A couple of months back, we friends went for camping at Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont. The trip was adventurous indeed but it gives a small yet fruitful lesson to me that always keeps a prepper filter with you when you are going for camping or hiking.
So what happened actually, on one unfortunate night, I lost my way towards my camp. It took me around one and a half day to find my group’s camp. I had no food and no water. The only option I had was to drink puddle water that was surely full of contaminants. But luckily, I had an emergency water filter in my backpack and that was the most precious thing to me at the time.
Still, it’s precious to me.
Indeed it saved my life. So that day I learned a lesson to keep a portable water filter in your bag always.
Prepper water filters are meant to be used by preppers in emergency situations that may occur anytime. Just like me. These water filters give clean and pure water instantly without wasting any time. Usually on camping or hiking, when you don’t get clean water, then it’s time to use an emergency filter. They are so simple and easy to use. You can purify even the lake or stream water.
So without wasting further time, let’s check out the best prepper water filtration tools for survival
Contents
- Best Prepper Water Filtration Tools for Survival
- 1. Sawyer- Mini Water Filtration System
- 2. Personal Water Filter by Lifestraw
- 3. Miniworks Ex Microfilter Water Filter by Msr
- 4. Katadyn Hike Pro Transparent Water Filter
- 5. Portable Filter for Camping and Survival by Etekcity
- 6. Membrane Solutions Portable Water Filtration for Survival
- 7. Ultralight Gravity Water Filter by Miniwell
- How to Get the Most Out of Prepper Water Filtration Tools:
- Conclusion:
Best Prepper Water Filtration Tools for Survival
Choosing the best survival water filtration system could be a bit tricky task, especially when you do not have complete knowledge about the product. Since I have researched a lot before buying a survival water filter for myself, so that’s why I have decided to review some best survival water purifiers. Let’s Review the best survival water filter.
Best Prepper Water Filtration Tools | Rating | Price |
---|---|---|
Sawyer- Mini Water Filtration System | ||
Personal Water Filter by Lifestraw | ||
MSR MiniWorks Water Filter | ||
Katadyn Hiker Pro | ||
Etekcity Water Filter | ||
Membrane Straw Water Filter | ||
Miniwell Gravity Water Filter |
1. Sawyer- Mini Water Filtration System
The first one on my list of best survival water filters is a super amazing and quite reliable water filter.
Sawyer mini water filtration is without a doubt is the best among the entire emergency water filter.
So this means when you are short of filtered and clean water, Sawyer mini water filtration system promises to give you healthy and hygienic water every time you need it.
Besides this, the Sawyer water filtration unit is so small and petit in size that you can easily keep it in your backpack. The best part is, you won’t even feel its weight as it weighs only 2 ounces.
You know what; Sawyer guarantees you pure and clean water. The reason is every sawyer filter is performance tested three times during the manufacturing process. Just to ensure you safe and healthy water.
But you have to keep an eye on the filter lifespan, as you have to replace the inner filter after consuming 100,000 gallons of water from it.
Sawyer mini water filtration system is quite budget savvy as you don’t need to buy special water bottles for using it. You can even use this filter with normal water bottles or you can even stick it directly into your water source.
So if you are in dire need of the best survival water filtration system, then Sawyer mini water filtration system is the perfect choice for you.
- Lightweight and portable
- Made up of high-quality material
- Provides pure and clean water
- Long life and durable filter
- Ideal for backpacking and camping
- No worth mentioning cons yet
2. Personal Water Filter by Lifestraw
If you are in search of a handy, portable, and instant water purification system then LifeStraw is the best brand to quench your thirst.
LifeStraw has recently launched a personal water filter which is so handy and portable that you can carry it along with you whenever you want.
The best part about this is, it is an instant filter. You don’t need to fill water into it. Just place the LifeStraw water filter into any water source and take a sip, you will get cleaned purified water on the other end. It’s just like a straw but straw with membrane microfilters.
These microscopic membranes have microscopic pores of around 0.2 microns in size. This way LifeStraw personal water filters hold the bacteria, protozoa, and dirt particles and you will get clean and contaminated free water.
In short, this simple and portable prepper water filter will give you clean water and helps you get rid of waterborne bacteria and protozoan even on your hiking and camping trips.
- Portable and lightweight
- Rigorously tested membrane filters
- Surpasses EPA filter standards
- One of the best prepper gear supply
- You need to apply too much pressure to suck water out of the straw.
3. Miniworks Ex Microfilter Water Filter by Msr
If you are not a fan of squeeze style water filter, then this one will surely give you goosebumps.
MiniWorks Ex microfilter is a pump style water filtration system that is quite handy and easy to carry.
This pump filter is specially designed keeping in mind the long-lasting hiking and camping trips, so it can withstand all the rugged and rough water conditions.
I am sure, if you have kept MiniWorks microfilter in emergency situations, you will never be out of clean and pure water.
Let’s peep into its features to know more about it.
Interestingly, this ceramic filter can filters up to 2000 liters of water , after which it needs a little maintenance period. These ceramic water filters are totally replaceable, you can replace them with a new one after its lifespan is completed.
MiniWork Ex microfilter filters and provides clean and safe drinking water at the rate of a liter per minute.
It features a filter pore size of about 0.2 microns which is quite helpful in getting rid of bacteria, protozoan, dirt, and different chemicals.
This survival water purification system by MSR is compatible with any wide-mouth water bottle.
It will not be a wrong statement if I said that MiniWorks Ex microfilter is indeed the heavy-duty and best portable survival water filter.
- Heavy-duty and reliable
- Gives water with great flow
- Field-maintainable
- Effective against bacteria protozoa, chemicals, and toxins.
- You need to clean the filter every now and then
4. Katadyn Hike Pro Transparent Water Filter
Katadyn is a well known and popular name when it comes to the higher quality and long-lasting performance of water filters. It provides safety and convenience to the user by providing clean and pure water. Katadyn has been making tremendous water filters for preppers, one of them is the hike pro best emergency water filter.
In addition to this, the activated carbon in the core of the filter cartridge improves the quality and taste of water.
Besides doing this it reduces the harmful chemicals from the water and makes it eligible to drink.
You always look to keep lightweight stuff in your backpack when leaving for camping or hiking.
Furthermore, it is so efficient in filtering water that it pumps 1 liter per minute.
It features quick-connect fittings that attach directly to 1/4inch of hydration pack connection. This way you will remain hydrated even during emergency conditions.
- Effective against micro-organism
- Improves the taste of water
- Lightweight and portable water filter
- Transparent design
- The hose is a bit flimsy.
5. Portable Filter for Camping and Survival by Etekcity
Etekcity is an international brand that has been working day and night to manufactures quality water filters and outdoor equipment.
Etekcity camping portable filter is a straw type water filter that is one of the ideal filter straws to be used in emergency survival conditions.
I assure you that If you have an Etekcity portable filter straw in your pocket, you will never be deprived of fresh and clean water.
The filter straw is equipped with three filtration levels. This first one is a pre-filter which is situated at the base of the filter straw. This part will come in contact with water and therefore it protects the large contaminants from entering into the filter straw.
Water enters through the pre-filter then moves towards the activated carbon filter. In the last water will pass through the 0.01µm hollow fiber UF inline membrane. This membrane will filter out 99.99999% of bacteria and other micro-organisms. This is the last stage of filtration. The water here is clean and safe to drink.
This is how Etekcity will provide you with clean drinking water even in your tough and hard times.
The filter is efficient enough to 1500L of safe drinking water and the water yield can be 400ml/min.
Etekcity survival water purification system is really light in weight that can be carried easily in your survival kit or your backpack. It weighs only 2.08 ounces.
It would not be wrong if I say that the Etekcity portable water filter is one of the best survival water filtration systems.
- Lightweight and portable
- Extremely easy to use
- Gives you neat and clean water even on the go
- Reliable and high-quality material
- Filtration life span is not appreciable
6. Membrane Solutions Portable Water Filtration for Survival
Membrane solutions is a popular company that is committed to provide first-class membrane materials and membrane products. That’s the reason we have chosen this membrane solutions water filter straw on our list.
Let me tell you one thing when we tested membrane solution portable water filter, we were surprised to see the level of clean water it provide. The water was as clear as crystal with no harmful chemicals in it.
All thanks to its Quadruple Filtration technology, which comprises of 4 stages.
Stage 1 is called screen pre-filter, it provides the first defense against large sediments. Whereas, stage 2 is called PP nonwoven, which filters out the small impurities? On the other hand, the third stage is the antibacterial stage which is equipped with activated carbon which adsorbs and removes odor and organic matters. Stage three is followed by the last stage of ultrafiltration, which removes 99.9999% of bacteria and other microorganisms. The ultrafiltration stage is equipped with a hollow fiber membrane that has a pore size of 0.1micron.
I think you can imagine how pure and clean the water would be from the membrane solution portable water filter.
Membrane solutions emergency water filter is quite compact and petit. It is only 6.7” long and 1.1” in diameter. It can be easily fit into any bottle cup or glass.
As far as its weight is concerned, it weighs only 6 ounces. This means you can keep this straw filter in your backpack as well.
Furthermore, it is made up of safe and heavy-duty ABS material. Also, it meets EPA drinking water standards.
In a nutshell, if you need long-lasting fresh and filtered water even in survival conditions, then membrane solution is the right choice for you.
- Easy to clean and store
- Long-lasting filtered and freshwater
- Highly efficient
- Mind-blowing filtration technology
- The body is smooth and slippery. So you need to hold it firmly when drinking water from stream. Otherwise, It may slip.
7. Ultralight Gravity Water Filter by Miniwell
The last one on my list of best water filters for emergency preparedness is a gravity water filter from the house of MiniWell.
Let me make it clear to you, it’s not a personal water filter. In fact, it satisfies the demands of a group of people.
It is so efficient and simple to use. I still can’t figure out why this gear hasn’t got any attention as it should be.
Well, let’s see what this is and how it works.
It works by the action of gravity.
You will receive a small pocket size filter with some essential accessories, which include,
Unfiltered water reservoir, which will hold the contaminated water
Clean water collapsible bottle, which will store the clean and purified water
Tree strap, which will be used in fastening the water reservoir bottle to any suitable place.
Hose and hose clip, for transferring the unfiltered water towards the filter.
Its working is quite simple, all you have to do is just fill the unfiltered water reservoir with some contaminated water and hang it on the tree. Connect the filter and hose to clean water bottle. And that’s it, ultra-light gravity filter is ready to be operated under the action of gravity.
The filter is efficient enough to produce 2000L of fresh and clean water. The pore size is 0.1 micron which means you will get water that is free from bacteria, dust, and protozoa.
The clean water reservoir is capacious enough to serve the whole group of people. It has got 3 liters of capacity. The reservoirs are made up of high quality of food-grade material with convenient and comfortable handling.
MiniWell gravity water filter is the best choice for hiking, camping, canoeing, fishing, hunting, traveling, and survival supplies.
- Gravity driven water filter
- Can be backflushed easily with no effort
- Provides clean water whole group
- High lifespan of the filter
- Can’t withstand heavy sediments in the water.
How to Get the Most Out of Prepper Water Filtration Tools:
Sometimes in the worst scenario, puddle water may be the only drinking option. Your emergency water filter will efficiently filter out the harmful elements from this dirty water. But there are several ways that may increase the filtering efficiency of your survival water filter. This way you will have extra clean and pure drinking water. In order to deal with such a situation there are several ways to follow:
Let the contaminated water settle out naturally
So before treating the dirty water in a portable water purifier, it is recommended to let the water settle out naturally. For this purpose a wide mouth water bottle is suitable. Pour water into the bottle and wait for the sedimentation process to occur. It will take time like 30 minutes. After that, you will have clean water at the top with all the dirt particles settled at the bottom.
Now you can further treat this water in an emergency water filter.
Filter the water using cheesecloth:
If you do not have any water bottle with you then you can filter the contaminated water using a cheesecloth or even a white thin cloth may work.
With this process, you can quickly eliminate a lot of dust and debris. Again, this process will require some time. The dirtier the water, the longer it will take to filter.
After filtering through cheesecloth, now you can filter this water in your survival filter. By doing so, you are increasing the life of your portable water filter.
Don’t let your filter freeze
If you are in a survival situation where you are forced to bear the cold temperature then make sure to empty your filter properly after each use. As if you let your filter freeze, then it will be entirely ruined regardless of the fact how new the filter is. You can keep the filter close to your body in order to protect it from freezing.
Also Read:
- Best whole house water filter and softener combo reviews
- Best Countertop Water Filters
- Water Distillers Reviews
Conclusion:
We have reviewed all types of emergency water filters be it a pump filter or a straw type filter. We have covered almost every type. These reviews have been presented on a fair and neutral basis without any biasness. After reading this brief article you will have choice to select the best water filter for your family with clean water if SHTF.
Survival water filters are the must-have item in your backpack if you are leaving for any outdoor trip. This will save you whenever you are out of clean water.