Over the past couple of years I’ve bought different types of survival gear, but this is actually the first time I’m doing a review for such an item. I decided to write this review after spending two weeks in the mountains and my Lifestraw would not produce anymore clean filtered water.
My first encounter with Lifestraw happened two years ago when I received a Lifewstraw filter as a present from my prepper friends. They knew I frequently hike and camp in the backcountry and they thought it would make a fine gift.
I must admit that at first I was skeptical about the product as it looks pretty cheap at a first glance. It feels like you are holding a big plastic, blue pen. But after all, the design is less important when survival is at stake. 
Lifestraw is a portable water filter that can purify water from various sources. Using this filter, you can drink water from doubtful sources such as sewers, potholes, ponds, running waters and pretty much any source you can think of. It will allow you to filter as much as 264 gallons of water.
This water filter is ideal for a bug out bag or get home bag since it weighs just 2.7 ounces, making it one of the lightest water filters you can bring with you. Lifestraw is 9 inches long by 1 inch in diameter and it comes with a sturdy string so that you can attach it to your belt, to your backpack or you can just wear it around your neck if you prefer so. And the best part is that this water filter has a safety net that not many people are aware of. Once it can’t filter water anymore, it just stops letting you suck water through it.
When it comes to its key features, it is important to mention that Lifestraw is capable of removing 99.99999% of the waterborne bacteria (>LOG 7 reduction), and 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites (>LOG 3 reduction) down to 0.2 microns in size. It will remove Giardia, E. Coli and Cryptosporidium.
It important to mention that the Lifestraw personal water filter will not remove viruses or dissolved chemicals. Obviously, it will not desalinate water as well.
Here are a few tips, based on my experience after using this water filter:
- Once you remove the water filter from the package, you will need to take a few sucks to get the water through it. This is mandatory and you shouldn’t panic, your Lifestraw is not faulty. After you get it going, it will be easier to suck water through it.
- Depending on the water source (muddy waters) you are using, the straw may stop sucking up water. You will need to blow into it (using the mouth piece) in order to clear the filter. After a few blows, you will be able to suck water again.
- After each use, make sure you blow a breath of air into the filter to clear out the water remaining in the filter. You can also shake it, just to be sure. This is a mandatory step during the cold season since the water will freeze, expand and damage the filter.
- After each camping trip, I rinse my filter under the tap and let it dry with the caps off. Just to make sure it is clean for my next adventure.
- Rather than leaning down and getting dirty and wet, fill a container with water from the available water source and use the filter to drink from the container. You can fill a water bottle (cause you will most certainly get thirsty once you walk away from the river) to carry water with you and use the Lifestraw when needed.
- It is a good survival gear to carry with you, regardless where you are traveling. I’ve brought mine with me during my business travels and I’ve used it even for drinking bottled water (in India).
The value of the Lifestraw personal water filter is hard to beat at $17 if you take into account that most pumps cost around $100. It is not a bad buy, and you can get it even cheaper if you take advantage of the sales periods.
I’ve bought many filters since I’ve got my first one and I currently keep them just for bartering purposes, especially for when SHTF. I won’t stress again how important it is to have drinkable water during an emergency situation since this should be a nobrainer.
Other Self-sufficiency and Preparedness solutions you may like:
US Water Revolution ( A DIY Project to Generate Clean Water Anywhere)
The LOST WAYS (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Bullet Proof Home (Learn how to Safeguard your Home)
Blackout USA (Video about EMP survival and preparedness guide)
Good review and full of common sense. I’ve read a number of articles that promote higher capacity and more expensive filters of various types versus the Lifestraw. If you (and a group) are on the move you need a device that is small, light-weight and absolutely fool-proof, I can’t think of anything more well suited. You pack is going to be full of food and essential survival gear, and you won’t have the space to carry bulky water filter contraptions. And, as you said, you won’t be hanging around the river/pond/creek very long because your objective is still miles away. If you can’t make it on 264 gallons of water, you weren’t going to make it, anyway.
My GHB has a LifeStraw and a Katadyn hand-pump filter, but you just made me want to buy a few LifeStraws as backups for me and mine. Too handy and cheap not to have plenty of them.
You missed one major point: how long does it store for?
Hello JR,
Thank you for your question.
I didn’t wrote about the shelf life because the Lifstraw can last indefinitely as it doesn’t uses chemicals or moving parts to filter the water. It uses mechanical filters, so as long as you store it at room temperature, they should last for many years. However I’ve noticed that some of the newer batches from the last year have a 3 year shelf life labeled on the package. I personally think this is a marketing scheme to get you to rotate them out and buy some more.
I hope this information helps.
Regards,
Bob
I have 3 life straws, one in each of our BOB’s. For my 2 GHB I chose the Sawyer Mini filters. For the EDC i found a MUCH smaller filter, size of a typical ballpoint. it’s the H20 Travel straw. ( https://amzn.com/B00GR8N0QA ). While the Lifestraw will do 250+ gallons, this little guy will only filter 18 gallons…. but for EDC or even for my GHB it’s plenty.