Water filtration

Crisp and refreshing H2O

There really is nothing better than the crisp and refreshing taste of water straight from a stream/river!  This is water in it's purest form.  ❤️  One of my favorite things to do along a hiking trek is to find a beautiful river/stream or lake to drink water from.  Once I grabbed some pretty questionable water from a pooled up area downstream of a waterfall just to see how the Lifestraw works.  Thankfully, it did it's job!

For the last couple years I have only carried a life straw with me in case of an emergency.  Luckily, I haven’t needed to use it for such, but I have used it for grins, giggles and fresh mountain water!  

Lifestraw

Pros: 

• Simple to use
• Lasts for a very long time- It has an unlimited shelf life
• 1 piece
• Very effective for eliminating harmful parasites and bacteria

Cons:

• It takes a significant amount of work to prime.  
• In order to use it needs to be kept submerged in the water, or you need something to hold water in.  
• It cannot be used to filter and store water…basically think of it like a straw.
• It’s bulky.  

I decided to upgrade my filtration using a Sawyer squeeze water filter- 2 Smart water bottles (One for dirty water and one for clean water) and a CNOC 2L bag.  I have seen this method mentioned multiple times on various different hiking group pages and it seems efficient and easy to manage.   

                                                                                   

Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

Pros

• Size and weight: it’s tremendously small and light!  It easily fits into the palm of my hand.  
• Efficiency: Can fill a water bottle of filtered water in 30s.
• Versatile: Can be used with a pouch or water bottle.

Cons

• Wouldn't work well for a large group of people
• Doesn't eliminate viruses

Between the Lifestraw and the Sawyer Squeeze I feel like I am set for water filtration success.  I will be testing the Sawyer Squeeze out on my Yosemite venture in a little over a week.  I will update this post on how it works once I return home.  I am excited to try it out!  

Fresh, clean, clear mountain water......HERE I COME!!

This is solely my opinion…I am not paid, nor do I receive endorsements for my views.  I am far from an expert…rather just a novice learning the ropes.  If something I say helps you along the way, awesome.  Take what you need, and leave the rest.  lol