Life Straw Water filter…anyone use it?

I have one that I rarely (never?) carry now that I found out about sawyer. I think the sawyer mini is more versatile at the same cost/weight. Still, its a nice product and would work as you suggest. The Sawyer just does that and more, with no downsides.

Yes I was wondering about using the Sawyer mini instead. Same cost and weight, but as you say, more versatile.

without meaning to hijack the thread, is the sawyer mini one of the better systems for cleaning water?

I think the Sawyer Mini has eclipsed the other small filters like the Lifestraw and Frontier models. It will stop smaller bugs and has more life (with the usual caveats). It can be used in the same way as the Lifestaw as well as filtering with the squeeze bag, gravity, in-line, etc.

The advantage with the Lifestraw is that you can hand it to someone and just tell them to drink everything through it, making it dead simple for remote travel or disaster preparation. You don't need anything other than the straw.

Caveats with both systems for 3rd world travel: they won't stop viruses.

If you put an intake hose and a short outflow hose onto a sawyer mini, could one drink straight from the Sawyer mini without using the squeeze or gravity bags? EDIT: Ah it looks like the intake is meant for a threaded squeeze bag or water bottle. The mini seems to be the way to go.

Yes, I've used the Lifestraw for two summers but only when I'm day hiking where there are numerous water sources or when I am flyfishing on streams or lakes. When I'm backpacking I prefer to use my uv purifier and water bottles. I do have a friend who used a Lifestraw on a 3 day trip in Waterton but he was hiking with a group and relied on their equipment as a backup.

Timothy,

Yes, you can put two short hoses on the mini and drink directly thru it (you could even do it without hoses if you put your face 4" from the pond or cup). The input end has both threads and a hose nipple.

You can also use it in-line with a camelbak type bladder/hose system. It also threads on a soda bottle size top, to squeeze water out (either into your mouth or a clean bottle), and pretty easily makes a gravity system. It's 4-in-1 that way.

The straw is slightly lighter (mine are 1.66 vs 1.85oz) and it's stand-alone. If you really, (really?) needed to save an ounce or two say walking along a river, and felt a plastic water bottle was too heavy!

I think it would be a good tool to use along with drops/tablets, to drink at the source while waiting for the drops to work, and if you lose your drops you still have the straw. But a mini would do the same (then I'd wonder why you'd use drops as primary in the first place).