Phox V2 Water Filter | 2.2L Glass Water Filter Jug and Refillable Eco Cartridge Cartridge | 3 Month Supply

We had a V1 Phox glass water filter which came to a disastrous end - the top and bottom parted company while I was pouring water and the bottom fell and shattered. We were finding shards of glass for days.But we liked the concept and V2 makes a crucial improvement. You push a narrow rubber seal with an inverted U cross-section onto the top rim (not the side, as with V1) of the glass vessel, then press the plastic top down on it and give it about an eighth turn. Helped by a cleverly disguised screw thread between the top and bottom, this is foolproof, unlike with V1; the seal cannot be incomplete.With that done we have a great filter jug. The advantages over "Brita" cartridge-based systems are:- The water tastes better. As with a recently bought coffee machine, we did blind tasting and there is no doubt here. (But see the comment later about the "alkaline" option!)- Good-quality components. Filter jugs tend to look and feel cheap and there is none of that here. It is well known that Irn Bru tastes better from a glass bottle than from a can, and that effect may well be repeated. The plastic parts have a pleasant slightly rubbery feel and are not going to crack or split. The only minor issue is that limescale building up is obvious because of the black finish; however, Viakal or equivalent quickly fixes that.- Very clever design for filling. The jug sits in the sink and is filled from the tap with a gap of only a few inches between the head of the tap and the lid; the flip-up tab where the water enters is particularly good. (I am arthritic and not having to hold a heavy jug under a running tap is great).- Washable. There are no awkward seams or hinges and every part can be detached from the others and fully cleaned.- Recyclable. Even in supermarkets which don't formally collect "Brita" filters there are piles of them in the battery collection bins ... that suggests a big problem and a desire to recycle which, oddly, not many manufacturers appear to be trying to meet.- The same cost as "Brita" filters, despite being a unique technology.The only issue is that putting the jug together for the first time is a bit confusing, as there are nine parts in total. However, we quickly learned.One mistake we made was to use the "alkaline" rather than "clean" filter pellets for water used to make green tea and coffee. Never again; "alkaline" gave the tea, in particular, an odd taste and is clearly only meant to filter water to be used as water, as it were.Phox has developed an excellent system and should be encouraged. Every six weeks there is only a carbon filter about the size of a £2 coin and a few cubic inches of what look like tiny black and white polystyrene pellets to go into the black bin; water filtering is, by definition, removing undesirable chemicals from water so there is always going to be an non-recyclable component which takes them up and Phox has clearly minimised it.

Good price and a well made product, made of glass easy to clean dishwasher safe easy to install filter media. Retains the water.Veryeasy to install. And functions well. You can get an email reminder when to change filter media.

Buying this was quite a big deal for me, with very limited funds and with a basic filter jug for under a tenner. But...I really wanted to change my old system, there are filters and there are filters, they are definitely not all equal in taste and ability.So I am so glad I did...The water tastes really lovely, and this jug is made in Scotland, all of it...that was enough to make me want to buy it!.I love the chunky design, there's nothing cheap and flimsy about it. The glass part is a bit like a wide Kilner jar, substantial.I wanted glass as I never felt I was getting the old plastic jug really clean. Also, imho plastic does taint the water. I used to fill glass fridge door jugs to overcome this.But also I hated contributing to plastic waste and felt guilty every month disposing of a plastic filter.This one doesn't take very long to filter through, but anyway, before it runs out I pour some in a glass jug so that I'm not left waiting with kettle in hand.However, there are a couple of annoying things about it, which, considering this is a young innovative company, I think they could have designed better......I spent simply ages trying to fit the filter so that unfiltered water didn't trickle down round the edge, ( it still does, but only a drop or two) this was so annoying considering I've had the basic Wilko filters for many, many years and not one has ever leaked. And I have to go through this process twice a week now whenever I clean the jug, so I'm not looking forward to that..Also the top of the filter doesn't screw in, and particles of the filter contents, now they've been full of water are seeping out of the top into the reservoir. ( And yes, I did make sure the top was properly in) So, I think the filter itself could be better, and should be better!.Also I query how the capacity of 2.2 litres is in the description. I filled the reservoir twice and the water in the glass jug measured 1.1 litre. One of the reasons I chose this jug was because of the larger capacity. I had noticed in other makes of jug the total capacity. i.e container plus reservoir was shown, and I presume this is the case with the Phox, but, as you cannot pour out water whilst there is still some in the upper reservoir, this description is very misleading.Everything else I absolutely love, the eco aspect, the looks, the glass, the pure and delicious taste of the water....which really is a huge aspect of this jug. The cost of new filters is just OK, providing they don't increase in price, of course.Despite the niggles I'm happy that I bought it.....ha! See my edit below!For anyone in doubt about whether to buy this jug, there was an interesting article in the Daily Telegraph about the best water filter jugs, which anyone can Google and read, which talked about the quality and taste of filtered water, it was quite technical, rather than just taking about value for money.Hope that helps!Edit...3 times now the glass jar has fallen from the top, flooding my kitchen work surface, the last straw was soaking my toaster this morning, (I'd already filled and used it several times and it hadn't come apart) I don't have trouble screwing anything else, my hands are quite strong, so it's going back, I've been lucky so far in that the glass hasn't smashed, but it can only be a matter of time, so, along with the problems I mentioned above, I reluctantly decided to return it. I notice another reviewer had the same problem. What a shame!