There are a few "gotcha's" with this pitcher. For one thing, the small cover on the spout is fragile. If you drop the lid (easy to do if wet) it will break. This is minor as the pitcher will work fine without it. The end-of-filter life is a timer, not a sensor of filter quality. If you go through gallons of water, the filter will expire before the indicator tells you. You can tell this by the bad taste. You have to watch that the filter does not dry out, so you should not leave the pitcher dry when you empty it out. This takes some discipline from the kids (and dare I say, adults) to fill it up immediately.

The Brita does filter relatively quickly. However, if you need more than 3/4 of a gallon at a time of water, or you go through a lot of water (we do), you may want a sink filter or an in-line filter instead. But for cold, delicious water at a reasonable cost, you can't beat this pitcher. We ended up buying a sink filter instead and retired our pitcher, but it really did well by us for quite a while.

66 of 69 found the following review helpful:

Surprisingly disappointing design  May 07, 2004
By ajw
After 8 years with my Brita Classic pitcher, I decided to get a newer, larger model with the built-in "smart timer" feature. After using it for about 3 weeks now, I am very disappointed in the overall design, especially considering how perfect the original Brita was. The smart timer feature is handy -- it's a small digital indicator on the top of the cap that tells you when it's time for a refill; this should work better (& cleaner) than the previous "analog" mechanism used with some Brita filters. But, that's about it as far as the good goes.

If you fill up the basin nearly all the way, water sometimes leaks out the back of the unit from the top of the handle (and gets onto your refrigerator shelf). Much more annoying, though, is the little flap that rests over the spout. Presumably, this is there to keep refrigerator odors from entering the unit and affecting the taste of the water. However, most of the time when you pour, the flap doesn't properly open up (it sort of sticks shut); this causes the water to pour sloppily or even to suddenly gush out if the flap happens to come un-stuck in mid-pour (more spills). Finally, if you tilt the unit enough to pour out the last drop of water, occasionally the Brita filter itself dislodges from its slot and thumps into the cover of the unit so that you need to re-seat it.

Given the great success I had with the previous unit, I was very disappointed with the overall design of this more recent version.

85 of 93 found the following review helpful:

Love the filter, buy the Brita 2-Gallon UltraMax instead  May 17, 2000
By Eric Antonow
If you can spare a little more room in your fridge I HIGHLY recommend buying the 2-Gallon UltraMax instead. It is also by Brita but the lies flat on the shelf and has a easy to use tap. MUCH MUCH better for kids and anyone else who has trouble gracefully lifting 3 quarts of liquid with one hand (read: most everyone). With this design you simply open the door and fill using the tap. With the pitcher models, the tilt and weight tend to be awkward and I think spill or overpour about 30% of the time -- especially in the middle of the night. The Ultra Max hold about 2 1/2 times the water (less refilling) and costs only $3 more.

29 of 30 found the following review helpful:

Best water I've ever had  Feb 14, 2001
By Sharmin Panjvani "Preschool Teacher and Mom"
Brita water is so good I won't drink tap water anymore anywhere! I've bought one for myself (I also have the small water bottle by brita) one for my mom in Toronto (for when i visit) and one for my mom in law in New York for when I visit there! It is really great and the fact that I can see the difference in the water and in the color of my teas and coffee is the real clincher. I would reccomend this or any Brita pitcher to everyone.

I personally have this model and it is so easy to fill with the flip top. Also the rubber grip makes holding the pitcher comfortable and effortless. It gets a little heavy when it is full but maybe I'm just weak. Since we've bought it I drink so much more water (which is a good thing) and I love the taste.

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:

Good enough for young, broke apartment dwellers  Jan 18, 2005
By c.k.
This Brita is ideal for my personal situation: 3 other (just as broke) roommates, highly suspect NYC tap water, and old water pipes. We needed something to purify the water, make it taste better, and not cost an arm or a leg.

We bought the container for about $30 back in November 2004, and we bought a pack of 4 or 6 replacement filters for about $20 extra. We've gone through 2 filters so far (one that came with the Brita, and one new filter) although I suspect we should replace the filters more often (as we are big guzzlers here). Split amongst 4 people, that's only about $13 each for probably about 8 months of good quality water - each month, that comes out to less than $1.50.

Granted, there are better quality water filters out there that remove more impurities than a Brita filter. But, usually those require hooking up the water pipes to a central filter, and shelling out close to $200...too much effort and $$ for an apartment.

And why not those Pur water filters you hook onto the faucet itself? A lot of my friends have complained about those faucet mounts never fitting well enough around the faucet, causing leaks and sprays. Brita may be more low-tech, but it's just alot easier.

We do refill the pitcher constantly, but it takes less than 3 minutes for all the water to filter. And, because my roomates and I don't like ice-cold water, we like to keep the pitcher outside...plus, we can transport from room to room.

So, if you live in your own home and are serious about water filtartion, buy a high end water filter you hook up to the entire water system. Otherwise, Brita is a good alternative.

See all 89 customer reviews on Amazon.com