless steel up with water, and suddenly your cup adds some substantial weight to your bag.

With the Quest, that heavy-duty plastic takes weight off where it matters.

Three types of filters

Not only did Grayl add another cup to their line, but they also added another filter. Now you have three filters to choose from:

• tap;
• trail;
• travel.

Each one is designed for different uses.

Tap filter

The tap filter is designed for urban uses. It removes many chemicals and heavy metals that may affect flavor, odor and health. Filters water in 7 seconds. Best used for traveling in developed countries where the water doesn’t taste as lovely as bottled.

Trail filter

Hitting the back woods? Take this filter with. It’s crafted to fight the protozoan cysts and waterborne bacteria found in mountain streams. It removed 99.99% of bacteria like salmonella. Filters water in 15 seconds.

Travel filter

Specially suited for the uncertainty found in traveling the world. It removed 99.99% of viruses like Hepatitis A, bacteria and protozoan cysts like salmonella and Giardia. And the filter is derived from coconut husks to filter and absorb odors and flavors from the water. Filters water in 30 seconds. Call it your best friend in times of need.

What I like about Grayl Quest

• Rubber-ribbed bottom: when the motion to filter water is repeatedly pushing down, the last thing you need is your cup sliding across a slick counter. Not with this cup. A well-portioned rubber lip lines the bottom of the cup. It didn’t budge when I put it down on a wet spot and pushed down — hard! — to filter.
• Mug-like drinking capability: I’m not a fan of sucking on straws. I like a coffee mug with a slot in the top. Now my water filterer has that slot.
• Flip-lock lid: a little button clicks the drinking spot closed. Flip the cup upside down and the water inside doesn’t spill. Or leak out. Or do anything. It stays inside the cup like it should.
• Dishwasher safe: self-explanatory.
• How quickly it filters: I filtered about three rounds of water, one right after the other. Total time: 3 minutes tops. Longest part was filling the outer cup with water.
• Drink or pour out: fill up a Nalgene, a Platypus SoftBottle, or your neighbor’s empty glass. Or guzzle the clean water and fill it immediately back up.
• Interchangeable filters: travel filter fits both Quest and Legend cups. And you can swap filters in less than 5 seconds — if you’re in that type of scenario where you need to.
• Feels sturdy: my gear needs to withstand the rigors of the road — prolonged exposure to me. The hard plastic outer cup feels like it could take a beating and still look good. The whole cup feels durable. I like that.
• Delicious-tasting water: self-explanatory.

What I don’t like about Grayl Quest

• Fill-to water line on plastic is faint: it’s a light etching in the plastic. It’s a little hard to see unless you hold it up to the light.

The time to come clean.

There’s nothing big I don’t like about Grayl Quest.

Nothing that would prevent me from buying Grayl. Nothing that makes me hesitate. Even the prices and expected life (about 3 months) for the filters seem reasonable. In fact, I wish I had this cup while backpacking through Europe. It would have saved me hundreds of dollars on bottled water and filled up dozens of Nalgenes.

I can’t wait to take it on my next trip — whether it’s to a city, mountain, or misty lands far beyond. Well done, Grayl.

Laura blogs at Waiting To Be Read where she talks about why thinking is a dying sport, gives you new awesome books to read, and how pursuing perfection damages you.