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Hi friends
Due to many requests that we got in the last few weeks from our blog readers, that asked us to review not only survival guides but also some popular survival gear, we decided to dedicate today’s post to review the popular Lifestraw Personal Portable Water Filter by Survival Frog.
On this review, we will focus on the main things that this portable water filter offers, explain in simple language how it works, and then talk in detail about its pros and cons.
Let’s start with some basic information…
What Exactly Is The Lifestraw Personal Portable Water Filter?
Created by Survival Frog, a Colorado-based online seller of essential survival gears from several manufacturers, the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter is a pocket-sized survival device that you can use to filter contaminated water from questionable sources, so you can drink clean water in a matter of seconds. The guys at Survival Frog explain that it is a very useful water filtration device if you frequently travel, hike, camp, or looking for a backup for emergency situations.
In a nutshell, here’s how the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter works:
After five quick sucks, water goes through the hollow fibers, which trap any impurities, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. This patented hollow fiber technology is able to filter and eliminate almost 100% of these microorganisms and fine particles of up to 0.2 microns in size. This effectively reduces the cloudiness of the water.
More specifically, listed below are the main features of the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter:
- Can filter 264 gallons (1,000 liters) maximum of contaminated water without using cleaning chemicals, like iodine.
- Made from heavy-duty, BPA-free ABS plastic.
- Weighs 2 oz (57gms) and measures 1-inch by 1-inch by 9-inch.
- Eliminates up to 99.9% of water-borne bacteria, such as Cholera and Escherichia coli (E. coli), and 99.9% of parasites, such as Crypto and Giardia.
- Can filter particles that have a size of up to 0.2 microns.
- Comes with its own protective sealed bag and a limited 1-year warranty.
- Offers chemical- and battery-free operation.
It is also important to mention that if you purchase the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter, you’ll also receive a free gift from Survival Frog: the Paracord Survival Kit with carabiner. This survival kit has a paracord wrapped around it, that measures 9 feet long of 550-pound strength, and it also contains 10 must-have survival items. As expected, you can purchase the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter by piece or in bulk…
Well, these are the most important details we believe you should know about the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter. For more info about its different features, as well as current special discounts for bulk orders, you can simply click here to visit the LifeStraw official site.
Now, let’s continue and take a look at the different pros and cons…
The Pros And Cons Of The LifeStraw Portable Water Filter
The Pros
Good Tasting Water
From our research, it seems that most consumers agree that LifeStraw doesn’t leave any plastic or chemical-like after-taste. With this, you’ll just get clean and good-tasting water with every sip.
Saves You Money
How much do you spend for purchasing a bulk of 1-gallon bottled water from your local supermarket? It might not seem much if you look at the per gallon value, but if you add everything, you’re looking at a thousand or more dollars. You can’t also rely on tap water because it’s not as pure as you would like it to be.
On the other hand, by getting the LifeStraw Personal Portable Water Filter, which only costs a one-time payment of around $20, you don’t have to worry about maintenance or replacing parts because there are simply no moving parts to replace regularly.
No Shelf Life
The shelf life of LifeStraw is not five years. The manufacturer has cleared up that misconception. There’s actually no shelf life because this filtering device lacks moving parts to break and doesn’t use any chemicals. This means you can stockpile as many as you want for emergency situations since there’s no expiration date to worry about.
With that said, to prolong your LifeStraw’s shelf life, never forget to flush it after every use by blowing air into the straw or placing it under the faucet with flowing water to remove any contaminants.
Won’t Weigh You Down
We believe that the LifeStraw Personal Portable Water Filter is any survivalist or camper’s perfect companion. It’s convenient to bring along anywhere because of its compact and lightweight features. Thus, it doesn’t contribute to the weight of your baggage, which saves you from airline baggage fees.
The Perfect Device During Disasters
We also believe that it can be a good idea to have many of these filter devices in case disaster strikes your area. This is a great back-up water filter when the water from your faucet or other questionable water sources tastes funny. From our research, customers say they feel safer having it and didn’t experience being sick after sipping water filtered through this device.
Easy To Use
Generally, the LifeStraw Water Filter is easy to use, as long as you read the user manual. Here’s how to use it:
- Submerge it in the water, open the top portion, and then holds it in an upright position for sixty seconds to allow the water to be seeped by the filter membrane.
- Next, do five quick sucks to initiate the flow of water.
- After using it, puff air into the straw to purge the remaining water and clear the filter of any dirt that’s stuck. When you get home, clean it again by placing it under running water, and then leave it to dry with the cap removed.
Comes With A Warranty And Refund Guarantee
The LifeStraw Portable Water Filter is covered by a one-year limited warranty and ninety day refund guarantee. To ask for a full refund, simply email Survival Frog.
It is important to mention that so far, from what we know, this company hasn’t received any complaints regarding their warranty or refund policy…
The Cons
Shipping Fee Outside Of The US
Survival Frog offers free shipping on orders costing $50 or more in the US only. However, if you’re outside the US, you might want to consider buying in bulk, so you make the most out of your money.
Frequent Purging
If you’re “interior hiking,” frequent purging is going to be the problem you’re going to face. You can solve this by constantly carrying bottled water for purging your LifeStraw.
Familiarize Yourself With The Instructions
Yes, it’s easy to use the LifeStraw Personal Portable Water Filter, but you still need to make sure you take a few minutes to read the manual, so you know exactly the right way of using your LifeStraw. It may sound pretty basic, but some people actually skip this part and end up confused on what they did wrong…
The Bottom Line
Overall, the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter is not only incredibly useful, but it could also save lives. That’s what most people say anyway – that Lifestraw saved them from severe dehydration or risking getting sick (severe diarrhea) because they ran out of fresh water supply and the nearest safe water source was miles away.
Just think about this. You’re in the Amazon jungle then you find yourself thirsty. As if the universe is playing games on you, you run out of safe drinking water.
What would you do?
Will you let yourself die of dehydration?
Will you waste your time boiling water?
If we were in that situation, we will definitely use the Lifestraw water filter instead.
So far, from our research, people have nothing but positive reviews about this survival item. They also say it’s convenient to bring along everywhere they go because it’s lightweight, compact, easy to use and clean, and can stand any abuse.
It’s really hard to find faults in this product. The biggest downside we see is the frequent purging. Some consumers also made complaints against Survival Frog, but the company quickly resolved these. You can learn more about these complaints here. Because of their commitment to resolve any consumer complaints, the Survival Frog team have earned an A+ BBB rating.
To sum it up: we absolutely believe that the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter is worth the inexpensive price. It is definitely an indispensible device for campers, hikers, and survivalists, and it’s also a great gift to people who live in a country with unsafe drinking water.
Moreover, with the one-year limited warranty and the 90 days refund guarantee, we personally believe that there is no risk here for you…
What do you think about the LifeStraw Portable Water Filter? We’d love to hear your thoughts about it! We sincerely hope this review has been informative and enjoyable to read…
All the best 🙂
Jason and Erin
