PUR CR-5000 Two-Stage Water Pitcher with Flavor Cartridge

For the last few years I have been hooked on those flavored water beverages. I would buy them at my local bulk seller and would drink all of them down in about a week or two. Now, knowing that this was a pricey habit I tried to find another way to get flavored water on the cheap. I tried putting lime juice in my water, it was good but did not have a great taste that I was looking for, I also tried adding some of those sugar free syrups to my water but that effort was fruitless as well. When I was at home one evening I came across the Pur Flavor Pitcher and it all came together. This thing is great it was on sale at my local super market and picked one up for little green. The included flavor, raspberry, is really good, but my favorite is the peach flavor. What is great about this product is that you can adjust the amount of flavor your beverage has so if you feel like sipping a fresh raspberry you can, but I find that just one squirt is just fine. The water by itself is also quite crisp and refreshing compared to my local water that tastes metallic. If this seems worthless, please second guess yourself because it really isn''t. It is a cheap, easy, and delicious way to enjoy an ice cold glass of flavored water without spend a ton on those bottled flavor waters.

the cartridges do not last long enough for the price, even when they function properly. I am on my third cartridge. The first one worked well enough, but it only lasted a few days for my family of three. The second cartridge didn''t work at all. The third cartridge dispenses about half of the time the button is pressed.

A few warnings:

---be prepared to push the flavor button several times to get any flavor at all

---the claim on the package that each cartridge can flavor up to 75 servings is absurdly optimistic

---the cartridge easily becomes dislodged from its resting place during use

---the pitcher must be refilled incessantly, as its filtered water compartment is quite small

---if you try to pour water while there is any water in the unfiltered reservoir, the lid will fall off

The good news is that the taste of the flavor additive is pretty nice, if you''re accustomed to diet beverages.

I was hoping to keep a few water bottles out of the recyling bin or landfill and perhaps save a bit of money while doing so. I''m returning this product. I''ll probably buy something similar in the future if a more reliable model is developed. Great idea, PUR, but poor execution....

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(I''ve only tried the pitcher, so this review has nothing to do with the faucet mount version.)

This is not a bad concept for a product. In fact, I think now that PUR have made the first step, perhaps other companies (and even PUR themselves) can start improving on it and making it better. However, this particular product is simply not there yet and I do not believe it is worth the full price.

Purified, filtered water is an essential thing in every household. I''ve had a Brita pitcher for a long time, the "Grand" model, and I''ve enjoyed it immensely. I still have it. However, when I saw the new PUR Flavor Options pitcher, I was intrigued. I''ve often wished there was an easy, healthy way to add flavor to water. Sure, there are powders and syrups, but this particular idea, that the flavor is an option right within the pitcher, ready to be dispensed at the push of a button, seemed pretty awesome to me. It just so happened that I had a gift card I could use to purchase it, and so I did.

The first problem that was apparent right away is the size of the pitcher itself. After using the Brita Grand pitcher, which is fairly large and holds up to 10 cups of water, this was a real downgrade. This product is being targeted to families, naturally, but the size of the pitcher simply won''t cut it in a household of more than two people, and even then it''s a bit of a bother because you will have to refill it very often. The shape of it IS very conducive to small households and people who can''t spare any kitchen or fridge space, but for me, personally, the downgrade in size was a big letdown. Granted, this is a problem that was personal to me and I realize I could have known this before buying-it just didn''t dawn on me until I actually owned it just how small this pitcher is, for me. So if you''re looking for a pitcher that will hold a good amount of water, this is not for you. I hope PUR is going to release this product in larger sizes in the future, although from what I''ve seen of PUR, their pitcher variety is already quite limited compared to Brita.

The other problem-and this is a big one-is the flavor. To be quite candid, it''s not very good. Again, this is SUCH a personal issue that some may obviously disagree, but in my experience, which included the raspberry and peach flavors, I was very disappointed. The raspberry was by far the worst-if you don''t put a lot of it in the glass you won''t notice it''s there, but if you put enough of it to actually taste it, it is sour, synthetic, and leaves a nasty taste in your mouth. I can''t stress the aftertaste enough-it is bad. I am very health conscious and care about what goes in my body, and this product tasted so synthetic that I just felt bad swallowing it. It doesn''t really taste too much like raspberry, either. The peach is a LITTLE better but again, it just doesn''t taste right. I didn''t feel like I wanted the flavor in my water. This was a big letdown because I was excited about it before trying it out, and I was hoping it would grow on me, but as I''ve owned this product for a week now I find that I push the flavor button less and less.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO DETERMINE FOR YOURSELF WHETHER YOU SHOULD BUY THIS OR NOT?

Simple:

Go to your nearest convenience store. Purchase one of the flavor packets, the ones that go in the pitcher, WITHOUT buying the pitcher. You can buy all three options, or just buy one if you don''t want to waste money. Go home, take out the flavor packet, pour yourself a nice glass of water (hopefully filtered and cold). Then hold the packet facing downward into the glass, and push on the soft rubber surface next to the nozzle. It will squirt out the flavor. You can now try it for yourself as much as you like without shelling out upwards of 30 dollars for the entire product.

I am returning the pitcher tomorrow. If PUR improves upon it, I''ll investigate again. Until then, the size of the pitcher is a problem; the FLAVOR, however, is a disaster.

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I came on Amazon knowing that people would be complaining about the flavor dispensing. Why? If you leave the flavor lid DOWN then the flavored liquid collects in the reservoir and you end up wasting a lot of flavor (it collects and solidifies). I ran into that problem early on, but the solution is extremely simple: flip up the lid of the flavor area before you squirt. Then, as you pour, squirt, and all of the flavor will go right in your glass.

This really isn''t the greatest product for kids. They will undoubtedly use way more flavor than is necessary. Nor is it ideal if you have plan on having more than three people rush the fridge for water at the same time. And it is true that the flavor cartridges will not last as long as advertised if you give each glass two more or squirts. Of course, only one squirt is pretty weak compared to typical bottled water. (Then again, I''d say that the bottled stuff is too strong.)

I have to give this three stars because it was poorly engineered, for the aforementioned reason. A simpler solution would have been to skip the flavor reservoir step. You could flip up a cap to get to the button, that way you wouldn''t accidentally push it and get flavor everywhere.

Anyway, once you get it working the flavor is good (raspberry and lemon, anyway, haven''t tried the others), you save money, and your not lugging around cartons of bottles and dealing with extra recyclables.

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I''ve owned this pitcher for two months and I haven''t had any of the problems mentioned in the other reviews. The filter lasted for 1.5 months and I love how the indicator light went from green to yellow to red so I knew exactly when to change it. The flavor cartridge also lasted about 1.5 months (using 1-2 times a day) and the flavored water is comparable to flavored bottled water. The pitcher fits perfect in our fridge and drinking a pitcher a day gives me my daily allotment of water. Also the water tastes very crisp and clean. I''m so glad I decided to purchase this particular pitcher because it works great and I no longer need to buy bulky cases of bottled water.