I have had two of these so far. The first one leaked when water was filled all the way to the top. Therefore I was only able to fill it up about half way. Soon the lid also broke so that each time I poured water into a cup, the lid would slide off. The second one I got was fine. But every now and then, the black carbon particles would end up in the filtered water. Sometimes the water would taste as though it had not been filtered at all. I rely on this product because it is the only realistic way for me to get filtered water here in my college dorm. I really wish there was another company that made a better product.