Does anybody have any input on this Survival Water Purifier?

http://www.optactical.com/suwapu.html

http://www.uscav.com/Productinfo.aspx?productID=6349&TabID=548


I already have an MSR miniworks, which is excellent, but I'm looking at this for my Survival vest. I EDC the miniworks in my bag but its to big and heavy for the vest (which I will post pics of when its finished) The vest is in the bag (can't wear it to or in work) and always with me but the bag is discarded if it has to be. My thoughts are with the SWP the miniworks can go in the big go/camping pack that lives at home



Any input or alternatives?

Thanks

Blitz

I paid $12 bucks for my filter straw. This looks like the same thing but with a pump and a way higher price tag.

If you're looking for something smaller my advice would be to stick with Micropur tablets or count on boiling as a last resort. Any very small water filter is, by its very nature, going to plug up too fast OR won't be as good a filter as you need.

Dave,

I was looking at those as well, how well does it work?

Thanks

Blitz

Ken,

I carry the tabs, I use the chlorine dioxide type and a means of boiling as well. I guess when it comes down to water I like to be redundant. Supposedly the filter is good for 26 gallons??? Maybe I don't know.

Thanks for your input.

Blitz

It's the Pioneer filter by Pristine and I've never actually used it for real...only saved it for emergencies (I carry it in my EDC bag since it's barely bigger than a sharpie)

I've tested it out though and I can drain a glass of tap water fairly quickly...you don't have to suck any harder than you would for a light milkshake.

The only potential problem is that it's only good to 3 microns so it's not great against viruses or some bacteria...which is why I also have Aquatabs in the same bag.

What do you guys think of these?

http://www.bestglide.com/water_purifier_straw_info.html

or this one?

http://www.lifestraw.com/en/low/low.asp

I've heard good things about both but apparently the Iodine based straws like the one from BestGlide also give water that funky Iodine taste.

I'd love to get my hands on a Lifestraw just to test it out. 700L or 1 year? That's pretty impressive. The BCB one is only good for 50 but that's not that bad for $13 in an emergency.

I use Pristine Liquid when a filter is to big. A small bottle will do about 120L of water and I have used all over Canada and talked to a number of people who used in the Third World. Its only drawback is that it takes 5 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to purify the water.

I've heard good things about the Pristine treatment too...it's supposed to be really good at removing chemical contaminants in addition to the critters that can make us sick.

Does anybody know how well the chemicals stand up to the cold? I'm assuming they do well if Bruce uses them but then again boiling is the typical purification of choice in winter.

I have a Katadyn Hiker filter and am happy with it. But if I were going to use one of those straw filters, I would take a piece of coffee filter and a rubber band and put it over the pickup end of the filter to act as a pre-filter to keep big debris out of it and have it work longer before it clogs up.

From the LifeStraw FAQs:

Q: Does LifeStraw® personal remove parasites like cryptosporidium and giardia?

A: No, the present version does not filter any parasites.

I've got a couple of the Frontier Filter Straws in various kits as back-up. They claim down to 2 microns, and purportedly they grab crypto and giardia. I've not personally tested.

Edit: Found that McNett/Aquamira now has a slightly larger "big brother" to the Frontier Straw — the Aquamira Frontier Pro. Attaches to tubes, bottles, etc. and has pre-filter. 1-1/4 in. x 5-1/2 in. Inexpensive.

I found this about the Pre Mac SWP.

http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/WPD/WPDShare/177/AddInfo_PreMac_SWP.pdf

Apparently, according to this report, it is not effective for Giardia or Chryptosporidium.

Here is a good source of info for filters/purifiers, I think it may have been posted here before.

http://usachppm.apgea.army.mil/WPD/CompareDevices.aspx

I guess for now I'll stick with my MSR and Chlorine Dioxide tabs.

Thanks for the input all.

Blitz