LARQ Bottle Review – Does It Live Up To The Shark Tank Hype?

LARQ was co-founded by Justin Wang, who was inspired by a simple vision to use innovative technology to give people access to pristine drinking water in a sustainable way. Knowing this, it’s clear to see that the LARQ Water Bottle is not just another reusable water bottle, it’s the world’s first self cleaning water bottle.

It’ll purify your water and neutralize that bottle stink that is hated across the world! This LARQ Bottle review will explain more about the tech used and also how well the UV light water bottle performs in the day-to-day.

The UV-C technology built into the lid, eradicates up to 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.99% of viruses in Adventure Mode, meaning you can sterilize water found in streams while out hiking for example.

You may also be interested in reading about LARQ’s other UV water bottle called the LARQ Movement PureVis.

READ NEXT: LARQ Water Filter Pitcher Review / LARQ Movement PureVis Review / LARQ Bottle Filtered Review / LARQ’s Interchangeable Filter & Purifier Caps / LARQ Bottle Swig Top Review

LARQ Water Bottle review – table of contents

• How is the LARQ Water Bottle different to other insulated water bottles?
• How does the LARQ UV water bottle work?
• 7 things you need to know about the LARQ Bottle
• LARQ self cleaning water bottle sizes and colors
• LARQ was featured on ‘Shark Tank’
• Technical specs [plus what comes in the box]
• Cost and where to buy it
• LARQ Water Bottle review on YouTube [VIDEO]
• LARQ Bottle Review Summary
• Image gallery

The main differentiators between the LARQ self cleaning water bottle and other insulated bottles:

1. The LARQ Water Bottle can clean itself with UV-C technology, while other insulated bottles can be tricky to completely clean and eradicate that stinky bottle smell that comes over time.
2. The LARQ Water Bottle will actually purify water, standard insulated bottles can’t do this.

BIG NEWS: LARQ now has a portable water filter bottle that can be used in conjunction with their PureVis UV-C Purifier cap to give you the ultimate water purification/filtration system while backpacking. Read all about it HERE.

How Does the LARQ Water Bottle Actually Work?

The LARQ Bottle uses patented UV-C technology to purify your water and bottle at the touch of a button. The button is at the top of the lid (pictured below), and a cycle takes 60 seconds to complete.

The LARQ self cleaning water bottle also intelligently turns on every 2 hours to purify both the water you put inside as well as the bottle surface itself.

The UV-C light eradicates biological contaminants by destroying their DNA.

When using LARQ’s Adventure mode purification cycle, you can purify even the most questionable of water sources – Think traveling in Third World Countries, or adventuring for days at a time in the wilderness.

If you’re unsure whether it purifies water well enough, think of it this way, the LARQ UV water bottle sterilization process is the equivalent of boiling water for 20 minutes straight.

You can also lock the top button of the LARQ water bottle to avoid accidental continual cycles while the bottle is stored in a bag, for example.

If you hold the top button for 5 seconds the bottle will be put into Travel mode, and the button will be locked.

This is to prevent accidentally running down the battery as a result of putting pressure on the button and activating continual cycles.

7 Things To Know About The LARQ Water Bottle

1. Does the LARQ Water Bottle make noise when active?

No, in my experience, the LARQ bottle is completely silent! I have the bottle by my bed at night so if it made a noise I would definitely know about it.

2. Does the purification process change the taste of the water?

No, it will not impact the taste of the water but it will eradicate up to 99.9999% of germs, and odor-causing bacteria in Adventure Mode.

3. Does the LARQ bottle actually work in terms of keeping that stinky bottle smell away?

Yes, LARQ’s tech really does work! I’ve been using this UV water bottle pretty much daily, for over two years now as I was one of the original reviewers of the LARQ water bottle.

Since my first bottle, I went on to buy the larger 25oz LARQ water bottle as well as the Movement Edition – so I know how these uV bottles work. It didn’t take me long to realize the real value in using a bottle like this daily.

It’s so convenient not having to wash my water bottle as often due to that stink smell that standard bottles create over time.

It’s worth giving the lid a clean every month or so, as the UV-C light struggles to reach this part of the bottle.

4. What is UV-C LED technology?

The UV-C LED chips in LARQ are smaller, more energy efficient, non-toxic (mercury free), and more economical compared to traditional Mercury based UV technology.

There are two purifying modes available on all LARQ water bottle models:

• tap once for Normal Mode (takes 60 seconds to complete)
• tap twice for Adventure Mode (takes 3 minutes to complete)

What’s the difference between Normal Mode and Adventure Mode?

In Adventure Mode, the LARQ Water Bottle has a 3x increase in UV-C dosage. Normal mode delivers 1,200 uW-sec (or mJ) to the water, while Adventure Mode delivers around 3,000 uW-sec (or mJ) to the water.

5. With all this purification, how long will one battery charge last?

One charge lasts up to 1-2 months for Normal Mode, based on 3-4 cycles a day. Adventure mode, on the other hand, will last around 10-12 days.

Low battery indicator lights will let you know when to recharge your LARQ water bottle.

How do I charge the LARQ Water Bottle?

You need to use the included USB cable which connects to the lid, as seen above. While charging, the lid light will slowly pulse with a green light. It will change to a constant green light when fully charged.

Is the charging port on the lid waterproof?

The LARQ water bottle’s charge socket is waterproof and rated IPX7, similar to the iPhone. This was one of the first things I had to check! 🙂

6. There’s more to the Stainless Steel mouth than you think

The entirety of the LARQ water bottle is made from BPA free polished stainless steel. This material helps the bottle stay clean.

The LARQ self cleaning water bottle also keeps cold drinks, cold for 24 hours and hot drinks, hot for 12 hours, due to its dual-walled insulated construction.

If you’re putting sugary drinks or your favorite coffee in there, the bottle should be hand-washed, rather than relying on purifying cycles.

7. You’ll probably need the LARQ Bottle Limited Edition Sleeve

The ‘not-so-limited’ Limited Edition LARQ sleeve is made from neoprene with a luxe vegan leather strap.

It has been very useful on a number of occasions.

For example, when I’m holding too many things at once, I can just grab a strap or even hook it to my bag. The top strap can also be detached if you’d prefer to just have the sleeve and the smaller hand-strap.

It protects the bottle from scratches (because the bottle will scratch if you don’t treat it well) when you’re traveling and means you won’t feel quite so protective over the relatively expensive LARQ bottle.

I picked up a couple of scratches on my bottle before I decided to put the sleeve on it permanently.

It also makes placing the bottle on hard surfaces much quieter, something Helen appreciates in the middle of the night when I go for a swig of water and put the bottle back on my bedside table.

The sleeve accessory is every bit as high-quality as the LARQ bottle itself, as you can see in the photos above.

LARQ Water Bottle Sizes and Colors

The LARQ Self Cleaning Water Bottle comes in two different size options, the 17oz LARQ Bottle, or the 25oz LARQ Bottle.

Both sizes are built to a high-quality standard and I suppose which one you choose will depend on how much water you intend to carry around with you, and what you’re willing to pay for the UV bottle.

The bottle pictured in this LARQ water bottle Review is the 17oz one and although it’s a really convenient size to carry with me, I do sometimes feel like it could store more water so that I don’t have to fill it up quite as often – I drink a lot of water.

Bear in mind that the 25oz bottle of course will weigh more when filled to the top, which makes it a bit bulkier when hiking or traveling.

There are pros and cons to both UV water bottle sizes.

The LARQ Water Bottle is available in 6 beautiful colors (the same 6 colors for both size options) when you order directly from the LARQ online store – Check them all out HERE!

Did You See The LARQ Water Bottle on Shark Tank?

This was one crazy episode, where LARQ Co-Founder Justin Wang showed up on Shark Tank with this water bottle asking for $500,000 for a 1% stake in his LARQ Self Cleaning Water Bottle company, and although the Sharks all laughed when they first heard his offer, they were soon on board once he demonstrated what this UV water bottle is capable of.

He ended up scoring a cool $1M deal from the Sharks, resulting in a $50M valuation of the company.

Technical specifications of both LARQ Bottles

What’s In the box

1. The LARQ Bottle PureVis
2. Micro USB charging cable
3. Quick start guide

Cost and Where To Buy The LARQ Water Bottle?

The LARQ UV water bottle 17oz is currently available at livelarq.com for $95 while the 25oz LARQ Bottle can be bought for $118.

There’s not too much difference in price between the two but you’ll get nearly 50% more water storage in the 25oz LARQ Bottle – so when people ask me which one I prefer, or which LARQ Bottle to buy, I tend to tell them that the 25oz LARQ bottle is better value for money.

LARQ Bottle Review Video [YouTube]

LARQ Bottle Review Summary

When it comes to water purification and the odor-neutralization process, the LARQ UV water bottle does everything it claims to be able to do. The bottle’s build quality is exceptional and has been designed beautifully.

The LARQ Bottle is a purifying water bottle for those who want something a little different from all the other insulated water bottles on the market.

Yes, it’s more expensive than standard water bottles, but those bottles don’t offer the convenience and benefit of being able to fill up from almost anywhere and know your water will be pure and 99.9999% bacteria free after one quick purifying cycle.

It really is a smart way to drink water and ensure your bottle stays stink-free, while on the go.

[letsreview]

LARQ Bottle Review Image Gallery