Great Tasting Water, Way Less Waste

Funded via a Kickstarter campaign and designed to make ordinary tap water taste better, the Nava bottle from KOR Water Inc. has a built-in filter.

A small carbon cylinder sits inside the bottle’s straw. It filters as you drink, removing the chlorine taste that can be present in municipal tap water.

The filter is for taste only — don’t try and use it in the wilderness to purify water. In fact, the Nava (www.korwater.com) is not marketed to outdoors users; the intended buyer is someone looking to replace their daily use of throw-away plastic water bottles that clog landfills, rivers and oceans worldwide.

The Nava opens on a hinge. You drink from a silicone valve — it pops up when the lid is unhinged, ready to sip. The whole bottle comes apart for cleaning.

A unique twist is that the Nava’s filter is made from coconut shells. The company notes the shells “are converted to activated carbon using a proprietary process.” Water flows easily through, and it’s filtered as you suck.

The filter piece feels like coal or a porous volcanic rock in the hand. It slips out of the straw when it needs replacing after about 300 bottles’ worth of water.

I like the convenience and the design of the Nava. Water does taste better through its filter.

The bottle holds 22 ounces of water. It’s made of a BPA-free plastic and has a good feel in the hand for carrying around, though you cannot use it in a bike water bottle holder.

At $29.95, the Nava costs twice as much as other common water bottles. But its unique straw filter will be worth the price for those seeking better tasting water every day.

—Stephen Regenold