Morgan Rogue 07.20.21
Water is life. Water may be easier to find in some places than others, but regardless, water needs to be cleaned of bacteria and viruses for us to be able to drink it without getting sick. Humans are fairly fragile and we need as clean as water as we can get. Some bacteria might be good for us, but we can’t look at water and say, “Oh you’re good to drink.” There’s no way to tell whether it’s good or not simply by looking at it.
Instead of guessing, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to filter water to the highest purity that we can.
In the ol’ days, the best method was to filter and boil. That is still a classic and always will be. But even boiling won’t get rid of everything. It kills many common pathogens and while some pathogens may survive, many of them aren’t harmful, though some still can be. This isn’t to say that boiling is unsafe, it’s great if it’s all ya got and will most likely make a good majority of water perfectly suitable to consume.
Filter out the big stuff first with some type of cotton, like a bandana, then heat the water to a boil. When the water reaches a rolling boil, let it sit for one minute. Elevations above 6500 feet should leave it boiling for three minutes.
Before filtering any water, look at the actual source of the water. Is it a stream from the top of a top? Are there any mines nearby or other chemical plants or agriculture? Having an idea of the source of water will offer a better idea as to what you could possibly be trying to filter out.
I’m quite passionate about water purification. If The Oregon Trail has taught us anything it’s that nobody wants to die of dysentery. Especially when there are so many ways to prevent it.
So whether you’re going camping, hiking, hunting or just want to be prepared for zombies, these water filters will keep you hydrated.
GRAYL
This is a water bottle filter. Pour the water into the bottle then press down and it filters through, then you drink it from the water bottle. All in a nice pretty package. I love it because there aren’t a whole lot of parts, it’s like a standard water bottle.
It removes viruses (e.g. rotavirus, norovirus, hepatitis A), bacteria (e.g. E. Coli, salmonella, dysentery), and protozoa (e.g. giardia, cryptosporidium, amoebae). It also filters and cleans particulates (e.g. sediment, silt, microplastics), many chemicals (e.g. chlorine, benzene, chloroform), and heavy metals (e.g. lead, arsenic, chromium) as well as improves taste, smell, and clarity.
I absolutely love this filter, except for two things:
- Only holds 24oz – I’d be filling it constantly!
- Filter has a short life of only filtering 65 gallons – I can go through 65 gallons in a weekend of camping between me, my husband, two kids and two dogs.
However, I still like this method for some quick water purification along a hike or for home purposes. I have several water bottle filters and especially like having them around for the kids because I can simply hand them the water bottle and they don’t have to do anything special, they can drink from the bottle right away.
I’ve been using this filter for a while and I’ve always felt confident using it. It purifies down to 0.2 microns. It’s easy to use, easy to clean and has a quick flow rate. I’m able to fill up that clear cup in record time.
This is a great system to filter a lot of water into a large container like a water bladder, gravity system or just a regular bottle.
I’d consider Katadyn the gold standard of water purification, not just because of their general price points, but because of their quality. They even sell a desalination system.
This particular system that I’m linking to is a ‘pocket’ version. It’s a pump system like the Survivor Filter above. With this system you’d pump the water into another container. It filters down to 0.2 microns and has a filter life of about 13,000 gallons. It can filter up to 1 quart a minute! Pretty impressive numbers there.
Katadyn is one of my all-time favorite brands and would recommend them to anyone. This particular one is super compact but they have a lot of other quality systems.
Renovo is pretty innovative in its design. This is a modular system in which you can have various different types of filters all at once, or just one or two filters. They can be interchanged, which is pretty dang neat.
It can remove chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria, eColi, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, cysts, viruses, and more. Removes 99.999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses, and chemicals, heavy metals, and diesel fuel.
Yes, you read that last one correctly. Diesel fuel. Ever thought about wanting to remove fuel from your water? In urban areas, you may want to.
In addition, their hollow fiber module filters down to 0.1 microns.
They also have a water bottle system that I’ve used many times and love it. My kids found it easy to drink from the bottle, as well, which was important to me.
Any of the above filters can be used for home emergency, evacuation, hiking, camping, hunting and so on. They’re all portable and lightweight, but can also be used for home purposes.
This last filter I’m going to mention is probably best to remain at home.
I’m mentioning this system because I believe every home should have a reverse osmosis system. You can’t take it with you while you hike, but it’s great for the home. This reverse osmosis system will essentially strip the water of everything, even nutrients. While stripping it of the bad stuff is great, it will also strip it of the good stuff. Kind of like distillation.
In saying that, you can always add nutrients back into your own body or back into the water through various powders, vitamins, etc.
But this is a great system to have in your home to ensure your water is safe to drink no matter what.
One last piece of advice about any water filter.
When you’re done using a water filter (outside of the reverse osmosis system) and plan to store it away, make sure to disassemble it the best that you can and let it sit out and completely dry. This is especially important for the filter, make sure it’s completely dry before putting away, if it’s not, it could mold and no amount of cleaning will fix it.
Pay close attention to the water filter that you rely on to cleanse the potentially harmful things out of your water. The type of water filter you use could very well make the difference between life and death.
Do extensive research, think about your surroundings and water sources, as well as your household needs.
Do you have a favorite water filter?
