If you do a lot of overnight hiking you’ll probably already own at least one of these, as they’re great for emergency water. This one has all the right certification, which you really, *really* need, if you’re going to start drinking random water from a natural source – especially if you’re in the middle of no-where. I myself have a 1 Ltr lifestraw Go, and a standard lifestraw which is very similar in function and shape to this, so it’s interesting to compare these two market leaders.To be honest, it can actually be quite hard to trust it the first few times, but really, it’s no worse than having to trust water purification tablets, and there’s nothing worse than taking tablets out with you and then realizing that they’re out of date. If you’re going to get a straw-style filter, it’s definitely worth choosing between the two market leaders, both of whom have a lot of experience and certification between them.Which you choose can depend on where you’re using it, so a little research to see what organisms might be in the water in the country you’re travelling/camping/hiking in is definitely worth it. Though given that they’re practically the same price, and this Lifesaver straw has higher filtration, as well as a carbon filter, it seems to stand above the competition.The Lifesaver filters around 5,000 litres of water to make it fit for drinking, and like all of its ilk, they actually get harder to drink through as they begin to become overloaded att he end of their life, so they basically turn themselves off if they’re no longer functioning. The Lifesaver also has a changeable internal carbon filter which is going to give a cleaner taste. This lasts for around 100 litres then needs swapping out, but a nice feature is that if it’s exhausted then you can still use the lifesaver to filter water safely. The carbon’s simply there to improve taste. Since it’s March and at my age I’m strictly a two-season camper, I haven’t tried this with stream water yet, only tap water. The taste is clean and pleasant, and the carbon filter should make drinking stream water a bit more bearable. I tend to take a squeezy foil pack of concentrated juice if I know I’ll be drinking stream water, or only use it boiled in tea, but the carbon filter does the trick nicely.The Lifesaver also seems to stand above my old Lifestraw in terms of longevity. This straw can filter an impressive 5,000 litres, compared to my Lifestraw’s 4,000 litres. Both are comparable in their ability to filter bacteria, protozoa, sediment, microplastics and cysts, but the Lifesaver also has the certified ability to filter out viruses, which becomes more important if you intend to use it abroad, particularly in parts of Europe, Africa and India.The Lifesaver can also act like a Sawyer Squeeze, in that you can theoretically use it with a squeeze bag of stream water connected directly to the ‘contaminated’ end of the straw and squeeze it through to drink, or in a gravity system, allowing water to drip through it from a bag when hung up overnight. I haven’t tried it yet, as you need the correct squeeze-bag to connect to the Lifesaver, but for me, that would be my preferred method. You really can’t rely on having a handy stream nearby when you’re on the go, so a squeeze system this is perfect, as you can carry smaller amounts of water with you. That’s how I use my existing Lifestraw with the 1 litre bottle. I’m also really not fond of getting down on my knees on the wet, usually slippery and often unstable banks of a random stream, getting my trousers unnecessarily wet, and leaning my bodyweight over the water precariously every time I want a drink. Plus sometimes it’s really not practical to reach the water, and you’re lowering or throwing a container on a string out to gather it. You really do need to be collecting water in one form or another to use these comfortably. Having just the straw and a roll-up squeeze bag, plus a gravity system if I’m wild camping, is the perfect lightweight, minimalist combo.It’s good to see that the company also has a system where they hand out some of their product to countries in need for free, which for me is a great selling point.For me, then, I think this Lifesaver straw has edged out my ol’ Lifestraw. It has better filtering abilities, a swappable carbon filter, and it’s really adaptable for squeeze or gravity systems, which I like. The Lifestraw offers all of these options except the filtering quality, but they come at a higher price. Like everyone, if I’m close enough to buy and carry bottle water I do, but a filter straw of some type really should be in your kit if you hike more than 30 minutes from main roads, even if you only day-hike. Given the price per unit, the certified filtration, and the adaptability, I really can’t fault this brand. Highly recommended.
