A self-cleaning water bottle for traveling? A sustainable alternative to all those disposable plastic bottles? The unique LARQ water bottle is the perfect solution! We had the chance to try out the LARQ water bottle. We haven’t been able yet to bring the LARQ bottle to countries without drinking water from the tap as we have at home in the Netherlands. But we cannot wait to try out this beautifully designed bottle in those kinds of destinations as well.
Bye bye, disposable plastic bottles
We live in a country where we even flush the toilet with purified drinking water, but that is much different when we’re traveling. In the Netherlands we easily refill a water bottle at the tap, but when traveling we have to buy many plastic water bottles for our daily water supply. This results in the hassle of always finding a supermarket to buy water and then carry those bottles with us. But those plastic water bottles also create an unnecessary mountain of plastic waste and we don’t feel comfortable with that. But there is a new sustainable technology that helps you with this problem: a bottle to purify your drinking water. So when LARQ asked us if we wanted to try their self-cleaning water bottle, we immediately said yes. Goodbye, disposable plastic bottles!
A bottle with self-cleaning UV light
The sustainable water bottle from LARQ uses a new UV technology that kills bacteria and viruses in the water. A small LED light in the cap of the bottle is how this works. It irradiates the water to purify it. You can simply fill the bottle with non-pure tap water or river water and then press the cap once to let the UV light do its work. The bottle then continues to purify the water every two hours to make sure the water remains clean and purified. And if you’re filling your bottle with water that feels a bit dodgy, even after purifying it: use the ‘adventure mode’ by pressing the cap twice. The bottle then purifies the water three times longer than normal, so you can be sure it’s safe to drink.
What do we think of the LARQ water bottle?
We haven’t yet been able to test the convenience of a self-cleaning bottle when traveling, but we have already been on the road with the LARQ in our home country and have studied the purifying system. Our conclusion: if only we had had this bottle on all our previous trips!
# 1 Easy to use
We love the idea of a self-cleaning bottle and ditching all those plastic bottles, but only if it actually works to use it on a daily basis while traveling. We find the LARQ very easy to use, as it doesn’t work with filters or other parts that you need to clean or replace. You just have to remember to charge the cap from time to time. According to LARQ itself, this is only necessary once every two months. So using the LARQ is actually a matter of filling the bottle with the water that is available, and then pressing the cap once or twice.
#2 Beautiful design
Although the LARQ is all about the sustainable, self-cleaning function, we do like the beautiful design of the bottle. The design is very minimalist and stylish. You can choose a bottle in multiple colors; ours is the color ‘seaside mint’. Design is certainly not the most important feature, but it makes the purifying bottle even more amazing. The bottle comes in different sizes and we’d recommend you to choose the type of bottle carefully. We opted for the insulated 740 ml version, as we wanted to be able to fully replace plastic water bottles when traveling. But it is quite large and heavy in our daypack or bags, so consider taking the 500ml or the lightweight if you prefer to travel light.
#3 Difficulty of the indicator lights
The lights on the bottle indicate with their color and rhythm what the LARQ is doing and if it’s still working properly. It can be a bit hard to notice the lights in sunlight and we find that we keep forgetting what each color code means. What was a pulsating dark blue light again?
#4 Not cheap
A unique technology like this doesn’t come for free and the self-cleaning LARQ is quite pricey. Our insulated 740ml water bottle costs € 130. The smaller bottles are less. Buying drinking water in disposable plastic bottles when traveling is usually not expensive, so the purchase price of the LARQ will not easily be recouped. That’s why investing in the LARQ is something you’d only do if it makes your sustainable heart beat a bit faster.
In short: the LARQ makes our sustainable heart beat faster
Well, our sustainable heart – and our lazy and lazy heart perhaps too – certainly beats faster when using this beautiful self-cleaning bottle. We use the insulated 740ml bottle in the color Seaside Mint and can highly recommend it. If you want to travel with a smaller bottle and more light-weighted, then definitely consider a smaller or lightweight type. They are cheaper as well.
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