LifeStraw Review and Giveaway
Being from beautiful British Columbia, venturing outdoors is in our blood. From camping to hiking to biking to kayaking, Calli and I try to get out and explore a new region of B.C. as much as possible – when we’re not traveling the world that is. It’s for this exact reason that we jumped at the chance to try out the original LifeStraw.
Calli and I both remember the days when, for a month every summer during high water, the water that came out of our taps in Kamloops looked more like weak coffee than crystal clear water. Although times have changed, and we now have a state-of-the-art water treatment centre that produces some of the cleanest water in the world, we still run into the same problems whenever we escape the city.
Kamloops Lake just outside city limits – a favourite daytrip location of ours.
With the blazing summers of Interior British Columbia (it’s currently 39 Celsius/103 Fahrenheit outside), carrying enough water to ensure you don’t end up as Vulture food is vital to any outdoor undertaking. And to be honest, most of the time I don’t feel like packing around 20L of water while hiking, biking, or kayaking. That’s where the LifeStraw comes in.
Instead of using chemicals, the LifeStraw focuses on microfiltration to remove nearly all contaminants in the water you’re drinking. Suction forces water through micropores measuring 2 microns across and provides you with water you can feel comfortable drinking. The water you get is 99.9999 percent of bacteria and 99.9 percent free of parasites present in the water, but unfortunately viruses and heavy metals are unaffected (so stay away from those tailings ponds). When you’re done, you just blow out the end to remove the remaining water and put it away.
The LifeStraw measures just over 9 inches long and an inch around
Since receiving our LifeStraw we’ve taken it on a number of outdoor adventures, and we’ve been very impressed by it. From kayaking in the Shuswap to biking Myra Canyon, we’ve definitely put the LifeStraw through its paces these last few weeks, and it hasn’t let us down. We really like its portability and ease of use – there’s no messing around with tablets or filters, its really as easy to use as a straw.
Us biking on a hot day in Myra Canyon – the LifeStraw was very handy this day
To be perfectly honest, we haven’t actually dipped it in a lake or stream and drank directly from there, instead preferring to fill up our water bottles in said stream and then using the LifeStraw to drink from the bottle (that way you always have access to clean water, not just when you’re near a body of water). I did use it during high water in Shuswap Lake and didn’t get sick – the scientist in me is screaming that’s not a real experiment, but it’s the best I’ve got!
Beautiful Shuswap Lake
In all, we are very happy with the LifeStraw and would definitely recommend it to avid outdoor adventurers. For us, we are intrigued by the LifeStraw Go, a water bottle with a LifeStraw built right in. It seems like it would be right up our alley and be slightly more convenient to use.
With all this said, we are offering our readers the chance to win their very own LifeStraw. If you’re interested, you can enter below!
Find out more about the LifeStraw on their website. To read about the technology check out this How Stuff Works article.
***The LifeStraw®product and information have been provided by Vestergaard. And as always, ALL OPINIONS ARE OUR OWN!!