Full disclosure: the good folks at Move Collective gave us their latest innovative water filtering product, the bobble jug, to test out. Here’s our review:
With Earth Day upon us it’s a great time to cut-down on waste, reduce emissions and save resources. The daily consumption of bottled water by many consumers creates tons of plastic waste and carbon emissions. A great way to save money while doing Mother Earth a solid is to drink tap water — an endeavor that will keep tons of plastic out of local landfills and reduce the millions of gallons of bottled water products (and the resulting emissions) being packaged and shipped around the globe.
To that end, we were recently asked to review a new product created to increase the consumption of tap water — the shapely bobble jug — a stylish new player in the water filter pitcher market. The bobble jug is the latest member of a product line that includes the very popular bobble bottle created by the Move Collective and designer Karim Rashid.
We endeavored to see if the designer pitcher met its marketing claims — to be a fast, easy-to-use, attractive product that makes drinking tap water a viable alternative to buying bottled water.
what we found
shape: as you can see the bobble jug has a sexy, curvacious silhouette, evocative of its older brother the bobble water bottle. Unlike some taller filter pitchers, the ‘jug’ will fit very nicely into even the most cluttered fridge, while holding a generous 64 fl oz of H2O. It can also be used in the dining room as an attractive serving pitcher.
flavor: the bobble jug’s carbon filter did indeed remove the funky chemical flavors from our town’s tap water, making it very drinkable. One tip — remember to soak that filter as the product instructions indicate. We also suggest pouring out the first pitcher or two after installing a new filter to get rid of any residual carbon particles. You are then good to go.
speed: this baby filters water really quickly, no standing around tapping your feet waiting for the filter to do its job, it’s almost instantaneous.
green quotient: bobble jug is BPA-free and fully recyclable.
- details: a single bobble filter cleans up to 40 gallons (or 150 liters) of water. The filter reduces (in our case eliminated) the taste and odor of chlorine and sediments. You can taste when it’s time to replace the carbon filter — or use the unit’s handy calendar ring to monitor when the filter should be replaced.
- the bottom line: if you have typical tap water that has a funky, municipal flavor — the bobble jug is a fine solution — it looks great, performs well and will get your tap water tasting much better. For those with really toxic tap water, remember, the bobble jug doesn’t feature the most sophisticated filtration system on the planet — those with incredibly bad tap water might want to explore installing a more sophisticated under-counter filtration system.
price: an individual jug with one filter is currently selling for a very reasonable $29.99 — filters go for $9.99 each.
special deal: for Earth Day the folks at bobble have a special offer: spend $30 or more on bobbles, filters, and accessories on www.waterbobble.com and they’ll send you a bobble jug, free of charge. The offer is good until April 3oth.
Check out the ‘bobble’ info-graphic below for a detailed look at how the bobble makes a difference.
RSS
What a silly contraption! It’s 2 pieces of plastic stuck together. Very pretty but most impractical! I have to stand by the tap letting tap water trickle in while I wait for it to filter. Regret this buy tremendously! I had a Brita water filter previously which I just filled and walked away while the water filtered down…
I was confused, too, in that I thought the water would be filtered going into a glass, not going into the pitcher itself! Remove the filter after each filling? That’s a bother. I just got it today, and I’ll try to adapt to it, but we’ll see…No good instructions came in the box, or on the box. Just what order the parts are (I almost broke it at first trying to get all the “red” parts off!) Suggest you put more information on a sheet in the box.
you are supposed to filter the water through the filter INTO the jug…then the filter can be removed until the next time you fill up. I know this is the exact opposite of the bobble bottle. A little confusing, but I guess since the jug is meant to be used at home and the bottle to take on the go..they are used differently.
I have just bought this jug, but am very disappointed to find that the water doesn’t actually pass through the filter on its way out of the jug, as the opening is beside the filter. The water should be forced through the filter on its way out, but in stead the opening has been placed beside the filter. :o/ My tap water tastes exactly the same from the jug as it does from the tap.
Anything I can do to make sure the water passes through the filter to be cleaned on the way out of the jug and into my glass??
wow – looks cool. great review!