Review: LARQ Bottle PureVis

A good water bottle is an essential for travelling, but with so many options available you could be doom scrolling on Amazon for ages trying to find the right one for you! Yeti is always a safe bet, but if you fancy something a bit different what do you go for?

Enter The Larq water bottle. I’ve seen them on Amazon a few times and finally took the plunge and bought the 500ml version in black. What makes this water bottle stand out from the crowd is something very novel and original, it’s ingenious ability to purify water on the go using UV technology. The unique UV purifying technology which Larq calls PureVis, has two main modes of operation; Standard mode and Adventure mode.

Standard mode is initiated with one push of the button (located atop the lid) and will run for a 60 second cycle, indicated by a blue “breathing” light, purifying the water, killing 99% of contaminants such as E.Coli.

Adventure mode is activated by pressing the button twice. This mode uses an increased dose of PureVis over a 3 minute cycle, giving more intensive thorough purification for water from dubious sources. An added bonus is the self cleaning aspect of the bottle when the UV is activated. Very handy!

“One charge lasts up to 1 month and conveniently recharges via MicroUSB. This is based on estimated usage of 3-4 cycles a day. Normal Mode lasts up to 4 weeks of use and Adventure Mode lasts up to 10-12 days of use” (From the Larq website)

I have used the Larq for the last few weeks, the 500ml version is a great size for traveling and has performed flawlessly. The water always tested clean and fresh, the Purevis was pleasure to use. These bottles are not cheap, but what you are getting is the convenience of UV purification at the touch of a button. That is a huge plus in my opinion. There are less expensive, equally effective alternatives out there, like water purification tablets and the lifestraw for instance, but they lack the convenience the Larq provides.

One minor annoyance to get out of the way first, before the big annoyance, the microUSB charger can be a bit fiddly and frustrating to use. Now on to the big one, the elephant in the room, the price. It costs £100! That’s a lot of money for a water bottle. If all you want is a good water bottle you don’t need to pay £100! What makes the Larq standout is PureVis, but without the UV tech, it’s just another water bottle amongst a plethora of others. That’s not to say that the Larq doesn’t ticks all the boxes of a quality water bottle, it absolutely does! It keeps cold water cold and hot drinks hot, it is well made and looks good too, (particularly eye catching in black). Nevertheless without the tech it is just another water bottle. And Unfortunately for the Larq there are many other water bottles out there, equally well made and equally adept at keeping cold water cold and hot drinks hot.

It really comes down to what you, the hesitating purchaser is looking for. If convenient water purification on the go at the touch of a button is a must, an absolute non negotiable and money is no object, then the Larq will to fit the bill perfectly. If however you just want good water purification and convenience is not the be all and end all, then there are some very capable alternatives out there such as the aforementioned water purification tablets and the lifestaw both under £25!

…….But if all you really want is a bloody good water bottle then just buy a Yeti.