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Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted March 15, 2022

I’ve been using it for 8 months now and have not had any durability issues. It has been dropped numerous times and other than a few scuffs, its completely fine. I’m very happy with it and have started taking it as my primary water filter. The only thing I would suggest is keeping a small zip top bag with it for situations in which the outer shell of the bottle doesn’t easily fit into the water source.

Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted March 15, 2022

So the primary reason viruses are a threat in underdeveloped countries is because much of their water is contaminated with untreated human waste. These viruses typically result in diarrheal illnesses, which further contaminates the water supply. Any place where untreated sewage can mix with drinking water will have the potential to have viral, bacterial, and protozoan contamination. This is a chronic issue in areas that lack basic infrastructure, but could easily become an issue almost anywhere if a major disaster were to occur. If your water filter is just for hiking/backpacking in areas with low human population, good sanitation practices, etc, no viral filtration is needed. If you just want one filter that would cover a disaster situation, viral protection would probably be important. Of course, you can always use chemical decontamination as a backup if the filter you have doesn’t protect against viruses.

Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted September 19, 2021

First, thank you for all of the great information on this site. I have several different water filters for various hiking/backpacking needs, namely the Katadyn hiker for when I know I will be filtering water (longer trips) and a couple of sawyer minis that we carry in addition to water for emergency backup while hiking/backpacking. After doing a ton of research in preparation for an upcoming trip in which filtration and purification are desirable, I came upon grayl bottles, which are filters(debris, bacteria, Protozoa), purifiers (viruses), and they also remove heavy metal contamination. These claims have supposedly been verified by independent labs and meets EPA/NSF/ANSI standards. They are highly durable and very easy to use. While the filter life isn’t stellar (65 gal or 3 years, whichever comes first), it seems like the ideal purifier for an emergency situation. Unopened filters last 10 years. For those of us living in/around cities, one would have to assume some degree of heavy metal contamination and likely viral contamination in streams/run off/parking lot puddles or whatever other water source is available in an emergency. I wouldn’t want to rely on just filtration in this situation. I don’t believe all chemical purifiers remove heavy metals either (just P&G as far as I’m aware). At $90 per bottle and $30 per replacement filter, the cost per gallon is significantly higher than a lot of other filters, but there aren’t many options out there that offer this level of protection.

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Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted March 15, 2022

I’ve been using it for 8 months now and have not had any durability issues. It has been dropped numerous times and other than a few scuffs, its completely fine. I’m very happy with it and have started taking it as my primary water filter. The only thing I would suggest is keeping a small zip top bag with it for situations in which the outer shell of the bottle doesn’t easily fit into the water source.

Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted March 15, 2022

So the primary reason viruses are a threat in underdeveloped countries is because much of their water is contaminated with untreated human waste. These viruses typically result in diarrheal illnesses, which further contaminates the water supply. Any place where untreated sewage can mix with drinking water will have the potential to have viral, bacterial, and protozoan contamination. This is a chronic issue in areas that lack basic infrastructure, but could easily become an issue almost anywhere if a major disaster were to occur. If your water filter is just for hiking/backpacking in areas with low human population, good sanitation practices, etc, no viral filtration is needed. If you just want one filter that would cover a disaster situation, viral protection would probably be important. Of course, you can always use chemical decontamination as a backup if the filter you have doesn’t protect against viruses.

Reply to: Best portable survival water filters Posted September 19, 2021

First, thank you for all of the great information on this site. I have several different water filters for various hiking/backpacking needs, namely the Katadyn hiker for when I know I will be filtering water (longer trips) and a couple of sawyer minis that we carry in addition to water for emergency backup while hiking/backpacking. After doing a ton of research in preparation for an upcoming trip in which filtration and purification are desirable, I came upon grayl bottles, which are filters(debris, bacteria, Protozoa), purifiers (viruses), and they also remove heavy metal contamination. These claims have supposedly been verified by independent labs and meets EPA/NSF/ANSI standards. They are highly durable and very easy to use. While the filter life isn’t stellar (65 gal or 3 years, whichever comes first), it seems like the ideal purifier for an emergency situation. Unopened filters last 10 years. For those of us living in/around cities, one would have to assume some degree of heavy metal contamination and likely viral contamination in streams/run off/parking lot puddles or whatever other water source is available in an emergency. I wouldn’t want to rely on just filtration in this situation. I don’t believe all chemical purifiers remove heavy metals either (just P&G as far as I’m aware). At $90 per bottle and $30 per replacement filter, the cost per gallon is significantly higher than a lot of other filters, but there aren’t many options out there that offer this level of protection.