Grayl UltraPress Review

Grayl UltraPress – no matter what adventure you’re planning, I always keep one piece of gear in my backpack: the Grayl Purification Bottle. I have used the Grayl Geopress, the giant purification bottle in the Grayl range, for years. Recently, I got my hands on a new version of the ultralight purification bottle: Grayl UltraPress.

How Does Ultrapress Work?

Grayl UltraPress is extremely simple to use, and its simplicity is what makes it so easy and convenient to use every day. Fill the “outer” chamber with dirty water, insert the attached cartridge into the clean “inner” section, and use your body weight to press down on the bottle. You have a 100% safe drinking water boom in a few seconds.

After many years of using the ultralight compact bottle, there are some notable critical differences between Ultralight and UltraPress. First of all: UltraPress has much smoother and faster printing. With the Ultralight, I found that the press became very difficult to print after a while, especially with the strange cover design. Grayl has made significant progress here. The UltraPress cover is more comprehensive, so your palms can press down on a flat pad without the top cover digging into your hand. Grayl also added a more oversized carry handle, an improvement over the previous design.

Of course, in everyday use, the “press time” of the UltraPress will be longer as the filter becomes dirty and clogged with debris. But, generally speaking, the UltraPress print action is smoother and faster than my previous experiences with the Ultralight model and more closely reflects the GeoPress user experience.

Grayl Ultrapress and Geopress Performance?

The UltraPress’ FlipCarry handle adds a lot of technology to the lid. Why is that? Handle FlipCarry provides an enlarged print surface when laid flat; it Swivels 90° for effortless separation and easy transport. It can not sound like a big deal, but it is.

The print is smoother, and the bottle its better designs in almost every way. Drugs. That’s why I heard that Grayl stopped producing UltraLight Compact. So if you’re looking for something smaller than the GeoPress bottle, Ultrapress is the future.

The Capability of Grayl UltraPress

The Grayl UltraPress can hold 16.9 oz, slightly more than the US pint equivalent. However, what you save in weight because the bottle is compact, the amount of water you can carry may not be enough for your needs.

Bottle Size of Grayl UltraPress

The physical size of the bottle favours ultra-light pack styles and smaller daypacks over liquid capacity. I hike and travel with a 40-litre Atlas Athlete backpack with two side pockets for water bottles. While my giant GeoPress bottle can fit, the UltraPress bottle snaps into place easily, and I never have to worry about it falling off. The narrow cylindrical shape allows the bottle to fit in most water bottle pockets on backpacks, even those that are too small to fit bulky Nalgene bottles.

Grayl Ultrapress Cartridge Care

Like any piece of equipment, you must protect your cartridge as much as possible. Unfortunately, I know from experience that it is not always possible to properly care for your UltraPress when you use it every day. However, during and between adventures, you should do a few things to maximize cartridge life. Here are some helpful things about maintenance you’ve learned over the years:

Dry your cartridge completely when not in use.

Clean your bottle’s dirty “outer” heather regularly to prevent sand particles from building up.

If possible, do not let your cartridge freeze

Don’t try to filter anything but water! I hope this is common sense.

Try to purify clean water as much as possible.

Have spare cartridges available in case of an emergency.