Going on a hike? Do yourself a favor and get a LifeStraw

Water is essential to human beings. In fact, it is the most basic need, after air. Having sufficient water available when hiking is vital. But it might not always be possible to carry the required quantity or you might run out. That’s when a LifeStraw comes in handy.

Note: this post contains affiliated links. If you decide to purchase a LifeStraw, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How much water does a human body needs?

The average human body is composed of 55% to 75% water. Recommendation of how much water we need to drink varies and it depends if you’re a man or a woman, your level of activity or the heat you are exposed to, for example.

Usual recommendation is to drink at least 8 glass per day but you can find recommendations to drink as much as 15 cups (3.7 liters) for the average adult male and 11 cups (2.7 liters) for the average adult female. When hiking, you will probably require even more to remain hydrated and comfortable.

In average, you need to know that your chances of survival, without water, won’t exceed 3 days.

What are your options, in the wild?

So what if you can’t carry that much and need to be able to drink water available ‘in the wild’? In that case it is highly recommended to treat the water. Drinking non treated water should only be considered if you are on the verge of severe dehydration and it becomes life threatening. Otherwise, you should consider one of the 3 main ways to treat water:

– Filtration

– Boiling (at least 10 minutes)

– Chemical water purification (iodine or chlorine)

All 3 have their pros and cons.

If you read my post of what’s in my backpack when going on a hike, you know it’s already pretty full 😉 Caring around the tools required to boil water isn’t an option for me. The obvious ‘space saving choice’ would be the chemical water purification tablets and I will most likely test some in a near future but for now, I chose the first option: filtration.

I’m not a survival expert so I’m not going to teach you how to create your own filter. I have seen videos and read articles on how to do it and I must admit I am tempted to try it… So maybe I will manage to convince Mr A to go on a week-end adventure and we will build one. I can’t guarantee that I will drink from it! It is usually made using sand and rocks in alternate layers with a bed of charcoals and sounds easy enough!

But for now, I much prefer to carry my LifeStraw around!

So what is a LifeStraw?

The LifeStraw is a portable filtration device that lets you safely drink directly from almost any water source. It’s about 9 inches long, weights just 2 ounces, and looks like a jumbo drinking straw. One end has the narrow mouthpiece, the other goes directly into the water source.

The filter gets rid of nearly 100 percent of waterborne bacteria including E. coli and salmonella and of waterborne protozoan parasites and reduces muddiness. The straw just basically blocks bacteria, parasites, and dirt. It’s also BPA free. And filtration is instantly done when you drink with it.

Since this post was originally published, LifeStraw evolved and new options are available, like the above straw which, this time, is in stainless steel. Check out LifeStraw website for other options.

I think it’s great! What’s even better is that the company behind the LifeStraw is on an incredible mission to help developing countries. For each LifeStraw product purchased, one school child, in a developing country, is provided with safe drinking water for an entire school year.

For more info, check the official website: www.buylifestraw.com

A word of caution, the LifeStraw will not: desalinate salt water, remove dissolved chemicals or minerals, nor remove viruses. You should therefore try to find water that has not been contaminated by human sewage.

I love hiking, I love being surrounded by nature, I love being in remote areas… But quite obviously, I’m not the greatest adventurer out there! I think being a little bit prepared for the worst is part of the job and that’s why I got myself some specific emergency gear which include the LifeStraw.

So if you are a nature lover as well and go on hikes regularly, you should probably consider getting one too!

And if you haven’t read my post of the other essentials to have in your backpack, you can find it here.