LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
- Removes a minimum of 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria per manufacturer.(>LOG 6 reduction)
- LifeStraw® offers easy access to clean and safe drinking water away from home!
- Filters up to 1000L of contaminated water per the manufacturer.
- Removes a minimum of 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites per manufacturer.
- Reduces water turbidity by filtering particles of approximately 0.2 microns.
A Time Magazine Invention of the Year winner, LifeStraw contains no chemicals, no batteries and no moving parts to wear out. It features a high flow rate and weighs only 2oz. It is perfect for the Ultralight backpacker, camper, hiker, traveler, boy scout, hunter or for emergencies. Unlike many similar filters on the market today, LifeStraw has met EPA standards for water filtration in independent testing. LifeStraw has been used around the world under extreme conditions for humanitarian relief.
List Price: $ 25.00
Price: $ 19.95
Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis
What if your life was disrupted by a natural disaster, food or water supply contamination, or any other type of emergency? Do you have the essentials for you and your family? Do you have a plan in the event that your power, telephone, water and food supply are cut off for an extended amount of time? What if there were no medical or pharmaceutical services available for days, weeks, or months? How prepared are you?
With this guide by your side, you and your family will learn how to pla
List Price: $ 16.00
Price: $ 7.80
2oz, great flavor, battle tested, 1000L,
For the weight, I believe there is no better backcountry water treatment available. The LifeStraw imparts no strange flavors like its chemical brethren, its flow rate is perfectly acceptable for active pursuits, it has no moving parts to break or filters that need replacing every couple of days, and it does all this at a fraction of the cost and weight of other Filter and UV water treatment options. Besides, what other water treatment system has been tested successfully by people on a daily basis in the most contaminated parts of our planet?
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|Best choice for convenience and safety,
I have used all types of water filtration – PUR Hiker, UV sterilization, and chemical.
And… I have had giardia. I guess some say you always have giardia – don’t know about that, but it is nasty stuff. I actually got it by washing my face in a contaminated stream – didn’t even have to drink any water.
Water filter openings are measured in microns. Since bacteria size is between 0.2 and 2.0 microns in width, a 0.2 micron filter would filter out bacteria and would also filter out protozoa which are larger than bacteria. Viruses are the smallest living organisms known to man can measure as small as 0.005 microns.
Therefore, there are limitations to this filter at the viral level.
However, by combining this filter with a UV sterilizer such as Steri Pen you can easily add the viral layer of protection.
Here is what I do for a liter of high quality H2O:
1. 1L Nalgene bottle – this will always be considered “dirty” or contaminated.
2. Fill the bottle with water to be filtered through the Steripen prefilter cup.
3. Use the Steripen UV sterilizer – 90 seconds per 1L of H2O (per manufacturers instructions). As you do this you will be agitating the bottle which will keep sediment suspended. This isn’t the point of agitation – it is simply a result of the the UV sterilization process.
4. Allow the sediment to settle.
5. Finally, use the LifeStraw as directed by manufacturer in the now UV sterilized water – still in the “contaminated” bottle.
Benefits that I have noticed:
1. I always had concerns with cross contamination during both simple UV sterilization and traditional filter use. This is, IMHO, very likely with UV sterilization since it is really difficult to get contaminated water from the rim (both outside and inside) of the bottle. I actually suffered some severe stomach upset once when only using the SteriPen – and I felt like I was rolling the dice due to the issue with contaminated water being around the rim. And with a filter such as the PUR Hiker, there are a LOT of pieces. To avoid cross-contamination you do need to keep the dirty water pieces and clean water pieces separate – just a bunch of irritation.
2. I have not “found” a way to cross-contaminate unless you stick the mouth piece end into contaminated water – that is an really stupid move though.
3. I really like that the LifeStraw is so simple, compact, and light weight. It is really just 3 parts – 2 end caps and the straw.
4. I feel safer with this as a “system” due to the simplicity. I would not hesitate drinking water through this without additional sterilization. I like the bend over and drink protocal.
Additional thoughts:
Chemical treatment could replace the UV sterilization – but I have found it to be a real hassle with wait times that vary with temperature and then, of course, you always have to fliter if there is a lot of sediment.
I also will fill a 2L to 4L water bag (which is a PUR Camp filter) if I am expecting to have a long distance between water sources or if I am going to set up camp for the night. Then I can drink as required.
And finally, everyone should understand that this is really not appropriate for filtering water to use for cooking.
Good luck on your purchase and I hope this review is helpful.
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|This will save your ass…,
Just got back from a trip to Nepal and Cambodia. I used life straw dozens of times. Most notably while I was in the jungles of Cambodia I found myself dangerously dehydrated and my two water bottles were already empty. There was NO SAFE WATER for me to drink. I did eventually stumble onto a well used by some monks. After figuring out how to prime and pump up the water I used the life straw to drink my fill. I was so relieved, I was miles from the nearest bottle of water and I managed to get my drink on. I didn’t have to take a risk that would have put me in an awful situation (severe diarrhea) , and it only cost me $25 and the weight of the straw is negligible.
In fact, I’ve decided that whenever I’m leaving the country to take this guy with me. Why not?
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|Book does exactly what the title says.,
Just like the title says the book is full of hints to store food for a crisis. There are a number of excellent hints such as storing food that you would normally eat and turning over your stored food through your regular eating habits. The book also mentions having emergency clothing, food and water packed and ready to go because when a crisis occurs there will likely be no time to pack up supplies. You want something you can just grab on the way out the door. Hurricane Katrina is a good example. Having emergency supplies in your car is another excellent idea. Time and again we read about families being stranded without adequate clothing, food and water. Finally, one of the best ideas is to always have a ready store of hundreds of dollars in cash on hand.
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|Use it only as a start,
I always liked this book, but a question has arisen about the completeness of the protein in dried milk. Seems that in the process of dehydrating the milk, the protein is largely deactivated. So, it would be a mistake to stock up heavily on the four items mentioned but is better to use more of a variety of foods. Another question is about food allergies arising from a daily heavy consumption of wheat. This is one of the most common food allergies but most people eat more of a variety and allergies to one item don’t tend to build up, but with that heavy consumption of one food on a daily basis they could. Another thing to consider is cooking times when fuel might be in short supply or nonexistent. Shortage of food is likely to go hand in hand with fuel shortages. It is better to store many food items that don’t have to be well cooked or very thorougly processed. I suggest people buy this book for the valuable information in it but very carefully think about the drawbacks and drastically alter this plan for themselves. The author does list other items to store and suggests best length of storage….read this section carefully. Learn about basics of good nutrition and walk through a grocery store for ideas of what foods might be stored. You can get your storage items in other places than the grocery store, but it will give you some ideas at least.
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|Good Basis for Learning Food Storage Principles,
This book is good for the basics of food storage and emergency preparedness. Much of the information coincides with information from the LDS chuch and includes instructions on preparing Long Term Food Storage, First Aid Kits, 72-Hour Kits, and food rotation. Good book for those just starting out in their emergency preparations!
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