Water Filter – A Survival Prep ‘Must Have’
A water filter is a survival prep ‘must have’ and high on the priority list of preps.
(see below for list of water filter recommendations)
We cannot survive long without drinking any water!
In fact, you would likely NOT survive a week without it – they say 3 to 5 days would be it!
Prepper Rule-Of-Threes
The Rule Of Three
Having a water filter will assure safe drinking water extracted from almost any water source. Ever heard of campers diarrhea? A good quality water filter will eliminate that risk. A very uncomfortable experience!
Microorganism Contamination Does Exist In Sparkling Clear Water
Don’t be fooled, crystal clear water flowing in a sparkling clear stream or lake may look and seem harmless.
But in fact that same clear water may contain dangerous germs and microorganisms including protozoans, bacteria, or viruses!
Giardia lamblia. You may have heard of that nasty little protozoan parasite very common in lakes and streams. If ingested, will rapidly multiply in the small intestines, and I’ll leave it at that… not pleasant!!! The thing is, protozoans are fairly large, 1 – 15 microns, and are easily caught in most all typical consumer grade water filters. So, there’s no excuse not having one!
E-coli or Salmonella: Both are a type of bacteria and may be found in the water of lakes or streams. Bacteria is only about 0.2 – 5 microns in size. Most high quality water filters will catch them. These bacteria may be present one day and gone the next – you never know. It all depends on what’s going on upstream, or perhaps runoff from a recent rain.
Viruses are the most difficult to filter due to their extremely small size, 0.02 to 0.2 microns. When choosing a water filter, check the specifications to discover it’s capabilities.
Water Filter Types
There are several varieties of drinking water filters.
Faucet
Some are designed to install directly into existing home plumbing, be it attached to the kitchen sink faucet, a cartridge mounted underneath the sink in-line with plumbing, or even larger systems that serve the entire home.
Tabletop / Countertop
Others are designed as tabletop water filters.
Portable
Still others are portable and great for hiking, backpacking, or emergency kits.
My water filter recommendations include:
Berkey Tabletop Water Filter:
Berkey Countertop Water Filter System
Berkey Accessories:
5 Berkey Accessories For Your Tabletop Filter
The LifeStraw Water Filter:
LifeStraw Portable
Katadyn Water Filter:
Katadyn Hiker Pro Microfilter
Sawyer Mini Water Filter (0.1 Micron)
Sawyer Mini
More: Which Water Filter Do You Have? (Poll results)
[Ken adds:] If you’re getting into a preparedness mindset, the first thing that I recommend is to get yourself a good drinking water filter. Even for the budget challenged (most of us are, right?), you can get something pretty good without breaking the bank. If so inclined you might work your way up to better models. We take for granted the drinking water that we have. I’m simply saying “don’t” (take it for granted).
