#filter straw

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The Survival Water Filter Straw is an interesting product. Similar in some ways to the well-known LifeStraw, the Survival Water Filter Straw takes the basic idea and adds a few enhancements. Even though my style of hiking typically involves moderate level five-mile day hikes on well-traveled trails, their version of the portable water filter intrigued me. Especially from the Survival aspect. So when the folks at SurvivalHax offered to send me one of the filters for review, I gladly accepted the offer.

Survival Water Filter Product Claims

Here’s the product claims listed on their website and Amazon page,

The Survival Water Filter is a 7-inch portable water filter straw which is designed to convert dirty or contaminated water into clean drinkable water.  Water will travel through the bottom of the filter and into the hollow fiber membranes. From there it flows through the coconut activated carbon and through to the mouthpiece – leaving you with BPA Free, chemical free, bacteria free, particle free, delicious tasting water.

How To Use The Survival Water Filter

The website also provides instructions on how to use the filter, as follows:

Step 1: Remove caps. The mouth cap also doubles as a whistle.

Step 2. Put the straw directly into your fresh water source or screw it to any standard plastic bottle (28 mm).

Step 3. Wait 15 seconds and then begin sucking water from the mouthpiece.  If you’ve attached a bottle, turn it upside down and squeeze the water out.

The feature that appealed to me the most is that it can be attached to a standard water bottle. This feature allows you to scoop up water into a bottle, attach the filter and then use gravity to filter the water through. Most of the competing portable water filters require you to dip the tube in the water and suck the water through the filter. Doable. But certainly not as convenient as just tipping the water bottle and letting gravity do the work. A gentle squeeze and gravity provide good long draws of filtered water.

Icehouse Canyon Field Test

I tested the Survival Water Filter at the creek next to the Icehouse Canyon Trail. The hike to Cedar Glen made me thirsty. I still had water in my Platypus water reservoir but wanted to see how the Survival Water Filter would do with actual stream water.

It was easy enough to scoop the water from the stream into the water bottle. Unfortunately, the thread on the water filter didn’t quite fit the Nestle Pure Life water bottle I brought. Despite the loose connection, the portable water filter still worked fine. Sure, some water dribbled out of the sides, but I was surprised by how much water I could guzzle down just by tipping the bottle.

Survival Water Filter In Use at the Stream

Follow-up Contact With SurvivalHax

The next day, I contacted SurvivalHax about the loose connection. They got back to me promptly and mentioned that the filter was made to fit a standard 28mm bottle. Nevertheless, they sent me out another filter.

I later attached the filter to a Dasani water bottle and it worked fine. So it wasn’t the filter that didn’t attach properly up in Icehouse Canyon. It was the El Cheapo water bottle I took with me.

Since water bottle neck size isn’t typically marked anywhere on a water bottle, there’s no way to truly know if a certain water bottle will fit until you actually try it. The good thing is the filter still works even if the water bottleneck is too small to properly thread.

Note: If I were SurvivalHax, I would compile a list of all major bottled water brands with the 28 mm bottleneck. And then feature it on the website. Why take a chance that the customer will bring the “wrong” water bottle and be put off that it doesn’t attach? After all, this is one of the major features of the Survival Water Filter.

Additional Features

By the way, the water filter comes with a small compass and mirror built into the end cap on the water draw side. Also, the straw side comes with a detachable cap that doubles as a whistle. Plus, there is a carabiner that allows you to attach the unit to your pack or belt loop and an extension tube. Granted, the value of these additional features may be limited due to their size. But since they’re really not adding much to the overall size and weight of the unit, it’s certainly better than nothing.

Summary

Overall, I was satisfied with the performance of the Survival Water Filter. It is small and lightweight enough to take on any hike and would likely become a very valuable item to have in a survival situation. 

https://www.dayhikingtrails.com/survival-water-filter-review/