Best Water Filter of 2021?

I'm trying to find the best water filter currently. Preferably a pitcher or similar concept.

My requirements are reducing fluoride, other contaminants, and as a plus, increasing the pH.

So far, Ive come down to these:

Big Berkey www.amazon.com...=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=berkey+water&qid=1613178234&sr=8-7 Expensive but high reviews. No clear pH benefits.

Clearly Filtered
www.amazon.com...=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=ZIFoZupgHSetx4TjsVNYqw&hsa_cr_id=4663526410701&pd_rd_plhdr=t&pd_rd _r=39e6ce58-77a7-43d1-91c5-04248a977519&pd_rd_w=EiYJy&pd_rd_wg=5A3Iu&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_0_title
Moderate expense, pitcher, high fluoride reduction, no PH benefits.

Reshape Water
www.amazon.com...=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=reShape+water&qid=1613178550&sr= 8-1
Low Expense, reduces most contaminates, and has high pH benefits.

The problem I have is that when doing research I see a lot of negative and positive reviews. I did little Reshape research. However, Berkey and Clearly (which reduced the most fluoride) got a lot of negative and positive reviews. Some claiming Berkey was an overpriced product that failed to seriously reduce contaminants and; Clearly which had similar mixed reviews on the internet.

I get the feeling that there is TONS of paid reviews. Both negative and positive and I have trouble deciding. I would definitely pay up to $300 if I knew the water filter was top of the line with proven studies. However, I just see too many conflicting reviews. And if I have doubts, I will just end up buying the cheapest one (Reshape or a good alternative).

If anyone knows a good product for water filters, please inform me here

. Thanks in advance.

edit on 12-2-2021 by blueman12 because: (no reason given)

Are you looking at filtering tap water or well water?

Well water you'd want to look for something more durable for removing minerals. Like my area has a huge sand and magnetite deposits. Gone through plenty of water softeners that couldn't make it a year on well water.

Tap would be something for chemicals. I don't know much on this end, but referencing which you're using might help others give you answers.

a reply to: Nivhk

Good question. It is tap water. The water that most people drink. Well water may be a different subject if you need filters that handle unprocessed water.

a reply to: blueman12

Technically a Berkey isn't just a water filter... it is a water purifier.

I have used a Big Berkey for over a decade for drinking water with no issues whatsoever.

Now, I am not worried about fluoride or any "city" additives... my water comes from an artesian spring.

However, I was worried about heavy metals because of where I live.

In an independent test done last year, the Black Berkey filter elements with the PF-2 attachments filtered out the following:

Uranium: 100%
Lead: 100%
Mercury: 99.8%
Cesium: 98.6%
Aluminum: 86.6%
Copper: 100%
Arsenic: 100%
Strontium: 100%
Cadmium: 100%

The test they performed in this case was only for heavy metals, so it of course filters out much more than just these things, as shown in other tests. This just highlights the heavy metals.

As for "adding" PH, if you wish to do that the easiest solution is dietary.

However, if you want to balance your PH without changing your diet, simply add a potassium salt solution to your water which you should be able to buy at a local health food store.

It is a mix of gluconate, acetate and mono-potassiom phosphate and is tasteless in the dosage you would use.

a reply to: blueman12

This is what I got :

Brondell Circle Reverse Osmosis System, Under Sink, Black – 4 Stage RO Water Designer Chrome Faucet– Quick Change Filter, WQA Gold Seal-Certified

www.amazon.com...=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the best hands down is kangen. i use to hate water. never drank it. I met a kangen sales person. he gave me some free kangen water. I could not believe the difference. I crave water now and drink at least half a gallon a day.perfectly ph , alkalized, hydronated water.. only down side is the filter machine is very expensive reply to: blueman12

a reply to: Lumenari

Hmm. Interesting... I love your input. Do you think Berkey is worth the money for processed water (not from artesian spring)?

a reply to: Trueman

Thanks. Seems very promising with reviews. Not quite what I was looking for, but great ad!

originally posted by: HODOSKE
the best hands down is kangen. i use to hate water. never drank it. I met a kangen sales person. he gave me some free kangen water. I could not believe the difference. I crave water now and drink at least half a gallon a day.perfectly ph , alkalized, hydronated water.. only down side is the filter machine is very expensive reply to: blueman12

Wow, Great views, but like you said, very expensive. Ill just stick to cheaper water filter for now. perhaps when I start making good money

I have a Berkey...but if I had it to do over I would contact St Paul Mercantile. He sells the same exact stainless filter body as a Berkey. He also sells AquaCera filters for it that are made in the USA and are supposed to be superior to the Berkey filters.

stpaulmercantile.com...

Don't waste your money on the pitcher meme.
Order a 5 stage RO off of Amazon.
You can get a good system for 80 bones.
Your pH will adjust based on the dissolved solids being removed.So deal with pH AFTER removal of solids.
A 0 ppm tds system is what I run.
Some units re-mineralize after being filtered. Not a fan.
"T" it off to your refrigerator to have clear ice cubes(de mineralized)
Dont buy a system without an expansion tank.
ROs are slow, the tank gives it time to produce water and has an air bladder that you pump air into to control the flow out of the faucet/fridge. So it doesn't fill a glass at an ro speed.

Ro systems rock. No more swimming pool roni when cooking.

originally posted by: blueman12
a reply to: Lumenari

Hmm. Interesting... I love your input. Do you think Berkey is worth the money for processed water (not from artesian spring)?

Yes, but with a qualifier.

I chose a Berkey because I did not like the idea of an inline reverse osmosis system.

To me it made no sense to purify water that I would be using to wash my dishes, for instance.

It also made no sense to have 4-5 filters to change once a year at a cost of $70-$100.

I chose it because it was meeting the needs of two people for drinking and cooking water with a filter change of $60 every 2-3 years.

It didn't hurt that a Berkey BB9-2 filter is pretty much the gold standard of water purification.

So it depends on the situation, as all things do.

Then there is the often unsaid real reason behind someone buying a gravity-fed Berkey system.

If things ever go off the rails in our world, the majority of people who will die in the cities won't be because of roving gangs, zombies or your neighbor popping a cap in your dome for your last can of spam.

They will actually die from lack of clean water... dysentery will kill more than anything else combined.

With a Berkey you have that covered.

I've been using a Berkey for almost 20 years. Just replace the ceramic filter once in a while. Our so called city water here is from wells and smells so strong of chlorine it burns my nose. Not after filtering. Also, I have to clean my filter every second use so learn how to do that as well.

a reply to: Lumenari

To me it made no sense to purify water that I would be using to wash my dishes, for instance.

It also made no sense to have 4-5 filters to change once a year at a cost of $70-$100.

You use an ro for drinking water and ice only.
R0 bulk filters are very affordable now, around 25 bucks a year.

a reply to: blueman12

a reply to: blueman12

If you want real "water purification" that gets out fluoride & glyphosate, get the Alexapure. After research, I opted for this over the Big Berkey.

originally posted by: Nivhk
Are you looking at filtering tap water or well water?

Well water you'd want to look for something more durable for removing minerals. Like my area has a huge sand and magnetite deposits. Gone through plenty of water softeners that couldn't make it a year on well water.

Tap would be something for chemicals. I don't know much on this end, but referencing which you're using might help others give you answers.

Strangely, I live about ten miles as the bird flies to a magnetite mine, the Empire mine. Also there is iron mines in Negaunee, about four miles away.. I have very little iron in the water, just lots of calcium and some other minerals in my well water. I'm kind of pleased that there is not the iron in the water. I do not know where the underground river I am in comes from but I do know it runs over a calcium plate and the Iron mines mine the Iron ore from below that plate. It breaks off in cubes when they blast it. The well driller called it limestone, but I guess it is actually dolomite. The stone looked like the stuff I had put at the cemetery, but was a little creamier looking. Our water tastes great, but sometimes some junk falls into the underground river and it gets brown for a day till it makes it's way to the springs down the hill to feed a stream that helps feed a river.

I have used a few different filters over the years, I have settled on this guy, I specifically bought it for when I went on a cleanse and wanted to make sure my water was always pure as I was going to be drinking way more of it for a couple about 3 weeks. I like it so far. Water tastes good to me.

Santevia Gravity Feed

a reply to: blueman12
I wrote a review for a Berkey product......it never appeared on their site.

It was for a filter for the shower.........my TDS meter read higher with the filter. I received an email (after sending review) that explains why the reading was higher but I personally think that my review plus their explaination should have appeared on their site.

Lots of good reviews on their site means nothing to me.

I use a water distiller for drinking water.

This is interesting.

At it's simplest here is another version, you can see how you could make this multi stage, easily cleaned and also connect it to a water source for input and a water system for output.


I would be careful though as using plastic can itself introduce plastic contaminant's so perhaps look at glass alternatives if available.

It does not have to be solar the concept is the same, evaporate the dirty water, condense it in a more clean state, periodically clean the dirty water container for deposits left from the evaporation process and add new dirty water.
Add as many stages to the process as you want, evaporate the water from the first clean stage to a second one and a third to make it even more pure.

You could even put a glass dome over a running stream using solar heat or a hot light source to evaporate water and capture the condensate to then be moved by pipe to a second stage away from the stream, this would require less maintenance as the dirty part is constantly washing itself out and only a regular clean for mould growth would be necessary to keep the water condensation system clean, that would likely only affect the first few stages and as long as airlock is kept the mould should not be able to penetrate beyond those meaning the upper stages could remain clean for month's or years allowing you to then drip the final stage condensate into your water butt.

So in a solar powered model, water reservoir at the bottom, by the sun or any other mean's this is then turned into steam and condenses on the cooler part of a higher container were it rises too, this can then be allowed to drip down into another reservoir and the process repeated, this second reservoir will fill to a point were there is an airlock blocking air, this is then evaporated into a second condensation chamber and then fed to were ever you want to take it, into a water tank for example, water thus distilled is of laboratory quality especially if you heat the impure source of the first reservoir using something other than solar energy such as fire or an electric heating element to boil it as that will also kill any pathogen's that may still remain.

Such pure water can be good but remember you lose all microminerals that naturally rock filtered water may have, this DENATURED water as it is also called is about as pure as you can get it without excluding atmospheric gases.