What is a Survival Water Filter Straw and Should You Consider Buying One?
Updated February 2021 – When it comes to keeping up with the latest technology and making sure your survival kit is complete, you simply can’t ignore the many advantages of the survival water filter straw. This relatively new type of personal and highly portable water filter allows you to filter water as you drink, using it like you would a simple straw.
Some survival straws are designed to filter more than 10000 liters of water during their lifetime, and that volume of filtration can be increased further depending on how dirty the water is.
What is a Survival Water Filter Straw Used for?
Whether you’re on a camping trip or challenging the elements hundreds of miles away from civilization, water filter straws can help provide clean, drinkable water with ease, one of the main reasons why they are an absolute must for stashing away in your bug out bag.
You can use survival straws to filter river and lake water, and they will remove all unwanted bacteria and contaminants. They are extremely portable and very easy to use, and you won’t have a problem with poor taste even when filtering dirty water, although some people have more sensitive taste buds than others.
Construction and Technical Details
Most commonly, these devices are made using plastic tubes that can vary from 4 to 12 inches in length. Water is drawn through the straw by suction, in much the same way you would when using a regular straw. The sucked up water will pass through hollow fibers that are able to filter out any dirt and microscopic particles that might be harmful, or even life-threatening.
The process, as mentioned, is powered by suction, and there are no moving parts. Therefore there is never any need to remove or replace any internal filters. Once a survival straw has reached the end of its usable life it can be simply replaced as they are extremely affordable.
Survival Straw – Pros and Cons
Survival straws are designed primarily for emergencies, although many are now sold regularly for commercial purposes. NGOs provide them for free as lifesaving aid in developing countries.
They are an excellent addition to your bug out bag or survival kit, and should always be carried when you’re camping, hiking, biking, or mountaineering.
There is so much benefit in having one of these highly practical survival products. Most experts will agree that the following advantages should be noted by anyone who is thinking of purchasing a survival water filter straw:
- Survival water filter straws are portable, good quality water filters that you can take anywhere.
- They are affordable and available from several well-known brands.
- Survival straws can easily be used for more than 1-2 years without having to buy a replacement, often longer.
- They are also highly effective, being capable of filtering particles down to 0.2 µm across.
- The newest models can remove more than 98% of waterborne protozoan particles.
Of course, there are also a few drawbacks you have to take into account:
- Survival water filters won’t work on highly toxic, contaminated water.
- Since the filters are small in size, the amount of water they can purify at short notice is limited.
Who Makes the Best Survival Straws?
When you weigh up all the pros and cons of all straw type water filters currently available there is really only one winner, the Sawyer Mini. The newest models are capable of removing a larger percentage of waterborne toxins and unwanted particles than any other product available on the market.
After the Sawyer Mini, the Lifestraw is a worthy second and is also the original survival water filter straw.
Some other notable water filters to consider include products such as the Survivor Filter Pro, the Katadyn Pocket Water Filter, and the Etekcity 1500L Water Personal Filter.
Some retailers and experts even claim that the Survivor Filter Pro might be a superior filter even when compared to the LifeStraw and the Sawyer Mini, who knows for sure? We know and trust the two we recommend, the Sawyer Mini and the Lifestraw, you won’t go far wrong with either of those two.
