Customer Reviews

Lifesaver Bottle 4000 Ultra Filtration Water Bottle

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I did a one week kayak/camping trip through the Amazon rainforest and purchased the Lifesaver 4000 to supply all the drinking water for myself and the two friends who joined me on this trip. The filter performed as described on their website and I was more than happy with the quality of the water that it produced.

One thing to note is that the water won't necessarily be crystal clear - but it will be safe to drink. We were filtering 'black water' from the rainforest (ie water that is stained black due to decomposing leaf matter) and the filtered water was slightly cloudy - but only really noticeable when compared against a bottle of tap water. Taste-wise, it was fine. From what I have read, no portable water filter is capable of producing crystal clear water in these conditions so I don't count this as a negative against the Lifesaver bottle.

Pumping the water was easy and didn't require much effort. Five or six pumps and then you could sit back and watch whilst the water came out of the teat, then as the flow slowed, a few more pumps. By the time the bottle is 3/4 empty, I would have to refill it. You could let the last quarter trickle out, but it was quicker to top up the bottle again as the water flowed out quicker once you re-pressurised the bottle. I should point out that our guide commented that it was the 'best' water filter he had seen based on how little effort it took to get a steady stream of water pumping out the bottle. He said that the filters he saw other groups bring normally required constant pumping to took forever to fill a bottle.

After the kayak trip, my friends and I continued to travel throughout South America for the next 3 months where we used the bottle for all our drinking water (since we didn't trust the mains water). None of us got sick for the entire trip which I put down to the filter working effectively given other travel companions did. Admittedly not scientific proof, but good enough for me - and I would definitely take such a filter with me if I was visiting places like the countries in South America again.

I usually don't write reviews, but this product went way beyond my expectations.

At first I was kind of skeptical about it, especially for the price. But at the urging of some friends I finally got one and used it. What I like about it is how simple it is to use. All the other filters I have used are a hassle with the hoses, the extra bottle you filter into and the awkward pumping action all the while trying to keep in from falling into the contaminated water you're drawing from. Then you have to fold everything up, still wet into a pouch and put it into your pack. It's a hassle to me. The Lifesaver avoids all of that.

Just unscrew the bottom of the bottle, fill it with the contaminated water, close it and give it a couple of simple pumps. Instant sterile water. In my opinion, the video and the pictures don't do it justice. You need to try one and it will become crytal clear...like the water it produces!

I have one that I use backpacking and another in my 72-hour kit.

One more thing: every other filter I have used over the years kept pumping water long after the filter was done filtering. The fact that this one stops working when the filter needs replacement is genious.

If you maintain this bottle well (study the quirky instruction manual, this thing isn't cheap!) it will do better than just about any other product on the market. I say that having used many others and having witnessed lots of other products fail in the silty and highly contaminated environment where this one succeeded for me--and it has continued to succeed for a long time. I used it for two months in the Bolivian Amazon (as well as two of my friends...on the same bottle!) and it supplied ALL of my water (~2L/day for me and up to 6L/day in total) and didn't require more than a couple of rinses of the dirty water portion while in the field. My field work supervisors were shocked that it worked so well as they had long since given up trying to use pumps of any kind in this location due to the clay and silt. Instead, they boiled all their water, which resulted in just-as-silty, brown and totally flat (and when done on a camp fire, smoky) but potable water. I'll admit to being lax on maintenance the first two months, but I've since come to understand the necessity of keeping the o-rings greased and free of debris and my bottle is working as well as day 1.

Pros:
--Can filter just about any water source and maintain performance (though the life of the cartridge will lessen).
--Has a very high flow rate so filling other containers is fast.
--You can use it to store water as well.
--Air-tight cap means that when it's sealed it's safe from contamination even if it falls into a river or on the ground.
--One of the lowest prices/L for filtering solutions if you plan to actually use 4000L within the two-year life of a cartridge.
--Durable.
--Dirty water fail-safe means it'll cut off flow before you can drink inadequately filtered water.

Cons:
--$150
--Each cartridge is good for two years from when it is first opened. This is due to the makeup of the filter which ships with a glycerin coating that is removed when you prime the bottle for the first time. So once the clock starts ticking, that's it.
--The carbon filters only lasts 250L (though this is A LOT of water). But if you're using it as an actual bottle then your saliva can contaminate the carbon which means if it sits after you've used it (less than 250L) you'll need to change it out the next time you use it. I avoid this by using the bottle only to fill other bottles for storage of clean water.
--The care instructions are not written/edited well but they are crucial to figure out. This may be a problem that no longer exists (I believe I have an earlier generation of the bottle) and there are instructions online.
--Learning how to use the bottle (and, especially, teaching others) can be a bit frustrating and there are a few too many ways to contaminate your bottle if you're not careful (or a friend is not careful). For example, forgetting to completely empty, replace the bottom, and then pump 30x before removing the top cap before switching out the carbon filter can contaminate the bottle. Other annoyances include needing to do front-side washes (put water in the dirty-water end, swish around and dump back out, or remove the cartridge and soak), lube the internal pump o-ring, do membrane integrity checks (i.e. make sure the bottle will continue to flow in all directions once it is pressurized), and lube the base o-ring.

I have used every type of filter/purifier on the market and none of them have been as effective and simple to use as the Lifesaver bottle. I have two bottles, one for home and one for travel. I noticed one of the prior reviewers remarked on his discolored well water remaining discolored once it was filtered through the lifesaver. While the lifesaver bottle will filter out all microbiologicals including bacteria and even viruses it will not filter solutions such as the saline from salt water nor will it remove all of the color that is associated with a solution. For example, if you run tea or coffe through the filter the result will be clean water but the color of the water will mainsome of tea coloring. Personaly, I have drank water from some bad sources such as the great dismal swamp and stagnant ponds and the result is always the same, clean, pure water.

I bought the Lifesaver to purify water while backpacking, and mountain climbing. It works fine for that as long as I camp in above freezing temperatures. However, the filter is ruined if allowed to freeze.

My unanticipated use came when I visited hotels in Africa, for example, where the tap water was not drinkable (same for China, and other Asian countries). I used the Lifesaver to create drinkable water from the tap without having to first boil it. Very handy.

I ordered the bottle for when I'm traveling in third world countries and the occasional overnight fishing trip. I tested it out recently while traveling in Mexico and Guatemala. I've used other purifier systems as well as chemical treatment systems while backpacking and hiking and found this to be by far the best I have tried: fast flow rate, easy and quick use, no chemicals.

I should point out that some of the criticisms of the product are reasonable if you expected Fiji water from a sludge pond. My experience with it has shown...

- It doesn't remove dissolved minerals, such as iron, or salts. So you can't filter ocean water and expect it come out as fresh water.

-It did taste a bit plastic-ey at first, but that pretty much stopped after using it several times.

-It's kind of bulky to use and takes a few times to get the feel of it, but after a half dozen tries it becomes second nature.

It's not reverse osmosis or natural spring water, but it's pretty close...

Anyway, I love the product. Several friends are getting it for the summer canoe season.

I spent much of my outdoors life boiling water or using iodine tablets. After technology advanced and UV microbial-killers became usably portable, I switched to that. Technology has again advanced, and it's quite miraculous. The two major deficits of UV sticks are: the need for power (battery or portable solar panel); and the fact that you're still drinking all of the stuff you killed. This fixes both of those. No power, and you're drinking pure water. Really, totally, pure water. I've field-tested this bottle with everything short of sewage (I'm sure it would work, I just really am not going to get that desperate) and it works well in all settings. Pre-filtering the water with a bandanna to get the grit out, and let the bottle do the rest.

The only drawback is complexity: in order to ensure you haven't contaminated the bottle, you do need to "adjust" how to collect water, and practice a couple times before deploying it. That's the only reason it's 4/5 instead of 5/5- truthfully I would have give it 4.5/5 if that was an option.

Note regarding taste: The bottle filters contaminants miraculously, but doesn't add fluoride/chlorine to give you the "tap water" taste. It tastes like distilled (dead) water w/ a mild carbon additive in most usage cases. The carbon "flavor" lessens over time, and if you follow the instructions and use it 3-5 times with tap water first, thus flushing the carbon filter, it would help. I didn't, but I'm not as fussy as some are. Bring some Koolaid packets if it's horribly offensive to you. :)

I have yet to use it in the field in winter, but look forward to doing so.

I purchased this product because we were going to Egypt and my wife was pregnant. I did a lot of research before purchasing this and finally bought it. Thank God I bought it. Five of us used it everyday in Egypt even to purify the bottled water. The product was very easy to handle and worked great. We are back from our trip and all of us are fit and fine. I think the product is worth the extra money you pay. I will recommend it to anybody going on international travel.

I traveled throughout Papua Niugini with this and zero problems at all. It seems to be working just fine in India right now. It really does work, at least we didn't get sick. It is easy to keep the drinking part clean and dry and therefor not contaminated. It is easy to clean and use, in the field or in your room if you have running water. Remember to read the instructions a few times before you use it and before you put it away because even though it is simple it is not exactly a no-brainer, you need to get used to it and follow a few steps.

The water filters very quickly so no problems there. I think it is a bit large and I don't like that it can not be frozen once used. This means you have to take it as carry on because it could freeze in the luggage compartment. That would be OK if it was the size of a 1 liter bottle, but it is pretty bulky so you need a lot of room in your carry on for it. I keep waiting for TSA to stop me and take away my $150 bottle, but they haven't so far. :) I empty it before I go through but there is always some liquid in the bottle, even in storage. It is also a bit bulky in your pack or to carry around for daily use. NOt very heavy for the size and again, you can drink anything from anywhere with no fear. That can be worth carrying around a little extra.

I also wish you could get this in stores, just because I would have liked to have handled one before I bought it. And it is way better than anything I found at outdoor stores. Even the steripen leaves you at risk of contamination because it sterilizes what is IN the glass, not what is dripping down the sides etc. This completely seals and isolates the drinking part of the bottle from the water source.

Considering what it does, it is well worth it. As long as you make this your only drinking supply, use it correctly, and don't drink when you bathe, you will not get sick from the water. A+++

I purchased one of these units for a trip deep into the bush in Liberia, West Africa. After seeing the promotional material I had high hopes for this product.

Frankly, it was a complete waste of money.

The seals within the unit failed within the first few uses, making it leak like a sieve. Not knowing if the leaking water was filtered or unfiltered made it too dangerous, and frankly, a major headache, to use.

Great idea. Lousy implementation.

- BW