The Membrane Solutions 6L Gravity Water Filter and Membrane Solutions Personal Water Filter Straw work to create the ultimate backcountry adventure experience. Never worry about parched lips and a dry mouth ever again (unless you’re traversing a barren land)! These two items keep you hydrated and keep stress about beaver fever or any other bacterial, stream and lake-related illnesses at bay. Read on to get our verdict, overview, and pros and cons on these incredible products and to access a special discount code for both!
Table of Contents
The Verdict
Everybody knows about bringing water filters for backpacking trips, but with these two new water filters from Membrane Solutions, it now makes sense to bring them on dayhikes as well. Imagine this: your hike takes longer than anticipated, you’ve run out of water, and you’re starting to feel dizzy from the heat; now what? Well, you have to wait to get back to your car and drive to the nearest shop to get a well-deserved bottle of water. Not fun.
Okay, onto scenario two—the one we experienced when trying these products on a backcountry adventure. We brought water from home to the trailhead but packed our Membrane Solutions 6L Gravity Water Filter and Membrane Solutions Personal Water Filter Straw along just in case we ran out. Sure enough, part way through our hike, we sucked up the last drop of water from our bottles, allowing us to give these two products a try.
We decided to take a break at a stream along the way, prompting the use of the 6L Gravity Bag first. We had to open the top and dip in the lake. Seconds later, we pulled the bag out, held it upright (it’s a gravity bag, after all), and the water then filtered through the straw and into our water bottles. We loved watching the water go from stream to clear, clean water in our bottles! The flow from the bag to our water bottles was efficient and comparable to other bag filters. We loved the simplicity and can’t wait to use it again!
The gravity bag is a game changer for hiking in groups—and it’s super easy to pack, lightweight, and hardly takes up space. You can save a lot of water weight for every group member, making it easier to go farther, faster!
We decided to give the personal water filter straw a try on the way back! Like the gravity bag, this straw works wonders. We liked that we could attach it to a disposable plastic water bottle and drink. We filled the bottle with untreated water and then screwed the straw on and drank. We believe that most standard plastic water bottles (like Evian, Smart, and Dasani) would work, but 100 percent check your water bottle before going on your trip.
The only tricky bit about using the straw was that we had to fill up the bottle from a water or stream, then when the urge to take a sip washed over, we had to stop hiking, unscrew the water bottle with the dirty water, screw on the straw, and drink. We quickly learned to fill up our bottle, drink as much as we can with the straw, and then fill it up before venturing on, keeping that bottle with the dirty water for use in “emergency” situations.
Side note: you can also use the water filter straw to replace the gravity bag straw. Talk about practicality!
Our overall verdict? These products are must-haves for your next backcountry adventure—you won’t ever have to worry about going thirsty again on a trek (unless, as we mentioned before, you’re exploring barren land).
Overview
The Membrane Solutions 6L Gravity Water Filter and Membrane Solutions Personal Water Filter Straw are the ultimate add-ons for hydrating along a backcountry journey. Use either of these products to fill up your bottles whenever you cross a stream, lake, or water source.
When to use: When you need to fill up your water bottle in the backcountry! Use both products when you pass a water source. The straw is great for individual use (or replacing the straw on the gravity bag), and the gravity bag works wonders for hiking groups as it’s easy to fill up and can pour into several water bottles at once.
Weight: The gravity bag weighs 0.333kg, and the straw clocks in at 3 ounces.
Pros and Cons
Gravity Bag Pros
- Easy to use—dip the dirty water bag in a water source and watch it fill up
- Filters up to 5,000 litres of water over its lifetime
- Excellent backwash solution—there’s a detachable mouthpiece that you attach to a plastic bottle to backwash and clean out dirty water before using again
- Super lightweight
- Holds 6L of water
- Can hang it up on a tree when you’re camping, so people can fill up their bottles as they please
- Can fill up any type of water bottle, thanks to the universal outflow
- Affordable (and worthwhile!)
- Five-stage filtration system removes 99.99999% of harmful bacteria, metal, chlorine, etc.
- The design is totally detachable design —you can quickly assemble and disassemble this product
- Replaceable UF+ filter elements easy to purchase
Gravity Bag Cons
The Gravity Bag weighs a bit more, so it makes the most sense when using it in a group. If you’re often going out alone then it makes sense to go with the straw to save some weight.
Water Straw Pros
- Can be used for up to 5,000 litres before replacing
- Dual usage—use the straw individually or as a replacement straw for the gravity bag
- Convenient that you can directly screw it to your water bottle (check it fits before you go)
- Five-stage filtration system that can eliminate 99.99999% of harmful substances floating in backcountry water— the water comes out clean, fresh, and with that sweet water taste that words are tough to describe.
- Budget-friendly—and a must-have for any adventurer
Water Straw Cons
- When you’re out hiking, it’s a minor inconvenience to pause hiking, unscrew the water bottle lid, and then screw on water straw to drink, then when we were done to unscrew the water straw and rescrew the bottle lid back on. Yes, it’s pretty minor!
Conclusion
After spending a weekend exploring the backcountry with both the Membrane Solutions Water Straw and Gravity Bag, we will never leave for an adventure without both or one or the other. We think the gravity bag is more practical when hiking in groups or backcountry camping. At the same time, the water straw is good to bring along for a day hike if you’re going with just one other person.
We love the convenience of both of these products—and they are super lightweight, making them an easy addition to your packing list. It’s great knowing that, with these products, we can go hiking or backcountry camping and never have to worry about running out of water again (unless we don’t pass by a water source, of course).
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