Epic Water Filters Smart Shield. Under Sink Water Filter, Inline NSF 53 Water Filter. Direct Connect DIY Install for Under Sink. Tap Water Filtration System. No Water Wasted

After extensive research on water filters, including RO filters, my wife and I decided to replace our current water filter with the Epic Smart Shield and we're really glad we did. The immediate result for us was even better tasting water, smoother tasting coffee and about twice the water flow than our previous water filter. We are so impressed with the product that we are going to give each of our sons one for Christmas.Research Summary: We learned that the Epic Smart Shield passed three stringent NSF filtering standards, not just one. It seems that most water filters pass the NSF 42 standard (chlorine, taste, odor, sediments, etc.) and stop there. But the Epic filter goes further by passing the NSF 53 standard (lead, mercury, heavy metals, asbestos, volatile organic chemicals, etc.) and NSF 401 (drugs, pesticides, etc.). We hated the thought of drinking any of that stuff. This time around, getting "purified" water was our goal, not just simply getting water that tasted good. We ruled out reverse osmosis systems because of space, wasting 2X to 4X the amount of water it filtered, and low water flow.Installation Tips: Installation was easy especially with the push-in shark-bite style connections. Make sure to rotate the filter tube until it "snaps" in place. If you need to mount the filter holder on drywall, I recommend using E-Z Ancor drywall anchors, 50 lbs capacity. We prefer to have a dedicated on/off filter faucet (B&K #120-004NL) inserted in the hole that's on the side of the sink. This eliminates using the filter on non-essential uses like washing hands or dishes. Adding the auxiliary faucet takes more time, but to us it was worth it.Bottom Line: This is an excellent, excellent product. We're buying more of them to give away.

I bought the Epic Smart Shield after doing some research on under the sink units. My selection criteria was easy to install, long lasting/affordable filters, and legitimate filter quality supported by NSF testing.I am not a handy guy so if I need more than a wrench and screw driver, I'm calling someone to help me install. The Epic Smart Shield boosted the confidence as it went from in the box to filtering water in my kitchen sink in about 10 minutes. They have extremely simple instructions (with pictures) along with a YouTube video that I paused and played throughout.The filters are reasonably affordable at about $100 for a year's worth of filtered water. The cheap fridge filters will filter about 1/10th of the water for 1/2 the cost. So I felt good investing in a high quality filter that wasn't Reverse Osmosis because I actually want the minerals and stuff.The NSF certifications were the icing on the cake. It seems like everyone has figured out that they should offer an under the sink unit but they aren't putting in the real development time into testing and assuring users that it works. Being NSF 42, 53, and 401 certified as well as being made in America was a sign of quality and something I could trust wasn't just a knock-off Chinese imitation like so many for sale on Amazon. Don't fall for the 3, 4, 5 stage non-sense. It's about test results, not number of filters! Also, I read that some filters made outside the US can have ingredients in them that you'd never want in contact with your drinking water and are illegal in the US!In summary, the metallic taste in our water in vanished, install was a breeze, and I have peace-of-mind that we are drinking good, clean water. Our family will be Epic customers for a long time.

I installed the filter a couple of days ago along with the optional sediment filter and right away noticed a significant improvement in the quality of our drinking water. The taste and the feel of the water were just better. However, the flow slowed to a trickle. We live in a house with older plumbing and initially attributed the lower flow to the old pipes until I bothered to read the little slip of paper that came separate from the main instructions that recommends making sure that the rubber washer inside the hex nut of the cold water adapter is seated properly, otherwise it could be squashed and severely limit water flow if it is off kilter. Well, being the guy who is so mechanically inclined that I only skim installation instructions, I did not, in fact, make sure that the rubber washer was seated properly before installing the cold water adapter. It was only until I gathered up the paperwork to recycle that I noticed the extra little slip of paper that I had ignored. After I uninstalled the cold water adapter, found that the rubber washer was indeed off axis, corrected the issue and reinstalled the adapter our cold water flow was much better. Long story short, I’m very pleased with the ease of installation, the quality of the components and improvement in our water. Just make sure to fully read the instructions.

I should have given up trying to install this piece of crap long before I finally tapped out, so part of my rage is my own fault...but only a part. I was very determined, I really wanted this to work. I say “piece of crap”, but actually, there was only one component that was cheap and useless, the most important one...the one you screw into your existing plumbing. It’s a soft, plastic piece, that is supposed to screw into metal. It did screw into the bottom part ok, but the top part, where you are supposed to screw it into the flexible piping...it’s garbage. It was too cheap, soft and poorly constructed to use and the flexible connections would not screw into it at all. Not even a little. I guess it’s true, if it looks like a piece of garbage, it probably is.And before the company replies saying, “why didn’t you contact us”? Well, most people do these projects on the week-end, but you aren’t available outside of banker’s hours. I’ve got my under sink stuff out everywhere, my water is disconnected...I had to do all kinds of gymnastics to unscrew the thing with all the hoses connected to it to get it out so I could use my kitchen water again. You think I’m gonna try this again when it’s convenient for you? Uh...no.