Why you need a portable water purifier in the wild?

Having a survival water straw on hand is one of the best things a backpacker can pack into their arsenal. Backpacking water filters are rarely used as a primary source of water while hiking or backpacking. It takes time to filter the water, but more importantly, you may not always be walking near an accessible water source.Therefore, it is essential to always carry clear drinking water. I will discuss suitable water filter bottles in another article.

However, carrying the best portable water filter with you is always a great idea. Helps conserve water resources by using nearby natural water sources. More importantly, it gives you peace of mind in the event of an accident. It's okay if you end up spending more time in nature than you originally planned.

A good backpacking water purifier is high quality enough to work with any natural water source, whether it's a clear stream or creek, or a small muddy lake. Such filters keep bacteria, heavy particles, or metals out of your body, regardless of water source. 

But how do you choose such an item? It's a fairly new technology, so it's perfectly understandable that many people are still unfamiliar with it. So, to help you out, we've listed below the best backpacking water filters you can find online.

Why you need a portable water purifier in the wild?

Simply put, natural outdoor water sources contain far more bacteria than municipal or city water supplies.

If you are lucky enough to find a fast flowing river, there is a good chance that this water is untreated and safe to drink.

Lakes and small pools of stagnant water, on the other hand, contain many more harmful bacteria that must be removed to prevent you from getting sick.

How do water filters work?

Each portable water filter is different, but they have one thing in common. It uses hollow fiber membrane technology.

Think of a hollow fiber membrane as a small tube like a straw. Along the walls of the tube are thousands and millions of tiny pores. These pores are so small that nothing larger than 0.2 microns or 0.1 microns cannot pass through. To understand the width in microns, the average human hair is 10 to 200 microns wide.

Yeah, those pores are ridiculously small. However, most bacteria and protozoa are larger than 0.2 microns, making them highly effective against harmful microbes.

Filtration occurs either by gravity, sipping, or squeezing as the dirty water passes through the hollow fiber membrane.

What is the effect of the gravity filter?

Gravity water filters are very effective in making safe drinking water. No pumping is required as gravity takes over and does the real work. Combining water, gravity, and quality filters, you get clean drinking water.

They are usually very slow, but gravity water purifiers do an excellent job of removing contaminants. This is where the cleaning and filtering process takes place. So you'll have to wait a bit, but gravity does a great job of pulling everything out in the meantime.

The Platypus GravityWorks filter is his one of the fastest gravity filters on the market. Within two and a half minutes, it provides 4 liters of filtered water for drinking and cooking.

What kind of microbes do these filters protect you from?

Most portable water purifiers are effective against:

Salmonella

According to the CDC, there are 1.2 million cases of salmonellosis each year, with approximately 450 deaths. Salmonella is a type of bacteria that lives in the intestines of animals and humans and is eventually excreted in the faeces. Improper handling of food and water can lead to salmonella infections.

Common signs and symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhea within 8 to 72 hours after contact, fever, and abdominal cramps. If left untreated, it can eventually lead to severe dehydration and shock.

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli (or E.Coli, as it is commonly known) is also a type of bacteria found in the gut. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but other types of E. coli can cause severe gastrointestinal upset, pneumonia, and even urinary tract infections.

E. coli is transmitted through improperly cooked food, unpasteurized milk and, of course, contaminated water, especially those found in lakes, ponds and fountains where they may come into contact with animal manure. There is a possibility.

Signs and symptoms include bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and sometimes acute renal failure.

Giardia

Giardia is a type of protozoan parasite. Comes with an insect repellent cover that protects the main unit from chlorine disinfection. Giardia is most often spread through contaminated water and is one of the leading causes of gastrointestinal illness in the United States. Hikers, campers and backpackers are especially at risk.

Signs and symptoms of Giardia infection include loose or greasy stools, flatulence, and abdominal cramps.

Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium or Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite. Like giardia, it also has a tough, chlorine-impermeable shell and is a leading cause of waterborne disease in the United States. the infected person.

Main Features of Camping Water Purifier

Capacity - Not all camping water filters are created equal. Some filter everything you throw at them, while others can't separate all kinds of contaminants out there.Whether you need to worry more about particulates, bacteria, heavy metals, or other contaminants Do some homework in your area to determine.

Methods: There are several methods used to purify drinking water, each with advantages and disadvantages. Before choosing a particular system, decide how much water you need to filter and how much work you want to do.

Capacity: Some camping water purifiers are designed for an entire group, while others are designed for individual use only. You'll see a filtered water bottle, hydration bladder and an open system.

Price: Features are priced high, but you may not have to spend a lot to get what you want. Before you assume price is directly related to quality, read the product specs to see if you really want everything you pay for.

Portability – The purpose of a camping water purifier is to eliminate the need to carry large amounts of water. That said, some filtration systems are more portable than others. None are cumbersome, but some take time to set up and use.

When should I replace the water filter?

Under normal use, backpackers rarely need to change the water filter. Think about how many trips you have taken in the last ten years. For a life of 300-500 gallons, the filter should be used weekly (5 years).

You are much more likely to accidentally damage the filter. Do not use filters that are cracked or that have been repeatedly frozen and thawed. This compromises the integrity of the filter and allows water to bypass the filtration system.

Camping water filter price

Portable water filters come in a variety of styles and brands, so you have a wide range of options to suit your budget. Basic personal filters start at $15. They are designed to purify relatively small amounts of water and may not provide as good protection against contaminants as more advanced systems. The best camping water purifiers start around $100 and offer protection against a wide variety of dangerous contaminants. Both types have their respective locations, so choose the option that best suits your needs.

In Conclusion

Here are our suggestions for portable backpacking water filters. They're all different and serve slightly different purposes, but they're all top-tier water filters for your backpacking needs.If we were forced to choose a single product, we’d choose the gowakiwaki Products Mini Portable Water Filtration System as the best portable water filter and the best backpacking water filter for its amazing filtering volume and quality, but as mentioned, the other 4 items on this list are also of the highest quality.