Review on Go Berkey Kit: Compact Water Filter (1 qt.) with Black Berkey Primer & Sport Bottle (22 oz.) by Nathan Vaughn

I bought a Crown Berkey last year and since then 90% of what I've drunk has gone through a Berkey filter. I found the Berkey to be a great filter, everything I went through tasted great. This includes surface well water that may or may not have gone through a reverse osmosis filter. I've been on the road a lot this summer and needed a way to get filtered water on the road without lugging around gallons and gallons of pre-filtered water. . Enter Burke. I was considering the Travel Berkey option but wanted something more compact in case I have to travel by plane. The Go Berkey comes with an upper chamber, filter and everything needed for assembly, as well as a lower chamber. It also comes with a filtered water bottle and Berkey primer (which Berkey has included in all Go Berkey kits since early 2017, according to their website). Finally, to keep everything together, it comes with a very nice soft carrying case. The filter assembly is assembled like any other Berkey filter system (first picture). The filter enters the upper chamber (second photo) and is inserted through the hole into the lower chamber. Water is poured into the upper chamber and slowly flows through the filter into the lower chamber. The capacity isn't great, but I think it's an acceptable compromise for portability. When you're on the go, you can flip the top camera upside down and stow it below. The filter does not need to be removed (third photo). The lid is also placed on the bottom of the lower chamber, which makes the packaging very nice and compact. It's all in a bag with enough room for the filter assembly, water bottles and primers. The three-part bag is quite spacious, you don't have to stuff everything in it (fourth photo). It is also strong enough to stand alone (fifth picture). I could have done without the water bottle pocket to save some space overall, but it's just a design decision, if they didn't include it someone would complain that there wasn't a pocket for it. I am sure that with careful packaging it will be protected during the journey. The primer tool is a very nice addition (sixth picture). If you use Berkey filters in any way, you should have them. This actually works much better than the default way Berkey tells you to fill in the filters. It's a two-part primer, so you can both prime and clean the filters (you should probably blow them out before travel or long-term storage to avoid mold, although I've no idea if that shortens the nasty filter lifespan). I have found that the easiest way to prime the filters is to mount them in the top chamber when you plan to use them, but prime them from below to start the water flow. The water bottle that comes with it isn't great, I've seen countless such at the outdoor stores. This isn't my favorite type of filter, it requires you to suck water through the filter, which is a lot more work than you might think. Ultimately this is the sink for me, I don't care they included it, I ended up buying the kit for Berkey. Maybe I'll find a use for it over time, maybe just as a spare backup filter in my truck for emergencies. all appear to be about 1/3 more expensive than they should be). If you're looking to get into Berki, this would be a great way to try them, and they can serve as your main drinking water filter if you're patient (at least until you break, but bigger).