A Brita filter =/= a survival straw. There ARE filters you can use to drink directly from water sources in nature that will filter out all contaminants but a Brita ain't one.
this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2025
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Exactly, there are filters for tap water and there are backpacking or survival filters for filtering dirty water. I use both regularly, but wouldn't ever take my filter pitcher hiking.
I was just about to say you are wrong. Lifestraws don't filter out things like lead.
Just learn new ones do though.
Do those straws also take out pathogens? I thought you’d still need to boil the water pre filtering.
Yes
At least bacteria. Viruses are a whole different beast but usually viruses are also not the problem in natural watersources.
Be free comes to mind, very popular in europe. Sawyer filters are very popular in the US
There are also combo filters that filter sediment and bacteria and pass the water through a charcoal filter to remove taste and organics.
From Lifestraw website:
The majority of LifeStraw products for individual use are microfilters with an absolute pore size of 0.2 microns which remove bacteria, parasites, microplastics, and dirt/silt.
LifeStraw also manufactures ultrafilters/purifiers that, in addition to the above contaminants, also remove viruses. The absolute pore size on these purifiers is 0.02 micron.
Said a moment ago, one saved my ass. Cut the top off a beer can and sucked river water out of it kayaking. Tasted like nothing, like tap water that's been in the sun for a while.
I used a Sawyer in the boundary waters for a week, nothing short of miraculous and I didn't shit my pants even once
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The most common cause of symptoms like in OP’s story are multicellular organisms. While still microscopic, they are plenty large enough to get caught in a filter. The filters are usually good enough to catch bacteria too.
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Boil your water, then after it cools run it through a charcoal and/or osmosis filter. Even then, it's still not great. Commercial/community water treatment isn't some silly little optional process.
Get a water filter that’s designed for camping. The two varieties I’ve seen are either a hand pump or using gravity to force the water through a ceramic filter. Try to pick water that is relatively clean looking (not obviously murky, and it helps to pick flowing water).
Best tasting water I’ve ever had and you won’t get giardia (the most common cause of diarrhea symptoms described above).
I tried a hand pump while camping and never used it again. The tannins in the water (decayed plant matter secretion) isn't captured by the filter and hit me pretty hard.
The biggest risk out in the woods is microorganisms. If you boil it or use a well designed filter you are likely going to be fine if you're drinking otherwise clear water.
I wouldn't just filter the water from the Hudson river and go to town, but if it's 10 miles to the nearest road I think you're probably doing better than your tap
Yet.
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I feel like boiling PLUS the Brita would be a pretty solid combo. Boil to kill everything then Brita to remove the remaining inert sediment. I can't think of any metals or anything that there would be enough of in river water to hurt you after you've killed anything that was alive.
I can't think of any metals or anything that there would be enough of in river water to hurt you
We're talking about rivers like the one in Cleveland that they caught on fire?
Twice?!
IDK what's in that but I'll leave my cup for you haha
It happened 13 times. But not since 1969. The Cuyahoga is now a shining example of environmental restoration with even the most polluted sections meeting the standards of the water quality act.
"we must make america great again. The woke mob has stolen our beautiful burning rivers. We aim to bring them back bigger and better!"
US right wingers when the invisible hand of the free markets somehow fails to un-pollute their rivers:
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Yes, this is what I was told in a survival course (as a company team building). You have to filter out large particles, even a few layers of cloths is enough. Then you boil it to get rid of bacteria or other problematic stuff.
Wouldn't boiling first be better so you don't end up with a bacteria colony in your filter?
My mostly on my gut feeling based counter argument would be:
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So what? You are cooking the water afterwards cross-contamination between water samples isn't a huge deal. Additionally, Filters (especially things like cloth) are cleanable and potentially sterilisable via cooking.
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cooking is a violent process, grinding down particles, lessening the effectiveness of the filter. So you are potentially worse off, for no real gain.
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You can't always cook. Sometimes you have to sterilise water another way. E.g. via exposure to as much UV/Sunlight as possible. Particles in the water lessen the effect or prevent this from happening
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I had a similar experience at a pseudo pagan ritual/drum thing/moonlit naked dance thing. They'd stocked the sweat lodge with several bottles of water. Some for drinking and others full of river water for tossing on the stones. I failed to correctly identify them in the dark and was very sick as a result.
Editted for spelling
$ sudo pagan ritual
sudo: pagan: command not found
PS: I am appropriately sad that I am a person that knows linux and not a person that visits moonlit naked dancing rituals. Meh, you can't have it all.
You forgot the path "ritual/drum thing/moonlit".
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Since people are just going to make command line jokes and leave you confused, the spelling is "pseudo".
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Welcome to giardia or whatever other parasites and bacteria are in natural water sources.
Pretty much all natural surface water, no matter the source, is gonna have stuff in it that can make you sick. Maybe some cramps and diarrhea, some potentially lethal. Any time you drink untreated water it’s a risk no matter the “bro science” about how some is “safe”. Even glacial water has bacteria in it. Just some sources the concentration of bad stuff is going to be low enough that your body can hopefully deal with it without you becoming symptomatic.
Use proper filters and treatments designed for biologically contaminated water, or filter and boil your water before consuming. Stay safe out there!
IDK why, but your comment made me think of a really awful business idea... Immunity building microdose water. Basically you sell and advertise water that has a few parts per billion bacteria to build your immune system.
Will you get sick, maybe? Do we accept any liability... no it says so right on the bottle.
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The missed pro tip: don't believe everything you see on tv
Are you saying the media would LIE??? On TELEVISION??? Are you sure about this?
In my own home might I add!
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We went on a vacay when I was maybe twelve. Canada and Montana, saw a moose, hiked in the forest. My dad told me to drink from a stream. The water seemed super fresh and clean.
I puked my guts out at the airport and on the flight home. Other people were donating their barf bags on the plane because I was so sick. My mom was really pissed at my dad.
I grew up in Canada and regularly drank from the streams. Bad luck
no, you had extremely good luck
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If you're going anywhere in the wilderness for an extended amount of time, it's best to have the person driving to bring a case of water in the trunk for this situation (and also first aid)
wilderness for an extended amount of time
person driving
Those don't seem to fit together quite right.
Anyway, bring a LifeStraw or the like. Saved my ass onetime.
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Some filters can do that, not all. Gotta check what your filter is rated for!
The Brita would (should) pull out various carcinogens from the water since they will stick to the filter rather than the water. But it won't do anything for bacteria, viruses, amoeba or any other protists. Which would make you acutely sick.
Britta'd. I think a bottle with and ranging from very fine at the bottom to pebbles on top might be one of those survival things that actually work. Or just boil it. Or both.
Both is the answer. One is for reducing bigger impurities the other for killing any bacteria
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