It’s a nice stainless steel reservoir and tank, and the fittings are all watertight. Includes the extra components to use it in various setups, and a pair of clay filters. The instructions say to run a few cycles thru it before it’s ready to use. That’s definitely true, as the first cycles come out orange! I tested it after the indicated amount of prefiltering had been performed, and it was coming out with orange tint, still. It was reading in the 4000-6000ppm range on my meter! My tap water comes out around 90-100ppm. I ran a cycle thru this thing every day for a month, and eventually it leveled out at around 110-115ppm. I wanted it to be removing that 100 from my tap water. I wasn’t able to determine if it was removing anything, or simply adding its own minerals or clay or whatever is dissolving out of the filter. I tested it with distilled water to compare, and it came out even dirtier, at 240ppm! I have to assume the distilled water has greater capacity for allowing filter dust into it, just like it makes a darker tea than tap water. I never tested this with really dirty water like I’d be using in an emergency.I really do not recommend these filter cartridges. One of them installed perfectly upright, the other one was always at a little angle. The angled one snapped off one day, I have no idea how. I just opened the lid and it was broken off, laying on the bottom.Even after all my cycles of tests, I wasn’t confident drinking the water, not knowing what was being added to it, if that clay is safe to ingest. Not once did the water I put thru this filter come out cleaner. I was putting clean, potable water thru, and it came out almost as clean. I imagine it would turn lake water into the same 115ppm water that came out when I filled it from my tap, but I didn’t want to foul the upper tank by testing it. What I can confirm is the upper tank acquired a mineral film covering the inside, while the lower tank is still shiny clean steel. I’d be confident using this with trusted and tested filters. It’s a standard size. It has the ability to do 1-4 filters at once, which is really only needed for faster filtering. With only one, it barely trickled out. It was annoyingly slow. With two, it was pretty decent, however I wonder if one of those two was defective, as one had a notably faster flow rate and a lean, and eventually broke mysteriously.The upper slides into the lower for smaller storage, which is nice. Doesn’t come with a stand, so you’ll need one if not placing it countertop.For $300, I was expecting a better experience. There’s not a lot of info included, and I found little online when I went looking for answers to my questions regarding its performance. What came out wasn’t cleaner like I expected, and I felt unconfident about drinking it. Considering the information it included about getting it primed wasn’t close to accurate, the experience left me feeling like I’d have been better served by a more established filter company. This feels like a cash grab rather than an essential revision. I don’t see where it does anything different or better, it just cuts corners to cut the price. For example, the spout on this has a flat fitting instead of a curved one to match the curved bucket, relying on the rubber seals to fill the gap. The bottom of the upper tank isn’t perfectly flat and stiff, it has a tiny bit of buckling to go along with the leaning filter cartridge.I was underwhelmed by what’s included, and dissatisfied by its performance.I took the knob off the lid and I’ve been using it as a pedestal stand for my gallon thermos. When I opened it to take photos for this review, I found the knob looked like it’s been in the ocean, all salt-eroded on the surface, with orange clay filling the etchings.

Excellent filtration system. Don't have to flush my coffee maker much anymore. This filter system gets the crud out

I’m beyond impressed with the Survivor Filter Gravity Steel 2.25 Gallon Water Filtration System. As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors hiking, van life camping (often solo with my cat), having access to clean water from any source is non-negotiable—and this filter delivers. The stainless steel design feels durable and high-quality, and the 2.25-gallon capacity is perfect for daily use, group trips and at home if you’re not traveling and want clean, purified water. Highly functional!The filtration process is straightforward and surprisingly fast for a gravity system. I love knowing it removes heavy metals, bacteria, and viruses—especially when filling up from questionable sources. The ceramic filters last up to 6 months! Yes please!

The unit was easy to set up. The filtering process doesn’t take a lot of time. The flow of water from gravity is good. The taste of the filtered water is wonderful. We bought the stand that elevates the unit to be able to dispense the water easily. It would have been nice to include this as part of the purchase. The only problem I have with this model is that there is no way to determine how much water is in the unit. I have to lift the top unit off and look into the reservoir to see how much water is left. It’s hard to see exactly because the stainless steel reflects all around the unit. Sometimes I’ll stick my finger in till I touch water. This is a really pricey piece of equipment. It really needs a viewing window of some sort.

Exactly what I needed!

There was an error in my order and survivor filter far exceeded my expectations in promptly responding to and correcting the issue.

I live in a city along the OH River where reports have been filed with the state's Dept. of Environmental Protection, stating that the drinking water is several times above the maximum contaminant level after treatment.This has been an ongoing issue, so I have been buying bottled water for years. Until now. Having thoroughly researched filtration systems, and wanting one that would filter viruses as well as everything else, I finally settled on Survivor Filters, a gravitational 2.5 gallon ceramic filter system. And I love it. It came super well boxed, even with protection over the stainless steel inside, which is very high quality. It was as easy to put together as the video showed, plus it holds enough water to meet mine and my husband's needs; it filters quickly enough using just 2 filters, though it will hold 4. It comes with an instruction pamplet that tells you when you should change them. The product is simple to use, without needing to plug it in to any outlet. Also, the water tastes delicious. No having to get used to a funny flavor.Unfortunately, the spigot on mine had a small drip after I shut off the valve. After two days I called the service number where I spoke with someone who was greatly concerned that I had a defective part, especially one for which there had previously never been a reported problem. To make right my misfortune, two days later I received an entirely new filtration system, complete with filters and all. And that was just for a new spigot, which I am happy to report has no drip. Needless to say, I have no regrets buying from Survivor Filters, and would highly recommend them to everyone.

Great water filter and it is very easy to use. Makes the water taste great and is very portable if we need to take it anywhere. Customer service is awesome and they answered all of our questions in a very timely manner. Good construction and the test reports are solid.