For everyday or emergency use — all under $50 (or almost under $50!)
Having enough water in an emergency is the biggest challenge, particularly for us folks living in the West. With no handy rivers or lakes, all our emergency water has to be consciously stored. No matter where you live, of course, you need to store water.
But how clean and how safe is that water you are drinking – every day, and in an emergency?
Bottled water seems to be the standard for daily use. Many people carry their own sports bottle, with due consideration for fashion, color, type of cap, etc. Some sports water bottles have filters to remove chlorine or other tap water taste.
For emergencies, however, we may have to fill bottles from sources other than the tap – and we want more to be filtered out than just some unpleasant taste. We’re looking to get out, in order of size: dirt particles, cysts and protozoa (1-20 microns in size) , bacteria (.1 – 10 microns) and viruses (.005 to 0.1 microns).
Generally, “filters” remove dirt, cysts and bacteria, but viruses are so small they may slip through. Viruses come from human waste; if you feel you need to protect against this contamination, read carefully about the capability of the filter offered in any product you consider.
In earlier blogs, we talked about purifying water by boiling or using chemical purification tablets. We have also written about storing large quantities of water to be used for emergencies. All this info is important!
Today though, we’re looking at personal water bottles with filters, mostly for daily use.
Five different water bottles with filters, each one different.
Click on the image to go directly to a complete listing of the product and to check prices.
Water Bottles
  | Let’s start with our long-time favorite – and the cheapest in the lot – the LifeStraw. This isn’t a water bottle. You can, of course, stick it into a bottle of water, or directly into a stream or other source, to get filtered drinking water. The LifeStraw was designed for use internationally and has been used by millions. It removes 99.9% of waterborne bacteria and parasites, down to 0.2 microns. Each straw filters 264 gallons. It comes in a sealed bag, weighs only 6 oz.. Get one for every member of the family, use on hikes or save for emergencies. |
  | LifeStraw now makes a personal water bottle with integrated LifeStraw Filter. No chemicals or iodine. 22 ounce bottle of sturdy BPA-free plastic. Filters up to 1000 liters. Stage 2 version has two filters instead of just one. |
  | Water Bottle for Everyday Use. OKO H2O Level 2 ÖKO bottles come from Switzerland (Öko translates to “Eco”) and were originally designed for use by NASA. The “system” adds one of three filters to the water bottle, you decide which filter to use depending on the relative cleanliness of the water. Level 1 removes chlorine and mineral taste; Level 2 removes protozoa and bacteria; Level 2+ combines the two. Öko offers three sizes of bottles; the filters clean up to 100 gallons before needing to be replaced. |
  | This version of the Öko bottle is something! The Odyssey It is truly a six-in-one water bottle. It includes both Öko filters for two levels of filtration (L1 & L2), a drinking/storage cup and a light that switches between flashlight or lantern. Approx. 20 oz. bottle.; 8 oz. cup. |
  | We like this one because of its removable and reusable filter. This bottle from Sawyer comes with a filter included. Use the filter in the bottle or remove and use with other water storage systems you have. The filter is fast acting, and can be cleaned for reuse (comes with a back-flushing syringe), and guaranteed to filter up to 1 million gallons! 32 oz. bottle, filters 99.9% of cysts and bacteria. |
  | If you prefer the look and feel of stainless steel for everyday drinking . . . Consider the Philips Water GoZero” stainless water bottle for filtering regular tap water. It’s insulated to keep your water cool or hot, and, of course, is BPA free. The bottle comes with 3 filters. Moreover, the bottle is dishwasher safe, comes in nearly a dozen colors — in other words, perfect for every day. |
There are a number of competing bottles at Amazon and elsewhere, many more expensive.
We chose these models, all under or around $50, because each offers different features: bottle size, type or effectiveness of filter, type of material, etc. Take time to shop, but don’t keep spending money on plain bottled water (flimsy plastic!) or cheap bottles (bad tasting tap water) when you could have better tasting and cleaner water all the time, not to mention an emergency filtration system.
Do you have a favorite bottle with filter? Let us know about it!
Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team
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