The Life Straw

Sorry, I don't have anything on this, but I started this thread to see if anyone else has a good reading on it and what others think. Thanks.

 

Lifestraw, which was designed in Switzerland by Vestergaard Frandsen for humanitarian projects in the harsh conditions of Africa, Is an ingeniously simple water filter which anyone can use. Simply suck water through it and the filter removes 99.99999% of waterborne bacteria (>LOG 7 reduction), and 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites (>LOG 3 reduction) down to 0.2 microns in size. The EPA standard for removing the usual suspects, Giardia, E. Coli and Cryptosporidium, is 1.0 microns. At 0.2 microns, the LifeStraw provides five times more filtration than the EPA standard, which is considered ‘rigorous’. The LifeStraw filters over 264 gallons (1,000 liters), which you know you’ve reached when water can no longer be sucked through it.

Great product for a single person. I did the research on this for my new book. Hope this helps.

 

The inability to draw water through it would be an excellent indicator. I have recently added a 30 gallon Frontier filter to my PSK, would you know if it has a similar safety function? Good luck on the book. Always nice to meet a fellow writer.

 

No, additionally, direct from Aquamira: Although the Frontier Filter does reduce bacteria and viruses, it is not certified to remove >99.9999% of bacteria and >99.99% of virus as required by the US EPA to meet a full water purifier standard. For maximum protection, use in conjunction with Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets which will neutralize viruses.

 

Then whats the point of the filter if you need the tablets as well? The problem with Chlor Floc is the four hour processing time. That's a long time for someone dying of dehydration to wait. Thanks for the information.

 

Bingo. Hence the Lifestraw.

 

Too bulky.Even with the handy dandy neck lanyard.

 

Then, I guess you get what you pay for. Too bulky? Perhaps by your definition. Do others think that? Not so much. Being an EPA certified water filtration system has it's perks. I personally pack Katydin filtration systems in my BOBs. To each their own, as they say.

 

When backpacking it would be okay. But I tend to carry my gear covertly when hiking. I try to do nothing to draw unwanted attention to myself. It's a small town and rife with thieves and pan handlers. If you appear to have something they WILL break in and rip you off here. Someone came in my driveway and stole the cat I was raising from a feral kitten. And they've stolen old garden tools. So my gear looks old and worn out, but inside the fanny or daypack I have a pretty decent system set up. Hence the frontier filter because it's so compact and light. For backpacking I have a pump type filter, but being mechanical it can, and probably will, eventually break down miles from nowhere.

 

The "log stuff' is what makes the difference between a filter and purifier.

If you have a filter that will do a good job on the big stuff (cyrpto and such) then you can use iodine/chlorine dioxide/other halogens to kill the viruses remaining. That doesn't take 4 hours, more like 15 min. Viruses are rather fragile compared to bacteria or zoonotic pathogens.

I had a Frontier Pro, but when I finally got the real tech specs, I dumped it. Now I have a Sawyer, and it is good for all pathogens. I like that I can backwash it to extend the service life.

Knowing what might be in your water is the first step to having an appropriate means to treat that water.

 

Good advice. Thanks. They really play them up in the catalogs. I also carry potable aqua but have read that it is rapidly losing effectiveness on giardia and others.

 

Oh I've thought about it.

 

eh Snake just shoot the first few thieves & the rest will start to think harder about stealing from you.

 

Da nada../
Sometimes I have to visit more than a dozen sites to find real "technical' data on things like Filters/purifiers. Marketing hype is one thing, facts and test results cost money and are often in short supply.
The Sawyers (Squeeze and the point zero two) are becoming best sellers, none the less, I still carry the CD tabs and a means to boil water.
The Sawyers are great units, but they can be utterly ruined if allowed to freeze. In extremely cold weather, I go for the boil...makes it easier to brew up a cuppa, if nothing else.

 

Two questions, where in hell do you live and why don't you get out?

 

Yeah I saw in some catalog that they filter 99.9% of crypto and giardia after you had enlightened me. I have to stay where I am for a few reasons, or I'd be long gone. Trust me.

 

Yeah witness protection is like that, I hear.

 

Lmao. I wish!

 

Well, let's hope you can escape soon.