Tester: Philipp Schwab Test duration: 1 month Do you want complete water self-sufficiency on your next bikepacking trip? Then the Quell NOMAD filter bottle could be just what you need! Can the bottle’s NASA technology conjure up clean drinking water from the dirtiest ponds and save you from having to carry all of your water? Read on to find out! Imagine the following scenario: it's summer, 30°, the sun is beating on your neck and your bike only has one bottle cage. The closest supermarket is miles away and the water stream along the trail is filthier than a Portaloo at Lollapalooza. Sounds bad, huh? Very bad. That's where Quell come to the rescue with their NOMAD filter bottle. It has an integrated and replaceable filter, a capacity of 700 ml and weighs 135 g. The ultimate solution for hot days and long tours in remote areas. As is so often the case with technology, the filter system used by Quell was developed by a high-tech institution with other purposes in mind. In this case, none other than NASA who only released the so-called Disruptor filter medium for commercial use a few years ago. Water scarcity isn't just an earth-bound problem that will become an increasingly global issue in the near future. Freely accessible water supplies tend to be scarce in the vacuum of space, unless Mr Spock happens to invite you to a cup of coffee. But what is the Disruptor filter all about? It’s formed from aluminium oxide nanofibers, which are 50,000 times thinner than a regular sheet of paper. Due to their special structure, they generate a positive charge when the water flows through them. Since most contaminants have a negative charge, they are attracted to and inactivated by the fibres, thereby cleaning the water. The filter is supplemented by a layer of activated carbon that removes odours and unpleasant tastes, and a layer of antimicrobial and disinfectant silver that prevents the growth of bacteria. The manufacturer promises that this process allows the water to retain minerals while removing 99.6–99.9 % of all impurities including bacteria, viruses, parasites, drug residues and heavy metals. Within reason, this should make it possible to drink any water from lakes, rivers, wells and other sources. We wouldn't recommend filling the bottle with the water that flows through an industrial area. The Disruptor filter can't transform salt water into potable water either. Fill it with dirty water and instantly get delicious water from the bottle. Sounds almost too easy and good to be true. It isn’t! The BPA-free Quell NOMAD bottle, which fits securely in all the bottle cages we tested, convinced us with its super practical filtration system. There's no waiting required and you don't have to carry any additional accessories, which you want to reduce to a minimum when bikepacking. Without applying any pressure, water will only drip slowly from the open mouthpiece if at all. You have to squeeze the bottle to fill the lid that doubles as a cup. Drinking directly from the bottle takes a little more work than a standard bidon but the increased suction required is within perfectly acceptable limits. Due to the design, some water will always be leftover in the bottle without passing through the filter, though this is ok with a capacity of 700 ml. The Quell bottle convinced us and produces pure drinking water even from the dirtiest sources. However the bottle or filter produces a slight plastic aftertaste, even if you drink the water immediately after filling the bottle, though we never found it to be dominant or make the water unpalatable. The filter simply gets screwed into the...

  We received an email from Tomáš Šmátrala, the chairman of CA Jungle for children, describing their first experiences with the NOMAD bottle: My name is Tomáš Šmátrala and I am the chairman of AC Jungle for children. You recently sent us 6 pieces of the Quell Nomad filter bottles for testing, so now, I will describe our impressions of them. The task of our team is to monitor large carnivores such as brown bear, wolf and lynx lynx in the Slovak wilderness. Specifically, we operate in the area of ​​Kremnické vrchy and spend more than 80 days a year in the field. We are often in the woods from morning until dark and sometimes several days non stop. We must therefore replenish water supplies directly from natural sources, such as lakes and streams. Our team of people tested your filter bottles in real conditions in the wilderness of Slovak forests. First of all, we were immediately impressed by its low weight, which people will appreciate while carrying a heavy backpack on an all-day trek. We always carefully consider how best to pack and minimize the weight. That's when every gram saved really counts. The second important thing is the purity, safety and taste of the filtered water. We filtered water from lakes and forest streams. We were very satisfied with the quality of the water and we did not notice a difference in taste compared to tap water. Even later, there were no stomach or other problems, which indicates safety and quality of the filtration process. The plastic cap on the bottle, which we used as a glass when we shared water with someone, was also pleasantly surprising. I don't know if this was the intention of the product but it's a great use of the bottle cap.     Furthermore, I must also praise how the bottle is easy to hold in the hand due to its narrowed center and does not slip at all thanks to the cleverly placed rubber strap. Its slim shape itself is very practical and can easily be placed in the side net on the backpack, for better and quick access to it. In the end, one small (probably insignificant for the average person) negative that can be worked on. When drinking water and then escaping air from the lid, the bottle makes a soft whistling sound, reminded us of the dolphin's communication 🙂 It is not unpleasant, but in a certain situation such as tracking animals for photography or when a student wants to drink at school, can be a disruptive element. Thank you very much for the opportunity to try your Quell Nomad filter bottles. Overall, we are very satisfied with them and we will continue to use them in the field. In the future, we plan to test them in the conditions of the rainforest in Sumatra and Costa Rica. We will be happy to inform you again and look forward to any further cooperation. Kind regards, Tomáš Šmátrala, chairman of the AC Jungle for Children