As any outdoor lover understands, having clean water, while on a hike or multiple day trek, is essential for survival. Dehydration can not only lead to a miserable hike, but if bad enough, it can even lead to seizures and temporary paralysis.

If you’re unable to carry enough water with you while you’re out and about then you need to make sure that there are enough clean water sources where you’ll be going. This isn’t always an easy task, and due to our adventurous spirit, there can be almost nothing around at times.

Furthermore, although water is essential, carrying it in bottles can be a huge inconvenience and can seriously weigh down your backpack. This is where LifeStraw comes in handy.

LifeStraw is a lightweight product, intended for you to be able to easily carry it with you on your outdoor expeditions.

How it Works

You use it almost like a normal straw, by placing one end in un-purified water and sucking from the other.

The product itself manages to purify water through a hollow fibre filtration system, which catches dirt and bacteria. Any water that reaches the drinking end of the straw is considered safe, unless of course contaminated chemically.

Pros and Cons

The obvious benefit of having a product like this on your packing list is that it’s super lightweight and small enough to carry. The downside? Because it is essentially just a straw, you’ll have to be on your knees to reach the water. The other major disadvantage is that you can only drink through it, and not store water. So, say the next watering hole is nowhere near, you’ll need to make sure you drink enough to last.

New Products

Fortunately, LifeStraw has released new products which mimic the same technology but are designed to eliminate the need to be on hands and knees drinking. The LifeStraw Go Bottle is essentially a bottle container combined with the original LifeStraw technology.

What does this mean? Now you have somewhere to collect and store the water and drink on the go. Note, the stored water isn’t filtered. You will be storing un-purified water, and as you drink, the straw attachment filters the water.

What the LifeStraw doesn’t eliminate is bad taste, chemical pollution, viruses, heavy metals and salt. The hollow membrane only filters particles, not anything that is dissolved into the water. So, for the average outdoor enthusiast, it is perfect. However, if you’re likely to be near water with water-borne viruses, then think twice.

Check out LifeStraw here and their other products.