Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this pitcher about a month ago and have been using it as my source of water since. Previously, I had used Brita water pitchers and in fact I brought my old Brita pitcher to work so I had one there too. Because I don't have both the Brita and Soma in the same place I can't do a direct comparison of taste (if there even would be a difference) but I've listed below the pros/cons I've noticed when using this pitcher. I previously used only Brita pitchers and I've gone through around 3-4 designs of Brita pitchers over the years. Because that's my main source of reference, a lot of this review is comparing the two in case it's useful information for people who have Brita and wonder how Soma might differ. Honestly, I didn't expect that this pitcher would be much different than Brita. I didn't think the design would make that big of a difference (if anything, I was pretty skeptical and thought of it more like a scam than anything) but I now believe I was wrong. This probably seems kind of ridiculous to go so in depth on a water pitcher, especially since most of what I'm talking about are minor annoyances in life and nothing that big. But since this pitcher is kind of expensive, and since I read reviews to get honest feedback from people about their experiences, I am giving as full/honest of a review as I can in case it is helpful for anyone else considering whether they wish to invest their money in this. Below are my observations, in no particular order. The packaging was nice and the filter inside was very easy to prepare and use. The filter itself came in a little resealable package. Because you actually fill the little package with water to soak the filter for 15 minutes instead of submersing the filter in some random cup, that was way less of a pain in the ass than it is with Brita (where I found that the filter always wanted to pop back up to the surface and I continually had to push it down) I noticed a little bit of flecks but not very much when I pulled the filter out of the packaging. So that's way better than the many flecks I find in Brita. When I got the filter in the pitcher and hadn't yet filled it with any water, the pitcher was very top-heavy. It kept falling over because my sink has a slight grade of an angle toward the drain. Not gonna lie, that annoyed the hell out of me when I was trying to figure out how to fill it and it kept falling over immediately after I righted it. However, as soon as I got water in it that top-heaviness was no longer an issue. Also, it isn't in danger at all of falling over when you have it on a flat surface. Just beware of the top-heaviness on angled surfaces when it has no water to ground it. The way to fill it is actually awesome, and I can't believe how much a stupid little thing like this makes me happy. But all you do is turn the tap on over the circle in the center and it depresses down to allow water inside. When that little compartment fills up, the circle comes flush with the top and you turn off the water. I haven't timed how quickly the water filters into the bottom but it doesn't seem inordinately long; I'd say about the same time, or faster, as Brita filters. You can't put a ton of water into the upper compartment at a time. You have to fill that upper compartment about 3-4 times or so before it fills the bottom part of the container (the section where you'd be pouring water from to drink) up past the bottom of that triangular bottom of the upper compartment. If you wanted to fill the pitcher all the way to the top, I haven't tried that yet but I'd guess you'd need closer to 6-10 fills of the upper compartment. There's a slight angle in that lid so if you aren't quite fast enough to turn off the water once it fills, if that upper compartment overflows a little onto the lid it doesn't spill everywhere. It sits on top of the lid and drains down toward the circle into the upper compartment. This mechanism for filling the pitcher is so ridiculously much better than Brita that I can't believe it. I honestly would never have thought it would make that much of a difference, but let me tell you. Bizarrely, it does. I feel like I'm constantly battling with the Brita pitcher design; the little lids are breaking off or not working properly, sometimes they fall down before I've finished filling the upper container with water so I have to rest the lid against the faucet or hold it upright because the little tabs keep breaking. Let's be honest, these are not groundbreaking things one has to deal with; just minor annoyances, at best. But that minor annoyance is completely missing with the Soma design. The wooden handle is actually super nice for pouring. I didn't realize before how the plastic handles aren't as comfortable, until I had this. However, note that once you get the pitcher the directions say not to submerge that wooden handle in water and that you should periodically treat it with mineral oils to prolong its lifespan. I'm kind of a lazy person so I'm not sure how realistic it is that I would ever be on top of things enough to figure out what sort of oils I need for this wood, let alone find it, purchase it, or even use it. It's a little too bad the pitcher doesn't come with a tiny sample so someone like me would know what I'm supposed to look for and what's best for it, but that isn't a big deal at all. I'm also kind of sad this means I can't wash the pitcher in the dishwasher. Regarding the actual pouring, this was another place where I was surprised to realize there was a genuinely useful difference between Brita and Soma. The thing about all of the Brita pitchers I've owned/used is that they all have a relatively small spout. Who cares, right? Not that big of a deal, really, except it means the water comes out at an angle and in such a way that it kind of flops around sometimes when you're pouring it, dependent on your pitcher and how much water you have inside. On its own that doesn't necessarily matter but it does make accuracy more difficult when you're trying to pour into a smaller hole like a bottle. The Soma pitcher has a much wider spout, which gives it a much nicer pour. It's much more predictable, much less messy, and it's consistent; it doesn't flop all around in big gulps like the Brita pitchers do sometimes. I also noticed that my Brita pitchers, for some reason, have a tendency to seal up at the spout-- so when I go to pour it, the lip doesn't flip up like it should and water pours out the sides. That used to happen to me with different pitchers, and since my Brita pitchers seemed to have crappy lids that didn't fit properly and would come up a lot after several uses, I always had to hold the lid down and flip up the lip before pouring to make sure the water went where it was supposed to go. I've yet to have a single issue with the Soma lid itself. It doesn't go anywhere; it doesn't slip or come up. When I pour from the pitcher, the water goes out the spout like it's supposed to and doesn't squeeze out the sides. The first half a month or so that I used the Soma pitcher, it never sealed up at all like my Brita pitcher had. However, I have noticed in the past week or two it's started to do that occasionally. That being said, it isn't as messy of an issue as it is with the Brita pitcher because the wider spout allows for the water to find a better place to come out. But it does mean sometimes I get water on the sides of what I'm pouring into if I didn't notice that ahead of time. Also on the topic of pouring/filters, something else I had happen all the time with my Brita pitchers was that when the water got low and I was pouring from the pitcher at a steep angle, the filter would fall out and thunk against the lid. I would then have to finish pouring, set the pitcher down, open the lid, pick up the filter and push it back into place, and then put the lid back on. I've yet to have the Soma filter go anywhere, even when I've poured at a steep angle to get the last bits of water out. Another comment about the filter: the problem is, of course, that Brita filters are much more readily available and probably are cheaper than the Soma filters. (This part I haven't done direct comparisons on so I could be wrong) I did worry about how I'd have to buy these filters online all the time now and whether that would be annoying (if I ever forgot), however when I was in Target the other day I saw the Soma filters in the aisle right next to the Brita filters. Keep in mind, too, that Brita recommends that you switch out your Brita filter every 40 gallons of water or around every 2 months; and Soma said their filters were good for 3 months. Of course, I don't know if these timelines have to be strictly adhered to, since I'll be honest: I'm terrible about actually switching out my Brita filters regularly. I'm not sure yet how good I will be with Soma. One other thing I love about Soma (and, honestly, what pushed me over the edge in my debate whether to purchase it) is that a portion of the proceeds goes to charity: water. This is my favorite charity and I donate to them whenever I get the chance. I've also donated multiple birthdays because I really, truly believe in their cause. They are an outstanding charity for many reasons, but one super cool thing that sets them apart from other charities is that 100% of donated funds go directly into the field. They don't take percentages from what you donate for their administrative costs; they make sure everything you give them goes to the people you're trying to help. Also, when you donate your birthday it's cool because they will fold your funds in with funds from other campaigns until they have enough money to start a new project. At that point, they start updating you telling you where in the world your money is going, what sort of water infrastructure they are installing, and then as time passes they give you more updates about the status of that project. When it's finished, they tell you the exact village/town, give you google map coordinates, and take pictures of the water infrastructure installation and the people it's serving. They also teach locals how to fix and maintain the installation so that it gives local jobs AND makes it more self-sustaining. I highly recommend everyone check out charity: water (http://www.charitywater.org/) because they are the best. The fact that Soma donates to them makes me respect the company even more. As for the quality/taste of the water, I haven't noticed anything at all. It doesn't have any sort of taste that I've detected. Which probably sounds pretty obvious since we're talking about water, and filtered water at that. But-- and this is merely anecdotal so could be way off-- after I drank the Soma water at home for a while and have been drinking the Brita water at work, for some reason I feel like once I had that comparison in my head that the Brita filter has a sliiiiight metallic taste to the water. Very slight but a bit stronger as the filter dies. There is no similar slight anything in the Soma water, that I've noticed; kind of more of a fresh taste, if anything. But keep in mind that I'm drinking this water at totally different times, in different environments, with different tap water as my baseline. And I've only used Soma for a month whereas I have years of experience to pull from anecdotally for Brita. So this is not a good direct comparison, just a weird feeling I get. Overall, I have to say I was surprised enough by the difference between Brita and Soma that I felt compelled to write an in-depth review about something I never thought I would be talking so seriously about: a water pitcher, haha. I personally think that if you're debating whether or not to get this pitcher and if you are kind of leaning toward getting it, and you have the funds to purchase it and all that, then you should give it a try. I've been very pleasantly surprised by all this and-- so far, in the limited time I've had it of a month-- I have not at all regretted my purchase. Which I worried I would since I hate spending a lot of money on simple products when generic vs brand name vs independent might all amount to about the same thing. But in this case, I have honestly noticed several minor, but key, differences between Brita and Soma that makes me recommend Soma without a question in comparison. I don't ever want to buy a Brita pitcher again. Just about every ongoing annoyance for those pitchers has been fixed (for me) by Soma's superior design and quality.