Opinion
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- If you asked 100 preppers what the most important things are in a survival situation, 99 of them would have the same answer.
The old saying goes that you can survive for three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in a harsh environment, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Although in a mild climate, the survivor can swap water and shelter on the list.
When bugging out one of the critical things that gets overlooked is weight. Water is heavy. This problem leaves the prepper with a choice between saving weight and carrying more water, but there is also a third way. That way is to bring a portable water filter with you.
In fact, in my bugout bag, I carry Life Straws but I always wanted to get a more robust filter system to take with me in case I ever have to bugout. So, I was ecstatic when Survivor Filter presented AmmoLand News the opportunity to review a few of their products, and I was assigned the review.
The first product I tested out was the Survivor Filter Squeeze with two canteens. This filtration system is the closest item I received to the Life Straws I currently have in my bugout bag. It is small enough to fit in your pocket, which is a killer feature.
Survivor Filter Squeeze
The Squeeze works in two different ways. The first way allows you to drink directly from any fresh water source. The water passes through three filters stages to strain most of the contaminants out of the water. Although nothing is 100% effective, this is pretty damn close.
The first filter stage of the Survivor Filter Squeeze is a cotton-based filter which is in direct contact with the water. After that, the water travels through a 0.05-micron polysulfone ultrafilter membrane. The final step is a carbon filter.
According to Survivor Filter, the Squeeze removes 99.999% of protozoa. Protozoa are the scariest things when it comes to contaminated water. Parasites picked up from dirty water are protozoa.
The Squeeze also removes 99.999% of viruses and bacteria such as staph. The filter also removes 99.5% mercury and 93% lead. Survivor Filter says these stats meet or exceed the standard for tap water in the United States. I do wish that the levels of lead it filtered was higher, but it is safe in most cases.
The second way that the Squeeze works is by using the two included collapsible canteens. The user fills up one of the one-liter canteens with dirty water then attaches it to the Squeeze. The user uses gravity to feed the water through the filtration system to the other canteen leaving only clean water. A cool thing is that each canteen has a different color carabiner so the user will not mix up the clean and dirty canteens.
The user can also attach the Squeeze kit to a water bottle and feed dirty water from one of the canteens directly into the bottle. The user can also filter water directly into the included detachable cup. The speed that the water passes through the filter isn’t bad. It filters 13.5oz a minute, so a 16oz bottle takes just over a minute to fill up.
The Squeeze kit, like all Survivor Filter filters, is BPA free. When a user buys a bottle that contains BPA and that bottle gets exposed to heat, then it will release a carcinogen. Since the Survivor Filter filters don’t contain BPA so the owner can store them in their glove box or other hot places. The center console of my SUV is where I am keeping mine currently.
The Survivor Filter Squeeze Kit retail is $40. The user will not have to replace the cotton or carbon filter until it filters around 264 gallons of water. The kit does come with five extra cotton filters so most people will never have to worry about buying additional ones. The ultrafilter has a lifespan of 264,000 gallons before the user needs to replace it.
Users can order extra cotton filters from Survivor Filter for the cost of shipping. Additional carbon filters cost $12.50. If a user wants to buy a replacement ultrafilter, they can. It is available from the Survivor Filter website for $14.95 though I don’t know why it would be ever necessary to replace it.
When I used the Survivor Filter Squeeze Kit, the water came out clear. The taste wasn’t bad. It tasted like clean water. It is cheap enough for me to plan on buying another one to throw in my other car.
The second item I received was the Survivor Filter PRO Pump. This item costs a little more than the Squeeze. The price point of this filter kit is $65, but for the extra $25, you get a lot more, making it a better value for the dollar.
Survivor Filter PRO Pump
Gone is the cotton filter of the Squeeze. Survivor Filter replaced it with a 0.1-micron ultrafilter membrane for cleaner water. The second stage is a carbon filter. The final step in the kit is another ultrafilter, but this filter is 0.01-microns.
The Survivor Filter PRO Pump filters out 99.999% of protozoa, viruses, and bacteria. It filters out the same 99.5% mercury and 93% lead that the Squeeze filters. It makes even the dirtiest water safe to drink by EPA standards.
Where the Squeeze uses gravity to feed the water through the filter, the PRO Pump uses a hand pump to push water through the system. This pump enables the Filter PRO to clean 17 ounces of water per minute. It makes it perfect for filling up a hydration pack. It also comes with an attached cup.
The Survivor Filter PRO Pump is a little bulkier than the Squeeze, but it is manageable. It weighs in at only 12.8 ounces and fits easily in my bugout bag and comes with its owner storage bag. The kit comes with a backwashing syringe system allowing the user to clean the filters while out in the wilderness.
The taste of the water is about the same as it is with the Squeeze. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference in the flavor from the creek water that I drank. They both tasted just like water.
The final product that Survivor Filter sent me is the PRO X Electric Filter. This filter system is almost identical to the PRO Pump except for one key difference, and this difference explains why the PRO X Electric Filter cost a lot more at $125.
Survivor Filter PRO X Electric Water Filter
The PRO X Electric Filter uses either two AA batteries (included) or a USB charger to run the pump. According to Survivor Filter, the batteries will last up to 12,000oz in poor conditions or 15,000oz in ideal conditions.
A user can set up the included inlet hose to the electric pump and the included outlet hose to a water container. This setup frees the user to do other things like setting up a camp. The PRO X Electric Filter is perfect for campers.
Although the PRO X Electric Filter is an excellent tool for a camper, but for a prepper, they might want to stick with the PRO Pump, but then again, the reported battery life of the Survivor Filter filter is impressive. This pump is probably going with my camping gear.
All these filters did their job beautifully. I was able to drink creek water and not get sick at all. That is a win in my book.
Readers can find out more about the different offerings of Survivor Filter at www.survivorfilter.com.
About John Crump
John is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot-News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement, including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.