Survival situations are something no person hopes to find themselves in. Unfortunately, there’s no telling when they might arise.
Inclement weather could leave you without food or water for days. A hiking accident could put you off the trail with no way to get your bearings.
In these situations and countless others, your main priority shifts to survival—and that means taking care of the basics.
You can live without water for about three days. Any longer than that and your prospects for survival plummet. You can’t drink just any water, either.
Humans need water that’s free of parasites, bacteria, cysts and other harmful organics.
Nothing will make your situation more dire than it already is than a bout of giardia or e-coli. Unfortunately, this is exactly what you’ll find in unfiltered water.
Faced with an emergency situation where you need clean, safe water, it’s best to have a survival water bottle handy.
More than simply holding water, these bottles will purify and decontaminate water from untreated sources like lakes, rivers, ponds and anywhere else you come by it.
A quality survival water filter bottle is the first and most important item in any survival kit.
Here’s a look at the top six survival water filter bottles and how they stack up against even the most untested water sources in emergency situations.
1. Aquaspace® Survivor™ Travel Water Bottle with Filter
A survival water bottle needs to filter three core things to keep you alive during dire situations: organisms, poisons and VOCs. The Survivor™ Travel Water Bottle with Filter from Aquaspace® does all three.
It features a microbial hollow fiber filter to filter up to 99.99% of microbiological impurities— bacteria, parasites (including cryptosporidium and giardia), and cysts.
It also uses the patented Aquaspace® compound to take care of dozens of poisons and VOCs—everything from industrial solvents and trihalomethanes to chemicals and pesticides.
Whether you’re in the wilderness or a FEMA disaster area, this bottle will cleanse nearly any water source to make it drinkable.
The filters last approximately 288 refills, giving you survival power even in the most uncertain situations.
2. LifeStraw Go Water Bottle
Most survivalists are already familiar with the original LifeStraw.
This bottle takes the organic filtering technology of the LifeStraw and brings it to a water bottle, so you can take clean, safe water with you on-the-go.
The biggest benefit of this survival filter bottle is its hollow-fiber filter membrane, which filters 99.99% of protozoa and bacteria. It also features an activated carbon filter for other impurities, including chemicals.
The beauty of this bottle is that it’s basically an enclosed LifeStraw—albeit a modified one. That means it offers filtering capabilities for up to 1,000 gallons!
The downfall? You can’t replace the filter in this bottle, which means you’ll need to buy a new one after 1,000 gallons if you plan to make it your go-to bottle in non-emergency situations.
3. Grayl Geopress Purifier Bottle
There’s an element of novelty when it comes to the Grayl Geopress Purifier Bottle.
To initiate the filtering process, you actually need to press the water bottle and filtering element together. Simply fill the bottle, then slot the filter and push.
The water filters in real time (about eight seconds)!
Like other survival water filter bottles, this one makes quick work of waterborne pathogens like bacteria and protozoa.
It also takes care of sediment and chemicals, for colorless, odorless drinking water.
Its activated carbon filter is good for about 65 gallons, which should be more than enough in an emergency situation. It’s also highly durable and battle-tested by everyone from hikers to soldiers.
It’s well-worth the $90 price tag, although that can be a bit steep for some.
4. Sagan Journey Filter Water Bottle
Waterborne parasites and bacteria are the biggest threat to your safety when forced to drink from untested water sources.
Thankfully, the Sagan Journey Filter Water Bottle stands up to them all.
It’s designed to remove up to 99.99% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa, providing you with 250 gallons of purified water on-demand.
Hydradyne Technology makes this survival water filter bottle an intriguing option.
Not only does it filter a broad range of contaminants, it does so while reducing the surface tension of water (dynes), to make it more bioavailable.
Not only will you get clean water from this bottle, it’ll help hydrate you faster. The only real downside to this bottle is that the large size of the filter detracts from the total 24oz capacity of the bottle.
5. Lifesaver Bottle 6000
The first thing you’ll notice about this bottle is its $300 price tag.
Yes, you read that right! This is far and away the most expensive survival water filter bottle on the market, and for good reason.
You can scoop up fresh water from virtually anywhere on earth and filter it safely.
This bottle filters everything from bacteria, viruses and cysts, to chemicals, VOCs, pesticides and anything else, to leave behind pure H2O.
The secret? This bottle uses a 15-micron filter that filters at the atomic level. It can purify 6000 gallons of water, making it the ultimate survival water bottle.
It’s one to own if you live in a hurricane zone or anywhere there are frequent boil-water advisories. It’s such an effective filter that it’s used in the military—which might be why it costs so much! That’s the only real drawback to this bottle.
6. Seychelle Extreme Water Filter Bottle
This bottle from Seychelle uses Adsorption Micro Filtration to produce extremely clean water from suspect sources.
The biggest downfall is that it doesn’t safeguard against bacteria—however, it does offer exceptional protection from just about anything else, including radiological contaminants.
It cleanses water of chemical and inorganic pathogens, using activated coconut carbon materials.
At 28oz, it’s one of the larger bottles on this list, which makes it good for situations when you’re on the move, not sure when you’ll reach your next source of water.
It’s also a squeeze bottle, which is easy to stow and travel with in emergencies. With a filter capacity up to 100 gallons, it’s a good bet as your everyday water bottle, as well as a survival option.
Looking for the Best Survival Water Filter Bottle on the Market?
At the end of the day, it’s hard to do better than a water filter bottle that removes 99.99% of bacteria, parasites and cysts, as well as lead, chlorine, chemicals and VOCs.
It’s why the Survivor™ Travel Water Bottle with Filter ranks number one on this list.
Whether you’re preparing for the worst or want to be ready when you’re caught away from a reliable water source, it pays to have a survival water filter bottle from Aquaspace that you can trust.
After all, clean, safe water is the most essential element to life—especially in emergency situations. Make sure you have the right bottle for any situation.