CamelBak Groove review and giveaway

Happy Earth Month! Throughout April, I'm sure you'll be hearing all kinds of tips on how to reduce your impact on the environment. It's going to be a recurring topic on tv, in magazines and around the internet... and on this blog. I'll be blogging about my favorite eco-friendly products and sharing my latest eco-friendly product discoveries, starting with CamelBak's latest product, the Groove.

One of the easiest things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to switch to reusable water bottles. I stopped buying water in plastic bottles years ago, and have never looked back. I can only think of 2 reasons why reusable bottles can be a pain: first, they're difficult to clean, and second, when you need to refill them away from home, chances are you'll only be able to find water from a park water fountain or some other nasty-tasting tap water. The CamelBak Groove eliminates those 2 reasons with its dishwasher-safe material and a carbon filter built right into the straw. Keep reading to find out what I thought of the CamelBak Groove that was sent to me for review (and enter to win one of your own!):

The Basics
The Groove is a BPA-free plastic water bottle with an internal filter system. It comes in 0.6L-sized bottles made of BPA-free plastic (in 4 colors) as well as stainless steel. Filters last for approximately 4 months; a replacement pack of 2 filters costs $10 and a pack of 6 filters costs $24.

Here are the Groove's main features and benefits according to CamelBak:
* Turn tap water into fresh, great-tasting water anywhere you go. * Easy to refill and easy to use bottle with a filter built into the straw. Turn tap water into fresh, great-tasting water anywhere you go. *Durable, BPA-Free, easy to carry and spill-proof. * Flip & Sip: Sip with ease, flip shut for storage and no spills with the patented CamelBak Big Bite™ Valve. * Dishwasher safe.


The Bongga
What a great idea this is -- any water, anytime, anywhere. I love it! Okay, to be completely honest, The Pea loves it. I barely had to time to fill up the Groove and take a sip before she claimed it for her own. First and foremost, the water tastes clean and fresh. She loves the cute teal color and the convenience of sipping from it whenever she wants. She's even willing to clean it out every day, which gives you an idea of how easy it is to clean! The bottle itself is easy to clean because it's dishwasher-safe and has a wide mouth opening (cleaning the valve is a whole other story; see my "Blah" section).

The Pea has been taking it to school for the past two weeks, and she has taken it with her on her class camping trip to California Gold Rush country. They'll be "roughing it" and learning to live they way people did in 1849, so I'm glad she has the Groove with her: even if she has to drink water out of the tap, she has that filter.


The Blah
I can't be sure at this point, but I have a feeling that remembering to buy filters (and finding them) for this product is going to be a drag.

Also, I have never been a big fan of water bottles with built-in straws or sippy-cup-like openings or valve-like tips that you suck (or, if you're a kid, gnaw on). They're so difficult to clean, and despite my best efforts I always feel like there are spaces I can't get to where germs are multiplying. I wish the Groove had a version with a top like a commuter mug!


The Bottom Line
If you're serious about great-tasting water and saving the earth, the Groove is the water bottle for you.


Win a CamelBak Groove
Three lucky Bonggamom Finds readers will each receive a Groove filtered water bottle from CamelBak!




Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me where you would take your new Groove bottle, and where you would fill it up with tap water. This entry must be completed before extra entries qualify.


Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates (1 entry).

2) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Networked Blogs (1 entry).

3) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(1 entry).

4) Write this on the Bonggamom Finds Facebook page (1 entry):
I entered the CamelBak Groove giveaway! http://ow.ly/4tcZ8

5) "Like" the CamelBak Facebook page (1 entry)

6) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):
3 winners will receive a CamelBak Groove filtered water bottle at @bonggafinds ! Enter by 4/21/11 http://ow.ly/4tcZ8 #giveaways

7) Join any of the open giveaways on Bonggamom Finds (1 entry for every giveaway you've joined).



The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on April 21, 2011; I will draw a winner at random on April 22 and post the winner's name after the winner confirms acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.