Portable

Portable Water Filter, 4 or 8 Pack Survival Straws, 0.01 Micron 4-Stage Filtration

This is a portable water filter in straw form, sold four to a set so a whole family or group each carries their own rather than passing one around. Each straw runs water through a four-stage element rated at 0.01 micron. There is nothing to pump, charge or assemble: you put the intake end in the water and drink through the mouthpiece. The body is ABS.

• Four straws per set, or eight if you take the double
• Four-stage filter element rated at 0.01 micron
• ABS body, listed by the supplier as bottle type
• No pump, no batteries, no charging and no setup
• Drinks directly from a stream, lake or stored water
• Light enough that one lives in each pack permanently

What 0.01 micron means in practice

Micron rating is the size of the gap the water has to squeeze through. At 0.01 micron the element is in hollow-fiber territory, fine enough to physically strain out sediment, cloudiness and the bacteria and protozoa that make stream water risky, because those are all physically larger than the pore. Viruses are smaller than bacteria, and the supplier does not publish a virus claim for this filter, so we are not going to make one. If you are filtering water you think may carry viruses, boil it or use chemical treatment as well.

Why four straws rather than one

A single filter is the usual way these are sold, and it is also the usual way a group gets stuck. One person drinks, everyone else waits, and if that one filter clogs the group has nothing. Four means one per person in a family, or one in each of the car, the day pack, the bug-out bag and the kitchen drawer. The eight pack is the same idea for a bigger household or for splitting with family.

How you actually use one

Put the intake end into the water and suck through the mouthpiece, the same motion as a thick milkshake through a straw. The first few pulls are harder while the element wets through. It will draw from a stream, a lake, a puddle, a water butt or a bottle you filled earlier. Back-flush it by blowing back through the mouthpiece when the flow slows, and let it dry before it goes back in the pack.

Specifications

• Filtration: Four-stage element
• Pore rating: 0.01 micron
• Material: ABS
• Container type: Bottle, per the supplier
• Quantity: 4 straws per set
• Pack options: 4 straws (1 set) or 8 straws (2 sets)
• Power: None, drawn by mouth

Keeping it working, and where it lives

Blow back through the mouthpiece after use to clear the element, then let it dry fully before storing, because a filter put away wet is a filter that grows things. Keep it from freezing with water inside it, since ice can split a fine element and you will not be able to see that it has happened. Avoid drawing through heavy silt or salt water. Water you have filtered is for drinking soon rather than storing for weeks.

Questions Shoppers Ask

How many straws do I actually get?
Four in a set. The other option is two sets, so eight straws.

How many gallons will one straw filter before it is done?
The supplier does not publish a filter life, so we cannot give you a figure. Replace a straw when the flow stays slow after back-flushing.

Does it remove viruses?
No virus claim is published for it, so treat the answer as no. At 0.01 micron it strains out sediment, bacteria and protozoa, which are physically bigger. For suspected virus risk, boil or treat chemically as well.

Can I drink straight out of a stream with it?
That is what it is built for. Put the intake end in the water and draw through the mouthpiece.

Do I need batteries or a pump?
No. You provide the suction and nothing else.

Will it make salt water drinkable?
No. A filter strains particles out, it does not remove dissolved salt. No straw filter desalinates.

What is it made of?
ABS. The supplier lists the container type as bottle.

How long is each straw, and what does it weigh?
Neither is published. The photos give the best sense of the size.

Why is it hard to draw through at first?
The element has to wet through before it flows freely. The first few pulls are the hardest, then it eases.

Can I leave one in the car over winter?
Only if it is dry inside. Water left in the element can freeze and damage it without any outward sign.

How do I clean it?
Blow back through the mouthpiece to flush the element, then let it dry completely before packing it away.