A couple years back, my Battalion Commander took all his Junior Officers up to the North Georgia Appalachian Trail, where we all hiked about 50mi of the AT in just over 24 hours. We weren’t given a specific packing list, but told to “pack what you’ll need”. We knew with this type of terrain, for this many miles, under the weight of a pack would demand lots of water. Some of us brought Life Straws, which didn’t give us the quantity we needed. Luckily, a couple brought LIFESAVER LIBERTY water purifiers. With two of these purifiers between 8-10 grown men, we were able to keep our Nalgenes and Camelbaks filled for the whole march.
Lifesaver Liberty Video Review:
The LIFESAVER LIBERTY is an item I will always own and continue to purchase if LIFESAVER updates them. It is about the size of a wide mouth 32oz Hydro Flask bottle, includes a compact 5ft hose attachment and costs under a hundred dollars. For that size and price, you can have clean drinking water from just about every fresh water source you’ll find in nature.
Here’s some specs LIFESAVER lays out:
- Virus – 99.999%
- Bacteria – 99.9999%
- Cysts – 99.99%
- Independently tested to exceed full NSF/ANSI P231 and WHO2011 ‘Highly protective tier’ drinking water standards
- Comes with 5ft Scavenger Hose for drawing water directly from source
- Screws right in to most wide-mouth water containers, like Nalgene or Hydro Flask bottles
- Filters up to 2,000 litres
- Hydration Bladder Pack Adaptors available for direct filling
- Replaceable Activated Carbon Disc for removal of chlorine, taste and odor
- FailSafe technology – Once the filter membranes are blocked, water can not pass through, keeping users safe
- 400ml capacity
- Fast flow rate – 1.2 L/min
- No chemicals or electricity required
- SteriTouch® antimicrobial materials used
- Product materials and water effluent both BPA and BPS free
- Amazon $107.25
The LIBERTY is easy to use and versatile. Just attach the hose, throw the scavenger end into a body of water, and pump. You can screw on your own water bottle, pump into another receptacle, or fill the LIBERTY up to its capacity and save the water for later. I’ve used this in still lakes, and even small mountain creeks and was amazed each time at the clarity the water had coming out.
I’ve thrown that scavenger tube into some sketchy water, I’m talking one-inch deep mirky run off, and it flowed into my Nalgene like Aquafina, and tasted like bottled water too. I also appreciate that there is no need for chemicals or electricity. It takes a bit of elbow grease to get large quantities of clean water, but that seems to be the only price to pay for the high standard of purity LIFESAVER has set for this product.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re on the fence about whether or not you’d need one of these, I recommend going for it. This item is perfect for hikers, campers, and overland travelers, but in an emergency it WILL be your best friend. To me, this item is one of the first I think about when it comes to my own natural disaster preparedness, and the LIBERTY is the best water purifier of its kind that I’ve found. Lifesaver also offers a full sized Jerry Can for larger groups. As well as the 1 Gallon Lifesaver Cube.
About the Author:
Stephen Zachensky served as a Rifle Platoon Leader in the 82nd Airborne with a deployment to Iraq, as well as two deployments to Afghanistan as a Strike Force Platoon Leader and Chief of Operations with the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and is currently working as a banking associate.
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Terese Fryar says
Very helpful, thank you. We use Waterdrop for years, and very cost-effective with good value. Use advanced activated carbon for high-efficiency filtration and maximum removal of impurities.Easy to carry out, also can meet the daily requirements:)https://www.waterdropfilter.com/blogs/buyers-guides/all-you-need-to-know-about-straw-water-filter?ref=waterfilter