When it comes to having fresh, pure drinking water many of us turn to filtration systems to remove impurities from the tap water in our homes. And if you live in a house that’s got old plumbing like I do then a good water filter pitcher makes an obvious difference when it comes to taste, purity and clarity. Like shopping for any product, picking the best water filter pitcher is a game of weighing costs and benefits. So here’s a look at how the Seychelle water pitcher offered by Wise Food Insurance compares against a leading pitcher from Brita.

Seychelle Family Water Pitcher	Brita Grand Pitcher
Price: $44.99 (Wise Food Insurance)	Price: $31.99 (Amazon)
Filter Life: 150 gallons (or every six months)	Filter Life: 40 gallons (or every two months)
Capacity: 128 oz. (one gallon)	Capacity: 80 oz. (.625 gallons)
Dimensions: 12.25 x 6.25 x 13	Dimensions: 11.3 x 6 x 11.1

Cost Comparison:The first thing you might notice is the price difference. While it’s true that the Seychelle pitcher is slightly more than the Brita, the life of the Seychelle filter makes up the cost difference in just four months, since by then you’ll have had to replace the Brita filter two times at a cost of roughly $7 each (based on a single filter purchase). That about levels the initial expense.Over the life of the pitcher, the cost of the replacement filters remains relatively balanced. If replaced according to manufacturer recommendations, a year’s worth of Brita replacement filters will cost slightly less than the price of Seychelle replacements, but the real benefit lies in the level of protection and purity each filter offers.Filter Power:The reason we use water filters is to have access to cleaner, better tasting water. So what do these filters actually do? There is definitely a science to the development of advanced water filtration systems, which will be a great discussion for another post, but the end goal is to remove as much contamination as possible from your water source. BritaFinding information about the strength of the Brita filters proved to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Many sites that sell Brita products state that the filters remove 98% of lead and reduce chlorine (taste and odor), and I did finally find an excerpt from a Brita filter user guide that indicated reductions in Copper (96%), Mercury (96%) and Chlorine (97%).It’s also worth mentioning that Brita filters are not water purifiers. They are intended to filter tap water, but not water that is microbiologically unsafe, or that has unknown quality. This is where Seychelle filters break ahead in terms of protection and value.SeychelleIn a head to head comparison to the Brita reductions listed above, the Seychelle filter also removes Copper (98.5%), Mercury (99.25%) and Chlorine (99.99%). But where these filters really start to pull away in terms of strength is in their ability to purify and filter up to 99.99% of volatile organic compounds like acetone and benzene, inorganic materials and metals such as aluminum and arsenic, and biologicals like E-Coli and Giardia. The Seychelle filters also capture sediment and dirt, a feature not available in any Brita filter.Bottom Line:For roughly the same cost as the Brita, the Seychelle water pitcher with filter is perfect for every day use, but also powerful enough to be used in an emergency situation when the water you have access to may be compromised. You could also throw the pitcher in with your survival gear or keep one in the RV for filtering water straight from the river next time you’re enjoying the outdoors.In the end, the price of purchasing either of these water filter pitchers and then replacing the filters as recommended translates into an ongoing cost that is roughly the same. But when it comes to filtering and purifying water in any situation, the Seychelle Water Pitcher is the clear choice. ---Jared Matkin---Jared Matkin is a Salt Lake City based freelance writer and outdoor enthusiast who is continually on the lookout for innovative and usable products designed to help improve the way we live.