LifeStraw Family 1.0 Portable Gravity Powered Water Purifier for Emergency Preparedness and Camping

We took this water filter with us to Zimbabwe, six months ago. Although we were able to buy bottled water, we had this as a back-up. We filtered water every day, from a nearby well, to use for washing dishes (I still boiled the water first, but that was probably over-zealousness on my part!), for washing clothes by hand and other non-drinking uses. We were truly pleased with this product and have recommended it to many people. We appreciated that it is very lightweight and portable, and it was so easy to use. I did learn that it's important to have the unit hung high enough (per the clear directions), so the hose is straight and taking full advantage of gravity. The production is slow, but if everyone in your party adds water to the chamber whenever they think of it, you'll be fine for everyday uses. I did drink the filtered water a few times and did not have any ill effects. The water we were filtering was coming from a residential (city) well, and you could see dirt in it, sometimes. If you are thinking of taking a gift to a local resident living in a situation where water is scarce and not treated, this could be a life-changer. Highly recommended product!

Produces microbe-free water that is also free of micro-plastic particles found in all brands of bottled water. Time will tell how harmful those particles are. I filter my algae-laden well water thru a 1 micron sediment filter and two 10" 1 micron charcoal filters before it's poured into Lifestraw bucket. Collect in glass and stainless steel containers. Live alone, so slowness is not a problem & 0.02micron pore size provides the safest water you can produce. Amazon price much lower than factory-direct.

I haven't opened or used this yet but I've purchased other Lifestraw products in the past. The only negative I know of and read from other reviewers is that once you open the bag there is no storage case for the unit and it's pieces so, before I open it I'm going to find a plastic tool case or something to use to store it in. The reason I'm writing this review now is to get the word out about Lifestraw. This is the second best unit I know of. It filters 4,755 gallons of water down to 0.02 microns which is enough to filter out viruses and bacteria etc. The absolute best filter I found (the Survivor Filter PRO) was twice as good bc it went down to 0.01 microns and did like 25,000 gallons or something and they both cost about the same. The reason I chose Lifestraw is because it's gravity fed and you can hook up a large water bladder or tank etc to it to feed it... The 0.02 micron level is way good, much better in fact than most water filters sold (which are generally rated at 0.20 microns) and so safe to use and have sold like 5 million units worldwide. The Survivor Filter PRO's .01 micron filter has to be hand pumped 50 times to get a 500ml (about a pint) little water bottle full of water and it uses multiple filters that need replacing etc. There is no way I could see the tiny looking hand pump lasting long enough to pump 100,000 liters. That comes out to 379 pumps for one gallon of water. 100,000L's = 10,000,000 pumps. Wow! The pump in the picture looks plastic but I seriously doubt that if it was metal and with ball or roller bearings, that it will last that many pumps, lol. But seriously, I don't see myself pumping this thing 50 times every hour to get some safe water. I'd rather just dump some water in the feed hopper (my words for it) and come back in an hour and get 2.4 to 3.2 gallons of purified water. That's an average of 2.8 gallons of water in an hour with no work, no pumping.

Cheap Insurance. You have insurance on your car and you hope you don't have to use it, right? Now think about all of the things you pay insurance on hoping you never have to use it. You are reading this review because you are curious, preparing, going camping or you just need fresh water. Whatever the reason, get it. It comes in a sealed plastic bag and for me, it will stay there until I need it. I own several LifeStraw 'straws' and have used them with no problems. I watched what is going on in Flint and wonder why these folks have not stepped in. I see the problem with rivers flooding and polluting water and where are these folks. They have a good product. By the way I am "no tree hugger" I am an avid target shooter and camper, hunter, fisher and just enjoy the outdoors. If you combine this with the Berkey sport bottle (if you are concerned with heavy metals) you have got a great chance of having good water until the filter needs replacing. That is part of my kit. But anyway get you some.

We took the LifeStraw family water purifier with us on a camping trip recently. It worked great, but it is very slow. It took a little bit to get it to actually start processing the water, but once it did start flowing it came out at a pretty steady trickle. The water was very good and very clean. we intentionally got muddy river water to run through it and it came out crystal clear with no particles that could be seen or tasted. if you were looking for something to be able to hang up and process water slowly then this is a good option for you but not a good option if you needed water in a pinch. All in all I would purchase again but would also have the additional Life Straws an emergency backup.

I ordered this Water Filter System purely to store away for an Emergency. The Company delivered promptly, and overall, I am very pleased with this purchase. I can not comment at this stage as to whether or not if it works as it should, as mentioned above, I have bought this purely to store away, and use in the event of an emergency situation only to which I hope, I will never need to use. I also purchased the Family Pack of X5 Lifestraw. It was a tough choice between these and the Sawyer Mini Water Filters. For some reason, I was more drawn to these, as I believe these Water Filter Systems are used in third world countries, and have been tried and tested well. If they help people in these countries, I am confident that they will work well in an emergency situation in the UK. I personally believe, these are essential to any Survival Kit, or just handy to have, in case of an Emergency. Without clean water, your chances of survival are pretty slim, aren't they ? Best of luck.

This thing is just amazing. I spent days researching different brands and styles and this is the only portable filter I could find that did all bacteria, protozoa AND VIRUSES. Buying one that doesn't do all 3 doesn't make sense to me because you'd still be worried that the water isn't safe. It's a little on the expensive side but when you consider it does 18000 liters of water, it seems justified. I got it mainly for camping and for my earthquake kit. Only thing I would like to see is a storage container to keep it in. The bag works well enough until you open it and then it just seems like there is no way to reseal it. Even if they sold an optional plastic box for $15 I would buy it in a heartbeat. Overall, I think this is the best portable water filter available as long as you can handle its size. Pros: 1.Large reservoir and great filter capacity for long term use with multiple people. 2. Gravity feed. No pumping, no seals to wear our or mechanical devices to break. Gravity feed is the way to go if you can handle a larger unit like this. 3.Filters viruses as well as the usual bacteria and protozoa that most filters are limited to. 4. Durable and easy to use. No need to keep an instruction manual. Cons: 1. The bag it comes in is kind of useless as a storage container after you open it. A storage box would have made this thing perfect. Great quality and performance overall.

Confío en que hace bien lo que promete, pero las instrucciones que trae son muy escasas, por ejemplo ¿cada cuando se aprieta el globo rojo?, etc. De hecho no lo he empezado a usar por qué no se cómo se usa al %100

C est le troisième kit de filtration que j ai commandé , pour des sites différents ! Je n achete plus de bouteilles en plastique donc je filtre l eau systématiquement quelque soit le lieu ( bateau , cabanon et maison ) c est parfait pour moi !

Hope I never need it.