This is a simple fact; without a source of fresh and safe water to drink, you will die within four days – depending on weather conditions. As I’m writing this, the folks back East are still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy. Many are still without power or heat in their homes after two weeks – at least 40,000 people were totally homeless right now, and winter temps are setting in. I read one news report, where people were paying $7 for a loaf of bread, and $10 for a box of matches. FEMA ran out of bottled water less than a week into this emergency and folks were left to fend for themselves for a source of safe drinking water for several days.
Many poke fun at “Preppers” or “Survivalist” for preparing for bad times. I just don’t get it! What is wrong with storing some extra food and water, for a future emergency? And, sooner or later, the lights and power go out, and I don’t care where you live – it happens! The folks on the East Coast had plenty of warning of the impending hurricane coming their way. However, may chose to ignore the dire warnings, and went about their usual daily routine – instead of spending a few dollars and a little bit of their time, stocking-up on extra food and water. Instead, they depended upon FEMA and the Red Cross to take care of them. I read numerous reports that the Red Cross was giving hot chocolate and cookies to hurricane victims. Really? There are also victims living in unheated tents that FEMA set-up, and depending on the FedGov to feed and care for them. Don’t you ever trust or depend on the FedGov to care for you in a time of disaster. And, reports stated that 50 million people were affected by Hurricane Sandy – there is no way that the FedGov can possibly care for that many people in a disaster.
We can all go a good long time without food – some say people can go weeks or even a month, without food. However, without a source of clean, safe drinking water, we’ll all perish in short order – this is a fact! While its a good idea to store some bottled water, I wouldn’t want to only have that as my source of drinking water. Some excellent filters are made by Clearly Filtered water filters. I recently received three of their products for testing: One is their Athlete drinking bottle, another a military-type canteen, and lastly a straw – all filter waster so that it is safe to drink. The Bottle can filter up to 100-gallons of water, removing approximately 99.9% of many nasty things that can make you ill or even kill you. It filters 99.99% of Giardia, Crypto, bacteria and viruses – ditto for the Canteen and Straw.
I set about to test all three of these products over more than a month – along with the assistance of my wife. She took the Athlete bottle to school – where she works as an elementary grade teacher. Living in the boonies, we have well water – which tastes much better than city water, that is loaded with chlorine. Most folks who live and work in the town, don’t taste the chlorine because they are used to it. However, if you depend on well water, you can smell and taste the chlorine in city water, so my wife would usually take a bottle of water from home each day to drink while at work. She decided to give the Athlete water filter bottle a good work out – she said, and I concur, that the first few bottles full of filtered watered had a bit of a “taste” to it – after that, the water was clearly “filtered” and had no strange taste. I found the same true with the Straw and Canteen – after a use or two, the “taste” was gone, and we were drinking great water.
The Athlete bottle will last up to 6-months or 100-gallons of water – and I drink a lot of water each day. The Canteen can also filter up to 100-gallons of water or 6-months of use. The straw, which is very small, can filter up to 25-gallons of water. The Athlete bottle and canteen replaces up to 800+ plastic water bottles – stop and think about that for a moment. I don’t know many people who store 800+ bottles of water in their homes – that’s a lot of room they would take up. One water bottle or canteen can replace 800+ water bottles – this is a win-win situation in my book. Of course, these water filters do not filter salt water, so don’t attempt this. However, if there is a mud puddle in your yard, or standing water any place, you can filter it so it will safely take out all that nasty stuff that will make you sick or even kill you. And, right now, back East, they have plenty of water around – but they just can’t drink it. Also, the Clearly Filtered water bottles are 100% BPA free, if this is a concern to you.
Living in Western Oregon, we always have plenty of water – we get about 48-inches of rain each year – we have two seasons – one is about four months of beautiful summer sunshine, and then 8-months of rain (with a little snow) so there is plenty of water around to drink if we ever had to bug out – however, it simply isn’t safe to drink from a stream, creek or standing water – without first filtering it. I tested the Straw, and it was difficult to get centered over a body of water and drink it. So, the solution was simple, just take my canteen cup and scoop the water into it, and then drink the water from the canteen cup through the straw – piece of cake!
I also tested some dirty looking water that was standing along a logging road – not something you’d even consider drinking. I placed my Canteen on the side and let the dirt water flow into the canteen – and then, just to be sure the water was actually “filtered” I squirted some of it out before drinking it – and it came out crystal clear – so I took the drive and drank so – no nasty taste and it tasted great!
Just think of what people back East would be giving to have their own source of filtered water right now? FEMA tells everyone to be prepared – and they used to say that folks should have three days worth of food, now they are saying to have two weeks worth of food and water. Too bad they didn’t take their own advice and have enough food and water stored to help Hurricane Sandy victims. Anyone who depends on FEMA or the FedGov for anything is a fool in my book! While the Red Cross does some good, did they really think people were gonna survive on cookies and hot chocolate? I just read an article where the Red Cross said their response was “near perfect” to Hurricane Sandy. Huh?
People who had only debit/credit cards of their welfare debit cards, were out of luck, when it came time to purchase food or water, in grocery stores that were able to open, even without power. The debit machines couldn’t work without power, so cash was king. Take that to heart, even if a grocery store can open, if they don’t have power, they can’t take your credit or debit cards – you have to have cash!
Don’t wait for the next disaster to hit, or for your power to go off. Start storing some extra food and water, and make sure you have an alternate source of fresh drinking water. The Clearly Filtered Athlete’s bottle is on-sale right now for $34.99, the Canteen is also $34.99 and the Straw is $19.99. Additionally, if you’ll go to the Clearly Filtered web site, you’ll find many more of their water filters that you might want to consider purchasing. In my neck of the woods, a store-bought bottle of water is about a buck or more – and that’s a lot of money in my book. To be honest, I’ve rarely drank bottled water – I don’t see any sense in paying that kind of money for water – when I can get it for free at home from my tap. If you purchased the Athlete or Canteen filters, you could drink 100-gallons of fresh, clean water for $34.99 – that would be about $400 in bottled water, and odds are, that bottled water came from a water tap, just like you have at home – so you aren’t gaining much in the way of “safe” drinking water. With a Clearly Filtered product, you know you are drinking extremely safe water, and at a bargain price too boot. Plus, the filters in the Bottle and Canteen can be replaced, so you don’t have to purchase the entire product – just replace the filter, and save money.
Don’t depend on FEMA, the Red Cross or anyone else for a source of safe drinking water – take responsibility for your own needs and the needs of your family and do the smart and right thing – make sure you have a way of obtaining safe drinking water. The Clearly Filtered water filters are a step in the right direction. Check out their web site for complete information on all their products. You’ll be glad you did! – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio
Pat’s Product Review: Clearly Filtered Water Filters
