Before using the LifeStraw or other similar devices, I suggest to pre-filter the water through a cloth (T-shirt or whatever) or carry some disposable coffee filters with you. This will remove a bunch of the particulate and extend the service life of the LifeStraw filter.
The point of these things are they are for emergencies. One isnt taking one of these things on their regular camping trip to be their regular source of water.
@@fredlloyd5487 personally use a hand pump cartridge filter or a gravity cartridge filter to create potable water when camping and backpacking. I carry a lifestraw in my pack in case I’m lost, stuck, or in an emergency while hiking.
As a teen I was really into outdoor survival stuff. Had a few of these, never got sick. However there are chemicals out there that life straw cannot remove, so choosing the cleanest water you can find is important.
As far as I know the modern ones don’t have any activated charcoal in them so they can’t remove anything smaller than the holes in the filters. If you knew you were going to be somewhere with water with nasty chemicals in it and you knew what they were you could use an activated charcoal pack or whatever is appropriate for those chemicals to remove it after it has been through the straw so you aren’t making a habitat for potentially nasty microorganisms.
@@alunjones3860 I don't remember boiling being specifically mentioned. But if they said nothing could remove them, I would be surprised if they had not considered boiling. Also even if boiling worked, who has the time to boil all the water they and their families will ever drink?
As a hike in angler, this contraption will help with not carrying around heavy bottles of water or if you do- just in case you run out while on a hike. Thanks for doing the science "look" into it. It helped reassure my confidence in the straw.
Having one of these in Ontario is amazing, especially since we have freshwater streams everywhere. Even in the suburbs, I don’t have to buy water or go home to get some because I can just go to a pond real quick.
As long as you can find a water source. Might carry both and use the straw at all water sources and save a bottle of water for the in case you don't find any.
I never filter water. I have always simply drank fresh water direct from the springs, streams and lakes. Your body is a natural filter and works far better than any commercial bought filter system.
I have several of these for emergencies while out hiking. I have never had to use one, but thank you for the confirmation it does what it advertises. That is exciting to know.
Straight up just ordered one of the 3L bags just for my household emergency preparedness kit a few days ago. Known about the brand for a long while, kept meaning to buy some, but a night of too much catching up on just how stupid things are going on globally...eh, figured I'd rather have than not have. Def see myself grabbing some of the straws to have on hand too.
Well sir, I feel like I owe you a debt of gratitude for “taking one for the team” so to speak. Last year I really started prepping. Like a whole lot of other people in this country I FEEL like something is headed our way. Something not so good. Don’t know exactly what it may be, but I just can’t shake that feeling. In my preps I’ve purchased several of these Lifestraws for every member of my family who currently reside with me. In my house that is. I’ve also purchased more in case others show up after some unforeseen event. I’ve never used one I admit that, but I was trusting that they work, until I ran across your video. I gotta admit, before I saw the results, I was questioning these HARD. But now that I’ve seen the results I feel so much better. The weight of that decision, DEPENDING on these to keep me and my family safe and alive, THAT is a lot of responsibility and weight on my shoulders. So THANK YOU for proving to me, and affirming to me that these are going to help get us through if the need ever should arise. God Bless you and again, Thank You.
Thank you for the video truly. I wanted to have a couple if these in my truck for emergency use. I was a bit skeptical but your testing has assured me these things are legitimate.
Get one that's made for gravity or squeeze filtration. The suck-through types are only useful for drinking directly from a source, and not for filling bottles to carry away from the source, or even just getting some clean water to rinse a wound with.
Thisis a great public service video coming from one citizen to another. Great job! It adds solid proof to the manufacturer's claims. Thank you for sharing this.
I knew a fellow who was involved in early testing and development of this filtre. He went to a couple of places in the Philippines that have notoriously dangerous bad local water. He put a lot of scummy pond water through the gizmo and into his own stomach without getting ill. His vids showed some scary looking water. He already knew the device was effective from lab tests but he want to show people that it worked safely. The issue was how to either clean or replace the filtres.
Complete horse manure. Dangerous Microbes exist down to 0.01 microns, the Lifestraw is a complete P.O.S. In fact.. it is SO crappy, that they are not allowed to tell you that it's a water purifier. ALSO.. does anybody really expect that Captain Obvious here has any dangerous lethal microbes floating around in his pond in his back yard? HELL no! (FYI, an algae bloom like that means that it's very HEALTHY water, there likely aren't ANY dangerous microbes in his pond.. or at least not enough that you would ever find them using a microscope looking at stuff floating around in a one drop of water at a time.
Thank you so much for conducting this LifeStraw experiment. Thanks for also explaining that this is an unbiased, non-paid or compensated experiment. You might consider doing this many times and with different 'unclean' water sources to determine how long the filtration lasts with a LifeStraw, but your experiment reveals that it does indeed work. I actually bought a couple LifeStraws several years ago and I, and I assume most others don't want to unseal them except during emergency situations. Thanks again!
As a Boy Scout back in the 1950's, we went on overnight camps into Halawa valley and took water from the not-exactly-fast-flowing Halawa stream. A Halazone (Sodium Hypochlorite) table was added to this suspect water, then it was "safe to drink" 30 minutes later. I've read that Giardia laughs at Halazone tablets, so Iodine is the preferred dodgy disinfectant these days. It's nice to know that "LifeStray" works, since I did see TV news people look at it, but not drink with it, on camera.
It's complete horse manure. Dangerous Microbes exist down to 0.01 microns, the Lifestraw is a complete P.O.S. In fact.. it is SO crappy, that they are not allowed to tell you that it's a water purifier. ALSO.. does anybody really expect that Captain Obvious here has any dangerous lethal microbes floating around in his pond in his back yard? HELL no! (FYI, an algae bloom like that means that it's very HEALTHY water, there likely aren't ANY dangerous microbes in his pond.. or at least not enough that you would ever find them using a microscope looking at stuff floating around in a one drop of water at a time.
NOTHING KILLS GUARDIA! I had it in my intestines for YEARS! It hides in the intestines of those who have digestive issues or poor immune issues and will reanimate later. I have to take anti-parasitic meds many times and I'm still not convinced that it's gone as I've had man episodes of similar illnesses to this day 20 years later 😢
I have now ordered one of these. I drank water from a stream once and I was sick for a good 12+ hours for the next day (felt horrible). I'll always use a filter now.
It would have been interesting to perform chromatography on the the water to see what chemical contaminants remain in the filtered water. The life Straw still looks like a good bet if you’re in the wild where the protozoa are main contaminant.
This model of filter HAS NOT the CARBON tip!!! I have both this model and the superior one which has more metal in its construction and has a charcoal filter in the lower tip! The charcoal absorbs both chemicals and heavy metals...the filter shown in the video has not the charcoal tip and so does not elliminate chems / poluttants / heavy-metals or bad taste!.
@@wtmayhew Although I have the lifestraws in several of my packs and a few smaller ones in smocks pockets, my main filters are the Grayls...for me this is the best concept. With the straws you can dri k but it is hard to collect and filter like 3 l of water to be carried on... with the "bottle" concept I can't help questioning the con5amination when filling the bottles...the Grayl system seems more appropriate and better thought out...I have 3 of them with spare filters and never had a problem. Thanks for your attention, stay well. PS: as a add-on tip on purifying water, the silver ion Micropur desinfecting tablets are only efficient against bacteria, but NOT against VIRUSES nor PROTOZOA!!!
I’m glad it passed the test because I have several of these on hand for emergency purposes since I live in a hurricane zone! Thank you for your video! 🙏
This isn’t much of a test. It’s a cool science experiment. The life straw does not claim to remove viruses, and this microscope can’t see viruses. In the case of a hurricane, you should expect water might be contaminated with viruses from human waste, and salt. Neither is removed by the life straw. Worse, the Life straw’s design makes it hard to filter then disinfect using iodine or chlorine. Please consider switching to a method that allows you to filter, then disinfect. A single gallon of bleach will allow you to disinfect about 1000 gallons of filtered water. Edit: I’m talking about the LifeStraw Personal. The device people think of as the LifeStraw. There are others in the line that do work better.
I was kinda nervous what you might find. You put my mind at ease when you showed me the results. Thanks a million or should I say thanks at 800 times magnification? lol 😂 😂
My brother has one. I have a sawyer mini which is very similar. Although slow(I think the filter claims 0.1 micron?) It filters out everything that you'd typically find in water in the bush, is lightweight and takes up no space. The thread is a standard water bottle thread so you can use discarded plastic water bottles in a pinch. Water was always the heaviest thing in my bag, not any more. Great device!
This is good to know. Though, from my experience in both the back country and rural areas, I would find and another filter source to run the water through first. Something like activated charcoal (not the Kingsford style, but something from a camp fire). Even the LifeStraw has a lifespan. Pre-filtering the water will make the LifeStraw last longer. Also, did the folks at LifeStraw ever respond to this video?
I had this suggested to me by You Tube. Possibly because I recently bought a couple of these for my own emergency use. It's good to see a real world test showing that they are as effective as advertised. Thanks for the video!
Thanks, that was very helpful and gave me more confidence in the LifeStraw. I have heard from campers who use them a lot that even though you get all of the bacteria and parasites out that the water still has a nasty taste. They recommended using a flavor pack to cover that up.
Fun with microscopes, can you test backpacking/hiker water filters such as katadyn befree, sawyer, platypus quickdraw, katadyn steripen? These are some of the most common filters used in backcountry and would be interesting to see how they compare.
Awesome video!!! I wanted to test it like this myself but the lab at the campus is closed so I got no microscope, I would also put it on a petri dish to compare growth of colonies between filtered and unfiltered, just in case I missed something under the microscope
No, and also using the microscope to full maximum enlargement to find any missing stragglers. You can see the microscope used here was not used to that maximum degree of close up compared to the specs under the video title.
I have those straws and really wondered do they work as well as they say. I want to thank you for doing this video ! You have really set my mind at ease lol thank you so much.
Thanks for answering the most important question on water filters, does it really work? I don't have a microscope so I can't test this kind of stuff myself so I am glad you did and shared it. We now know the answer for this one is yes. Which I kinda figured if it didn't some one would surly have found out by now because this is an easy test to run. Still cool to see it demonstrated though. I was shocked at how much was in the pond water to begin with. I didn't know what to expect.
Very interesting to see such a change but for reliable bacteria detection to be seen you need to stain the sample and go to greater magnification. Viruses would not be seen in the sample with the rig you are using as they are far too small compared to bacteria. I would still chemically treat that water if I could. Trusting a filter that you have no way to verify it's condition in the field is a risk. But again very good results in terms of clarifying the water.
You could always boil the filtered water. These life straws look like they would target the survival/doomsday type of people, who could probably make a fire out in the woods. Just need to carry a small pot.
That is awesome! I actually have several of those straws for my various kits (just for back-up), but usually go to my Katahdin or Sawyer for filtering when out in the bush. Now that I know they are actually 100% effective I will rely on them more, thank you for posting this!
Ive used my lifestraw water bottle on many trips in the wilderness as well as countries with poor water quality. Its proven incredibly valuable to me and allowed me to essentially turn any water source (within reason) safe. I also use it daily at home to filter microplastics.
You are the second person I've seen do this and now I want to buy them for myself and my family in case of an emergency. It's amazing how well it works.
Its always crazy to me how under a microscope, it looks more like outer space. Makes me wonder if our outer space is actually something tiny under a microscope of some other world.
I remember way back in high school physics class we watched this “powers of 10” or something video. It zooms into the atomic level, and then out to the cosmic. It’s quite astonishing. Solar systems are basically the same as atoms. As is everything in between.
Thanks for doing this so I know that they actually work. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing. We had a microscope I was taught how and allowed to use at a very young age and found it absolutely facinating. Would love to have one now. I did purchase a kids one for my grandchildren, not sure if they ever really got overly jazzed about it. I did want to give them the opportunity though.
An additional charcoal filter is a good idea. Look for something with both and a pre filter, so the setup last longer. A good start is looking at something like a The PortaWell® portable water filter system for efficient systems
@@ghost-user559 I don't understand your question. Did you watch it to the end? It seemed clear to me that life straw is pretty safe to use. Is there something I missed?
You did a great job. I'm completely sold on this straw now, as are many others are too I'm sure. Having 4 or 5 of these in the emergency stash is a no-brainer. Thanks for video!
@@jaydavidson4592I'd never trade a straw. Trade the filtered water it provides. Each straw does 4000 litres. You can live comfortably on 1l a day in non summer and 2l in summer if you're not purposely in the sun running a marathon. That's a lot of trade power!
If the LifeStraw filters are made with similar technology to hemodialysis machines then theoretically the LifeStraw can be cleaned by reversing the flow with a chemical flush. It would be interesting to see someone testing the actual filter's life span in various ways.
Sawyer has a similar (but much better, in my opinion) filter, and yes, you can clean them with a reverse flush of clean water. They even come with a syringe to do so.
Thank you so much for making this video because I have about six of those sitting in my room in my bug-out bags and of course I heard of people using them and being fine and all that but it's nice to see under the microscope and see a ton of comments to that say they work.
How can someone possibly give this video a down vote? Seriously, what in the world more could anyone possibly want? Other types of contaminated water maybe?
I knew that it worked but I was really curious still about what could still get through. I’m happy to see nothing there... like absolutely nothing. Nothing living mostly...
Great video and test, especially when comparing the pond water under the microscope and then the Life Straw filtered water. And I'm guessing you survived your test drink. One of the comments below about certain chemicals that can't be filtered out is a good caution to be aware of. Thanks again for taking the time to perform the test and record the video. Two thumbs way up! (ala Ebert & Siskel RIP)
I just found your channel today and I find sooooo much interesting that I have watched all your videos including blood and mosquito blood, everything. This is great. Waiting for more content. Subscribed. This is good quality content.
A note about the intro: Though there were times before I had learnt that I *did* wonder about the mechanism of action and that it seemed almost like magic to me, there was never a time when I wondered if it actually worked. When LifeStraws and similar products were introduced they were revolutionary and backed by science and serious scrutiny which I had already been aware they stood up to and passed, so it was obvious the devices worked
A man of his convictions, I wouldn't have ingested that funky-looking water. Great video and thank you for doing it, I've always wondered if those Life Straws were worth buying, now I know!
My guess would be that the color is primarily due to dissolved mineral salts. Small enough clusters of metals would also manage to make it through, so it could even potentially contain some heavy metals. Various molecules are also small enough; there's a big difference between single cells and single atoms or small molecules. The filter size is ~0.2 microns, i.e. 0.2 µm (micrometer, a millionth of a meter), whereas atoms are more on the order of ~0.2 nm (nanometer, a billionth of a meter), i.e. a 1000-fold difference (three orders of magnitude).
I am always apprehensive about what companies advertise because there is going to be some lies in their marketing campaigns or some “omissions”. Glad to see that you can actually trust some of these devices.
But if it removed everything then where is that slight green tinge coming from? Your test is very convincing but I'd feel a lot more confident in the conclusion if that were explained. Still, these results are orders of magnitude better than I'd ever expected. Thank you.
probably released chlorophyll from dead algae in the pond water. After all molecules of chlorophyll are MUCH smaller than any bacteria so would escape. Thankfully chlorophyll is the stuff that makes plants green, and is actually nutritious for humans since its also in all the vegetables we eat, so it would be harmless in filtered water. I imagine if you were to run the life straw's flitered water though a carbon filter that would be taken right out.
@@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830Rannins shouldn't hurt you. The fish get by well w them. In fact, you put Mopami wood in there where there's lots of limestone.
Don’t keep drinking it, you can’t just filter salt water out because it’s dissolved in water. 0.02 microns is not enough to filter salt. You can’t boil salt water either you have to distill it or evaporate it.
You need a different way to filter salt out of water. A solar still, or regular distilling device work. One other approach I heard about involves two containers and a wicking material. There also needs to be a slight difference in elevation between the two containers. The top container should have the salt water in in it. The bottom container is an empty collection conainer. You would take an absorbant material (cotton shirt, etc.) and run that from the top container to the bottom container. The cotton will wick the water from the top container to the bottom one leaving the salt behind. It works better on a hot sunny day, and it is a slow process. I would still treat the water for viruses etc. prior to drinking it.
Thank you for this! I have a couple in my survival bag, and have been wondering how well they REALLY work. I just bought two of the water bottles now too!
You should get a Badge of Courage. You are the first person I've seen who actually drank the filtered water. Even people who sell these things never drink the water after being filtered on a TH-cam commercial.
Wow. This is the first video I've watched that shows the water life before and after. Thanks! I have greater faith in usi g a Lifestraw during emergencies. 😊
Your pondwater, magnified 200x actually would make a great screen saver. _ I was surprised to see so much life in a drop of water. - Thanks for sharing! - That was a lot of fun watching!
WHAT AN INSPIRATION!!! I oogled can a lifestraw be used as... well then I got helped by other inputs until I found what I didn't understand: "Can a lifestraw be used as a GRAVITY FILTER?" YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!! WHOOP WHOOOP!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH 😘
Before using the LifeStraw or other similar devices, I suggest to pre-filter the water through a cloth (T-shirt or whatever) or carry some disposable coffee filters with you. This will remove a bunch of the particulate and extend the service life of the LifeStraw filter.
Coffee filters is an option. More than light enough for taking on long hikes.
I strain, boil and perfection tablets. I made it to 64 so far. But I'm using a decent water.
The point of these things are they are for emergencies. One isnt taking one of these things on their regular camping trip to be their regular source of water.
@@thecocktailian2091where else are you going to get drinkable water while camping in the wilderness?
@@fredlloyd5487 personally use a hand pump cartridge filter or a gravity cartridge filter to create potable water when camping and backpacking. I carry a lifestraw in my pack in case I’m lost, stuck, or in an emergency while hiking.
As a teen I was really into outdoor survival stuff. Had a few of these, never got sick. However there are chemicals out there that life straw cannot remove, so choosing the cleanest water you can find is important.
PFAS are just extra calories! 😃
As far as I know the modern ones don’t have any activated charcoal in them so they can’t remove anything smaller than the holes in the filters.
If you knew you were going to be somewhere with water with nasty chemicals in it and you knew what they were you could use an activated charcoal pack or whatever is appropriate for those chemicals to remove it after it has been through the straw so you aren’t making a habitat for potentially nasty microorganisms.
@@glenecollins Nothing removes female hormones, from water, from what I remember learning once.
@@mikehenrys Not even boiling? I would be surprised if heat doesn't denature the proteins.
@@alunjones3860 I don't remember boiling being specifically mentioned.
But if they said nothing could remove them, I would be surprised if they had not considered boiling.
Also even if boiling worked, who has the time to boil all the water they and their families will ever drink?
As a hike in angler, this contraption will help with not carrying around heavy bottles of water or if you do- just in case you run out while on a hike. Thanks for doing the science "look" into it. It helped reassure my confidence in the straw.
Having one of these in Ontario is amazing, especially since we have freshwater streams everywhere. Even in the suburbs, I don’t have to buy water or go home to get some because I can just go to a pond real quick.
As long as you can find a water source. Might carry both and use the straw at all water sources and save a bottle of water for the in case you don't find any.
that's disgusting
I never filter water. I have always simply drank fresh water direct from the springs, streams and lakes. Your body is a natural filter and works far better than any commercial bought filter system.
@@Globetrotter-1 Ok, let me see you drink green algae water. You put that natural filter to work 🤣
I have several of these for emergencies while out hiking. I have never had to use one, but thank you for the confirmation it does what it advertises. That is exciting to know.
Straight up just ordered one of the 3L bags just for my household emergency preparedness kit a few days ago. Known about the brand for a long while, kept meaning to buy some, but a night of too much catching up on just how stupid things are going on globally...eh, figured I'd rather have than not have. Def see myself grabbing some of the straws to have on hand too.
The only experimentist that dranked the water! You're the man bro!!! 👍 👌
Drankded
To be fair, if he was crooked, he could totally have swapped the water.
this is why I liked the video actually! The commitment
Drook
It is amazing how much life is around us all the time that we never see.
.. Father God Jehovah created life seen.. And that is unseen. He is all powerful, And his creations are grand in scale to match his vision. +
@@onojioboardwalk9748I think the stars in the firmament match what is happening under the microscope. The luminaries also are living beings!
Well sir, I feel like I owe you a debt of gratitude for “taking one for the team” so to speak.
Last year I really started prepping. Like a whole lot of other people in this country I FEEL like something is headed our way. Something not so good. Don’t know exactly what it may be, but I just can’t shake that feeling.
In my preps I’ve purchased several of these Lifestraws for every member of my family who currently reside with me. In my house that is.
I’ve also purchased more in case others show up after some unforeseen event.
I’ve never used one I admit that, but I was trusting that they work, until I ran across your video. I gotta admit, before I saw the results, I was questioning these HARD.
But now that I’ve seen the results I feel so much better. The weight of that decision, DEPENDING on these to keep me and my family safe and alive, THAT is a lot of responsibility and weight on my shoulders.
So THANK YOU for proving to me, and affirming to me that these are going to help get us through if the need ever should arise.
God Bless you and again, Thank You.
Thank you for the video truly. I wanted to have a couple if these in my truck for emergency use. I was a bit skeptical but your testing has assured me these things are legitimate.
Get one that's made for gravity or squeeze filtration. The suck-through types are only useful for drinking directly from a source, and not for filling bottles to carry away from the source, or even just getting some clean water to rinse a wound with.
Thisis a great public service video coming from one citizen to another. Great job! It adds solid proof to the manufacturer's claims. Thank you for sharing this.
I just realized the microscopic legend is back... I have binging to do lol
I knew a fellow who was involved in early testing and development of this filtre. He went to a couple of places in the Philippines that have notoriously dangerous bad local water. He put a lot of scummy pond water through the gizmo and into his own stomach without getting ill. His vids showed some scary looking water. He already knew the device was effective from lab tests but he want to show people that it worked safely. The issue was how to either clean or replace the filtres.
these drinking straws to filter out parasites were useful in areas of the world with guinea worm.
Complete horse manure. Dangerous Microbes exist down to 0.01 microns, the Lifestraw is a complete P.O.S. In fact.. it is SO crappy, that they are not allowed to tell you that it's a water purifier. ALSO.. does anybody really expect that Captain Obvious here has any dangerous lethal microbes floating around in his pond in his back yard? HELL no! (FYI, an algae bloom like that means that it's very HEALTHY water, there likely aren't ANY dangerous microbes in his pond.. or at least not enough that you would ever find them using a microscope looking at stuff floating around in a one drop of water at a time.
Well I know that was about as dirty as it gets I spent 4 years there and have seen it all
The Sawyer version of this type of filter lets you backwash the filter.
Awesome video, I wish more people did this kid of tests. Love the microscopic world by the way!
Kind of freaky but it was awesome to see it in a video.
Thank you so much for conducting this LifeStraw experiment. Thanks for also explaining that this is an unbiased, non-paid or compensated experiment. You might consider doing this many times and with different 'unclean' water sources to determine how long the filtration lasts with a LifeStraw, but your experiment reveals that it does indeed work. I actually bought a couple LifeStraws several years ago and I, and I assume most others don't want to unseal them except during emergency situations. Thanks again!
The website says the filter is good for over 1,000 gallons!
Would have felt a lot safer if you would have kept creating videos after more than 10 days after this one :)
Hope you are ok! 😄
They died of Ligma thanks to the viruses still in the water. It was a headline and everything.
Don't expect such quality for that little amount of time
i think he might be dead 💀
😅
Oh my
As a Boy Scout back in the 1950's, we went on overnight camps into Halawa valley and took water from the not-exactly-fast-flowing Halawa stream. A Halazone (Sodium Hypochlorite) table was added to this suspect water, then it was "safe to drink" 30 minutes later. I've read that Giardia laughs at Halazone tablets, so Iodine is the preferred dodgy disinfectant these days. It's nice to know that "LifeStray" works, since I did see TV news people look at it, but not drink with it, on camera.
It's complete horse manure. Dangerous Microbes exist down to 0.01 microns, the Lifestraw is a complete P.O.S. In fact.. it is SO crappy, that they are not allowed to tell you that it's a water purifier. ALSO.. does anybody really expect that Captain Obvious here has any dangerous lethal microbes floating around in his pond in his back yard? HELL no! (FYI, an algae bloom like that means that it's very HEALTHY water, there likely aren't ANY dangerous microbes in his pond.. or at least not enough that you would ever find them using a microscope looking at stuff floating around in a one drop of water at a time.
NOTHING KILLS GUARDIA! I had it in my intestines for YEARS! It hides in the intestines of those who have digestive issues or poor immune issues and will reanimate later. I have to take anti-parasitic meds many times and I'm still not convinced that it's gone as I've had man episodes of similar illnesses to this day 20 years later 😢
I have now ordered one of these. I drank water from a stream once and I was sick for a good 12+ hours for the next day (felt horrible). I'll always use a filter now.
It would have been interesting to perform chromatography on the the water to see what chemical contaminants remain in the filtered water. The life Straw still looks like a good bet if you’re in the wild where the protozoa are main contaminant.
This model of filter HAS NOT the CARBON tip!!! I have both this model and the superior one which has more metal in its construction and has a charcoal filter in the lower tip!
The charcoal absorbs both chemicals and heavy metals...the filter shown in the video has not the charcoal tip and so does not elliminate chems / poluttants / heavy-metals or bad taste!.
@@GAUROCH2 Thank you for the additional information.
@@wtmayhew
Although I have the lifestraws in several of my packs and a few smaller ones in smocks pockets, my main filters are the Grayls...for me this is the best concept.
With the straws you can dri k but it is hard to collect and filter like 3 l of water to be carried on... with the "bottle" concept I can't help questioning the con5amination when filling the bottles...the Grayl system seems more appropriate and better thought out...I have 3 of them with spare filters and never had a problem.
Thanks for your attention, stay well.
PS: as a add-on tip on purifying water, the silver ion Micropur desinfecting tablets are only efficient against bacteria, but NOT against VIRUSES nor PROTOZOA!!!
@@GAUROCH2 Thanks for the detail. Have a great day.
@@wtmayhew
...you're welcome!
I’m glad it passed the test because I have several of these on hand for emergency purposes since I live in a hurricane zone! Thank you for your video! 🙏
This isn’t much of a test. It’s a cool science experiment. The life straw does not claim to remove viruses, and this microscope can’t see viruses. In the case of a hurricane, you should expect water might be contaminated with viruses from human waste, and salt. Neither is removed by the life straw. Worse, the Life straw’s design makes it hard to filter then disinfect using iodine or chlorine.
Please consider switching to a method that allows you to filter, then disinfect. A single gallon of bleach will allow you to disinfect about 1000 gallons of filtered water.
Edit: I’m talking about the LifeStraw Personal. The device people think of as the LifeStraw. There are others in the line that do work better.
It would be interesting to see what a standard home water filter does.
I was kinda nervous what you might find. You put my mind at ease when you showed me the results. Thanks a million or should I say thanks at 800 times magnification? lol 😂 😂
Bro drank the pond water then died, he hasn't uploaded in 2 years
My brother has one. I have a sawyer mini which is very similar. Although slow(I think the filter claims 0.1 micron?) It filters out everything that you'd typically find in water in the bush, is lightweight and takes up no space. The thread is a standard water bottle thread so you can use discarded plastic water bottles in a pinch. Water was always the heaviest thing in my bag, not any more. Great device!
Full support for this. I felt so much fun when I saw your videos. Before, I wasn't interested in this but now I am! Thank you 😊
Excellent video! Thanks for keeping it brief and informative
This is good to know. Though, from my experience in both the back country and rural areas, I would find and another filter source to run the water through first. Something like activated charcoal (not the Kingsford style, but something from a camp fire). Even the LifeStraw has a lifespan. Pre-filtering the water will make the LifeStraw last longer. Also, did the folks at LifeStraw ever respond to this video?
I'm genuinely curious about how do the algae moves around
Don't up more videos :0
Flagella (which is plural of the singular "flagellum"); essentially small tails they use to propel themselves around, similar to how fish move.
I had this suggested to me by You Tube. Possibly because I recently bought a couple of these for my own emergency use.
It's good to see a real world test showing that they are as effective as advertised.
Thanks for the video!
Great, TH-cam knows everything about us.
Thanks for the vid, I think this chsnnel has real potential!
Thanks, that was very helpful and gave me more confidence in the LifeStraw. I have heard from campers who use them a lot that even though you get all of the bacteria and parasites out that the water still has a nasty taste. They recommended using a flavor pack to cover that up.
The pitcher version adds a charcoal filter after the membrane filter. That takes out the bad tastes.
Thank you for sharing your findings, very interesting 😊
Fun with microscopes, can you test backpacking/hiker water filters such as katadyn befree, sawyer, platypus quickdraw, katadyn steripen? These are some of the most common filters used in backcountry and would be interesting to see how they compare.
I am more impressed that your rubberbanded baggy thing worked.
Awesome video!!! I wanted to test it like this myself but the lab at the campus is closed so I got no microscope, I would also put it on a petri dish to compare growth of colonies between filtered and unfiltered, just in case I missed something under the microscope
Did you end up doing this?
No, and also using the microscope to full maximum enlargement to find any missing stragglers. You can see the microscope used here was not used to that maximum degree of close up compared to the specs under the video title.
I have those straws and really wondered do they work as well as they say. I want to thank you for doing this video ! You have really set my mind at ease lol thank you so much.
Really good to know, thanks so much. We have these in our survival backpack, a great idea and apparently, great implementation.
Thanks for answering the most important question on water filters, does it really work? I don't have a microscope so I can't test this kind of stuff myself so I am glad you did and shared it. We now know the answer for this one is yes. Which I kinda figured if it didn't some one would surly have found out by now because this is an easy test to run. Still cool to see it demonstrated though. I was shocked at how much was in the pond water to begin with. I didn't know what to expect.
No it did't prove that it really worked. Bacteria and viruses are a lot smaller than algae
Very interesting to see such a change but for reliable bacteria detection to be seen you need to stain the sample and go to greater magnification. Viruses would not be seen in the sample with the rig you are using as they are far too small compared to bacteria. I would still chemically treat that water if I could. Trusting a filter that you have no way to verify it's condition in the field is a risk. But again very good results in terms of clarifying the water.
You could always boil the filtered water. These life straws look like they would target the survival/doomsday type of people, who could probably make a fire out in the woods. Just need to carry a small pot.
Thank you sir! This is important practical content. (AND you saved me the hassle of conducting a very similar experiment.)
That is awesome! I actually have several of those straws for my various kits (just for back-up), but usually go to my Katahdin or Sawyer for filtering when out in the bush. Now that I know they are actually 100% effective I will rely on them more, thank you for posting this!
Thanks for the review sir I bought this filter yesterday but didnt look up for reviews beforehand, your video provided some peace of mind!
Perfect advertisement should be like This....
Ive used my lifestraw water bottle on many trips in the wilderness as well as countries with poor water quality. Its proven incredibly valuable to me and allowed me to essentially turn any water source (within reason) safe. I also use it daily at home to filter microplastics.
You are the second person I've seen do this and now I want to buy them for myself and my family in case of an emergency. It's amazing how well it works.
THANKS FOR SHOWING THIS, I HAVE ONE AND DIDN'T REALLY KNOW IF IT WAS DEPENDABLE. AGAIN THANKS
Its always crazy to me how under a microscope, it looks more like outer space. Makes me wonder if our outer space is actually something tiny under a microscope of some other world.
I had the exact same thought tbh.. How we're prob some tiny organism compared to something much bigger.
We live in a simulation so they're probably just trying to save on processing power
Had this thought too. If it goes on forever microsopically and space-wise. And if we are like little cells on other cells, what is our function?
I remember way back in high school physics class we watched this “powers of 10” or something video. It zooms into the atomic level, and then out to the cosmic. It’s quite astonishing. Solar systems are basically the same as atoms. As is everything in between.
It isn't.
Thanks for doing this so I know that they actually work. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing. We had a microscope I was taught how and allowed to use at a very young age and found it absolutely facinating. Would love to have one now. I did purchase a kids one for my grandchildren, not sure if they ever really got overly jazzed about it. I did want to give them the opportunity though.
Thank you! I'm preparing for an earthquake or in case we run out of water here in California. These are scary times we are living in!
An additional charcoal filter is a good idea. Look for something with both and a pre filter, so the setup last longer. A good start is looking at something like a The PortaWell® portable water filter system for efficient systems
I appreciate you putting the time into doing this test. Good to know that my LifeStraw is good to go.
The man never posted more than a single video after? How do you know that it works?
@@ghost-user559 I don't understand your question. Did you watch it to the end? It seemed clear to me that life straw is pretty safe to use. Is there something I missed?
Thanks for showing this unbiased test! I’m gonna grab one if these straws for when I go backpacking!
You did a great job. I'm completely sold on this straw now, as are many others are too I'm sure. Having 4 or 5 of these in the emergency stash is a no-brainer. Thanks for video!
You dont really need more of them, two can sustain you really well, one of them can sustain for 5 years/person
@@chervilious bartering/trading, possibly giving to someone if they're really nice to me
@@jaydavidson4592I'd never trade a straw. Trade the filtered water it provides. Each straw does 4000 litres. You can live comfortably on 1l a day in non summer and 2l in summer if you're not purposely in the sun running a marathon. That's a lot of trade power!
If the LifeStraw filters are made with similar technology to hemodialysis machines then theoretically the LifeStraw can be cleaned by reversing the flow with a chemical flush. It would be interesting to see someone testing the actual filter's life span in various ways.
Sawyer has a similar (but much better, in my opinion) filter, and yes, you can clean them with a reverse flush of clean water. They even come with a syringe to do so.
I am so glad I stumbled across this channel. Fascinating!
Thank you so much for making this video because I have about six of those sitting in my room in my bug-out bags and of course I heard of people using them and being fine and all that but it's nice to see under the microscope and see a ton of comments to that say they work.
How can someone possibly give this video a down vote? Seriously, what in the world more could anyone possibly want? Other types of contaminated water maybe?
Ew redditor
Mite be opposition
It's just a competitor to life straw lol.. screw them..
I had to fast forward because I came for a microscope view of the filtered water, and he spent a lot of time zoomed in on the dirty water.
How do you see the down votes? Doesn’t show on my screen.
I knew that it worked but I was really curious still about what could still get through. I’m happy to see nothing there... like absolutely nothing. Nothing living mostly...
Great video and test, especially when comparing the pond water under the microscope and then the Life Straw filtered water. And I'm guessing you survived your test drink. One of the comments below about certain chemicals that can't be filtered out is a good caution to be aware of. Thanks again for taking the time to perform the test and record the video. Two thumbs way up! (ala Ebert & Siskel RIP)
Thanks for your service!!! I appreciate this information: bought half a dozen of these for emergency and back country
sir u are inspiring many kids to study science keep going
I’ve always wanted one. Now I’m definitely getting one. Awesome video man!
Thanks! I was on the fence about buying LifeStraws but now I’m getting a whole bunch of them!
I just found your channel today and I find sooooo much interesting that I have watched all your videos including blood and mosquito blood, everything. This is great. Waiting for more content. Subscribed. This is good quality content.
Ive used a life straw with some pretty nasty looking water and didn't get sick. Even at that, I'm impressed at the results you've shown.
I work in a Water purification plant and yeah, Its almost like magic the level of purification modern technology can archive.
what is the archive for? is it physical or digital?
Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
Thanks for making and sharing this video. As I prep for a trip, I feel so much better about my chosen water solution. I really appreciate it alot!
Great work! I’d be very interested to see what is in our mouth. Say before brushing and after brushing.
A note about the intro: Though there were times before I had learnt that I *did* wonder about the mechanism of action and that it seemed almost like magic to me, there was never a time when I wondered if it actually worked. When LifeStraws and similar products were introduced they were revolutionary and backed by science and serious scrutiny which I had already been aware they stood up to and passed, so it was obvious the devices worked
Today's "Backed by science" is a totally different ball game....
Yes, backed by science ‘lol’!. Means jack sh#t.
Cool project that answered a running curiosity of mine. Will be buying a LifeStraw for the camping/emergency gear
A man of his convictions, I wouldn't have ingested that funky-looking water. Great video and thank you for doing it, I've always wondered if those Life Straws were worth buying, now I know!
One question still to be answered: What gives the color of the filtered water? Is it a dissolved chemical or something else?
My guess would be that the color is primarily due to dissolved mineral salts. Small enough clusters of metals would also manage to make it through, so it could even potentially contain some heavy metals. Various molecules are also small enough; there's a big difference between single cells and single atoms or small molecules. The filter size is ~0.2 microns, i.e. 0.2 µm (micrometer, a millionth of a meter), whereas atoms are more on the order of ~0.2 nm (nanometer, a billionth of a meter), i.e. a 1000-fold difference (three orders of magnitude).
What could be the source of the slight green color still present in the clean water?
Likely whatever minerals and other things are dissolved in the water, as those molecules are too small to be filtered out by the lifestraw.
I have several LifeStraws ... I trust that they will work. But, it's good to see them tested and confirmed.
But he never made a video again? I would not call that a confirmed success necessarily?
@@ghost-user559 He did do one about rabbit poop after this one. Maybe he forgot to wash his hands after handling the pellets? 🤣
I am always apprehensive about what companies advertise because there is going to be some lies in their marketing campaigns or some “omissions”. Glad to see that you can actually trust some of these devices.
Just remember, it cannot removed toxic substances those organisms already put in the water, or virii, or metal contamination.
Stay safe!
But if it removed everything then where is that slight green tinge coming from? Your test is very convincing but I'd feel a lot more confident in the conclusion if that were explained.
Still, these results are orders of magnitude better than I'd ever expected. Thank you.
Tried one of these as a kid, the taste also remains (depending on the water source)
probably released chlorophyll from dead algae in the pond water. After all molecules of chlorophyll are MUCH smaller than any bacteria so would escape. Thankfully chlorophyll is the stuff that makes plants green, and is actually nutritious for humans since its also in all the vegetables we eat, so it would be harmless in filtered water.
I imagine if you were to run the life straw's flitered water though a carbon filter that would be taken right out.
@@nordoceltic7225 Didn't know that, thanks for the explanation! :)
Tannins also don’t filter out.
@@throbbinwoodofcoxley6830Rannins shouldn't hurt you. The fish get by well w them. In fact, you put Mopami wood in there where there's lots of limestone.
Thank U FR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THIS
I have a few of those although I have not had a need to use them.
Hi, would you check salt water after filtration through lifestraw? It still has salttaste after filtration.
It’s salt it disloves in water I belive dissolve is beyond the 0.02 microscopic hole probably like 0.0
Don’t keep drinking it, you can’t just filter salt water out because it’s dissolved in water. 0.02 microns is not enough to filter salt. You can’t boil salt water either you have to distill it or evaporate it.
You need a different way to filter salt out of water. A solar still, or regular distilling device work. One other approach I heard about involves two containers and a wicking material. There also needs to be a slight difference in elevation between the two containers. The top container should have the salt water in in it. The bottom container is an empty collection conainer. You would take an absorbant material (cotton shirt, etc.) and run that from the top container to the bottom container. The cotton will wick the water from the top container to the bottom one leaving the salt behind. It works better on a hot sunny day, and it is a slow process. I would still treat the water for viruses etc. prior to drinking it.
Lifestraw doesn't filter sea water or toxic water.
Thank you for this! I have a couple in my survival bag, and have been wondering how well they REALLY work. I just bought two of the water bottles now too!
Life straw should be thrilled to see this. Very cool. Thanks for showing this.
What happens when you put alcohol in the contaminated water
Drunk bacteria.
DRUNK BUGS!
Americans are incredible all their inventions push the humankind forward
Only this is Swiss lol
@@fluffyouistiti3148 Its made withc Carter Center support. from USA.
@@LitULTRA Yea but the technoly is from a French Swiss company based in Lausanne Switzerland.
I'd pre-filter the water through a bandana or other cloth to help the filter last longer, and never let it freeze.
thank you sir! ive always been skeptic of my life straws. no more will i question its integrity thanks to you
"Hopefully I don't die, right?"
*drinks water*
No new video after July 2020.
Bruh
yiiiikes
You should get a Badge of Courage. You are the first person I've seen who actually drank the filtered water. Even people who sell these things never drink the water after being filtered on a TH-cam commercial.
Notice that his last video was the one after this one, both two years ago. Oh, oh.
I'm really glad this video popped up. I've thought about getting these, but I didn't know if I'd bet my life on their performance.
WOW, I have one but have never had to use it...but this is a plus, especially in an emergency situation. Thanks for testing it.
Hello sir,next time make it human DNA structure under microscope
I believe that would require an electron microscope. Thanks for the suggestion though.
OK sir
So sad that he died three weeks after this. RIP ;)
@HARSHAVARDHAN TUPAKULU I was just joking. Hence the winky face.
Why would you joke about that? ToT My heart dropped for a second there.
Really?
😂
Im really glad youtube recommended me your channel!
Subscribed
Great vid , i would really like to see the same test repeated using several of the major similar type water filters , sawyer , grayl , etc .
Great Video, been looking for some science about this. thanks.. looking forward to more of your videos.
More videos please! Your content is incredible!!
Wow. This is the first video I've watched that shows the water life before and after. Thanks! I have greater faith in usi g a Lifestraw during emergencies. 😊
Kudos, I have been wondering about that but had no way to test it...
Awesome video. Short, definitive, and right to the point. Earned my sub.
Man, you drank that pond water, survived long enough to post 1 more video, and then were never heard from again!.
Your pondwater, magnified 200x actually would make a great screen saver. _ I was surprised to see so much life in a drop of water. - Thanks for sharing! - That was a lot of fun watching!
I always carry one of these with me in the woods. You never know when you’ll need it!
WHAT AN INSPIRATION!!!
I oogled can a lifestraw be used as... well then I got helped by other inputs until I found what I didn't understand:
"Can a lifestraw be used as a GRAVITY FILTER?"
YEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!
WHOOP WHOOOP!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH 😘