On sale for $49.95 with free shipping as of 2/14/2014

I'm sure I've mentioned this product here before, but it's on sale again, cheaper than I've seen it on sale before. I've had two of the individual sized LifeStraws for a couple of years now, but this price prompted me to buy the larger version too.

LifeStraw Family (large volume water purification - bacteria, protozoa, virus):

http://eartheasy.com/gifts/camping-and-o..._eid=dc9fed8cc9

thx for the tip. bought one, along with the individual lifestraw.

Not a life straw, but I bought a 30 gallon Frontier Filter for a belt PSK. Someone told one of the survival guys I follow that it's very ineffective and that I should use the Aqua Mira tabs in conjunction with it. This seems to have been a waste of money if I have to use tabs. And there's no indicator for when the filter has reached the 30 gallon mark. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

Y'all should really check out the Sawyer filter system.

http://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/

I've been buying these for $20 a piece. They are lightweight and take up as little space as the lifestraw, but look at how much water they will process, and their filter level is superior to the lifestraw.

For the money, this is a much better deal.

You can use it just like the lifestraw, or you can screw it onto the collapsible bag, or even onto a soda bottle.

These units are the bomb.

Watch their video Here:

http://sawyer.com/videos/sawyer-mini-water-filter/

This may be the best item I've ever recommended for survival.

That Sawyer filter looks interesting. Comparing it's specs to the LifeStraw Family specs, things don't make sense to me.

For one, how can a 0.1 micron filter (the Sawyer) claim to filter MORE bacteria and protozoa than a 0.02 micron filter (the LifeStraw Family)? It's pore size is 5 times larger. I could maybe understand that claim if the 0.1 micron filter was much larger, thus having a greater total filter area that water has to pass through, although even then the claim would be suspect. But the Sawyer is just the opposite - it's much smaller than the LifeStraw Family. Maybe it takes so long for the water to get through the filter that the pathogens die of old age and are thus rendered harmless.

My hunch is either the LifeStraw or the Sawyer is good, not great, but fine for emergency use. But both of their claims have to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially the amount of water they will filter. At its claimed 100,000 gallons, that little 4 inch Sawyer could supply an entire town for a multi-month emergency.

For backpacking use, or keep-in-the-car survival kit use, I'd go for the Sawyer, hands down, due to it's size and incredibly cheap price. For home use or bug-out (with a vehicle) use, I think the LifeStraw Family would get my vote. I would like to see some independant reviews of these filters from a qualified lab. I did a little searching on Google for this, but only found non-formal testing done by bloggers and outdoor writers, not scientists with the proper training and equipment.

the Sawyer specifications for amount of water filtered requires periodic back flushing with clean water, with the syringe supplied...the specs on the LifeStraw off an Amazon ad claim .2 micron not .02 micron, but possibly a typo...pic of a Sawyer Mini with syringe

The more I look at that Sawyer, the more it intrigues me. How much water can you get through it before you have to backflush?

The LifeStraw Personal is a 0.2 micron filter, and claims to filter 264 gallons of water. The Sawyer is a 0.1 micron filter and claims to filter 100,000 gallons. That's 400x what the Personal claims, and the Sawyer has a smaller pore size. That claim is a little hard to believe, but maybe true. I guess if you backwash if many many many times...

The Sawyer is much smaller than the Personal. The Personal and the Sawyer do not do viruses. They cost the same.

The LifeStraw Family (the one I was talking about in the initial post in this thread) is a 0.02 micron filter and claims to filter 18,000 liters of water. The Family does do viruses.

The Personal would be a competitor for the Sawyer, the Family is really a different class of filter.

How can they claim? Because they have lab reports just like the other guys to make claims?

I assume it has to do with the micron rating.













So , always compare the percentages/log reductions, because that is what the lab tests proved.
Absolute micron is better than other microns, this explains the difference in lab tests.
Lifestraw does not advertise absolute micron (which means not-absolute), and the test results reflect this (they report different percentages)

See also Re: Emergency water (gallons, EPA LT2 ESWTR )


I assume the difference in gallons is the quality of the backflushing device. LifeStraw seems to use squeeze bulb, where as Sawyer provides a syringe; A syringe should produce significantly more pressure.

Thinking about it, this could explain the difference in the bacterial counts -- if one filter gets backflushed cleaner than the other -- the other filter will be scummier

For USA/Europe i would definitely go with sawyermini -- $25 at REI brick and mortar store

If worried about viruses, say you're filtering hospital sewage, then household bleach after filtering to kill the viruses -- only 13 minutes needed to inactivate viruses see below

Interesting thread, but it just makes me want to boil (the water, that is).....