Greetings all, New to posting here. I have been lurking for several years though.

I ran across something on the web called "Lifestraw". Has any one here ever used one before? Just curious what some of you think. The reason I am asking, I am thinking about adding a few to the "supplies".

No affiliation with the company....

http://eartheasy.com/lifestraw

Welcome,nice to see you posting says this Newbie here.

Welcome, Javelin315! I bought two of the LIfestraws but I've yet to test or use them. This ended up being "The Summer That Never Was" for me- I had to go to school full time & work full time for the last 10 months, right straight thru the summer. Everything I've read had been positive but we shall see.

Welcome aboard!

I bought two of those LifeStraws a few months back. They are stil in their packaging in my emergency supplies. I don't feel the need to test them - others (in official agencies) have done that. As cheap as they are, I cannot think of any reason NOT to have a few available in your emergency gear.

I've heard some good things. I'd like to put one in my edc/bob in the future.
But I'd like to hear of any review or first hand experiences

The two biggest issues I have with the Lifestraw is that:

1. It doesn't work on viruses.

2. It isn't designed for use with anything other than a person's mouth. As in, you can't fill a container or vessel with clean water for uses other than drinking.

With that being the case, I wouldn't rely on it as my only source of water purification.

Thanks for responding...

It looks like the main advantage is price. For it's size and weight I'd prefer a SteriPen which kills everything (this assumes metals in the water is not your main concern!).

http://adventurereports.blogspot.com/2011/06/steripen.html

...as long as your battery doesn't wear out. For BOB use, I would not want something that is dependant on electricity. LifeStraw for the quick drinks on the move, iodine, boiling, etc. for if you're at a fixed location or worried about viruses. Viruses are not a large concern in the US - not to be ignored, but not to be overly worried about either. Many backpacking water filters do not deal with viruses either (because for the most part, they just don't need to).