Prepared Minimalist
One's mentality to be ready for the unknown.
One's choice to live with less in exchange for freedom.
Filtering Systems
+ Weighs very little
+ Can filter thousands of gallons
+ Filters out bacteria and virus 99.99%
- Does not remove chemicals
- Has room for error if filter is old or isn't working properly.
- Requires maintenance
Bottled Water
+ Safe to Drink if unopened
+ Could stack water bottle cases up for storage or to use as tables.
- Expensive for individual small bottles
- Gallons are heavy to carry around
- Plastic bottle is easy to become damage
- Generic brands have a horrid plastic taste
- Additional garbage / recycling material
Boiling
+ Kills all bacteria and viruses @ 100%
+ Only requires a metal pot to boil near endless amount of water
- Uses fuel / valuable resources
- Does not remove chemicals
- Can give away location when one may not want to
Purifiers
+ Removes chemicals in the water
+ Is usually combined within a bottle, allowing one to have an extra container
- Filters less water than filtering systems
- Has room for error if the filter isn't properly working
Water
While it is all around us, only a small percentage of water is safe to drink around the world. So what are the options to make sure you have safe water to drink where it's an every day event or during a disaster? Here are the plus and minus of different methods.
Even clear, "clean" creeks could have giardia and other waterborne illnesses. This can get you sick not only by drinking it, but even when splashing the water in your face. Filters help take out animal waste and germs out, but there are other factors one must take into consideration.
The Sewers Mini Water Filter can clean 100's to 1,000's of gallons of water from waterborne illness and excretions. However, it can not take out chemicals in the water. I use a Berkey's Water Bottle Filter to clean out even chemicals which may be present. The downside to this bottle is that a filter is only good for about 300 bottle-size refills.
The extreme example of knowing a water source is horrible is if one sees dead animals in it. If that is the case, opting for dehydration may not be as bad! However, if one has a shovel, you may be able to dig underground to get the best of what water is in that given area during a survival situation.
Lastly there's the rule of if you don't have even a bandana to filter mud out of the water, it would be wise to just drink the water in a short term survival situation. You'd die of dehydration way faster than whatever in the water will kill you.
Bandana Filter
+ Multi use item which weighs almost nothing
+ Removes dirt and large debris in water
- Does not remove bacteria or viruses
- Does not remove chemicals
Snow, Dew, Rain
+ Can be caught with a rain catcher or cloth
+ Item to collect water is light weight
- May have bacteria in it if it isn't fresh
- May contain chemicals (acid rain)
- Not too efficient, but an added bonus in a survival situation
An average person needs two gallons of water per day at a location.
This water can be both bottled and tap water. The two gallons are used for drinking as well as hygiene needs.