Water: a basic necessity for survival, but often enough treated as an afterthought. When heading out camping, most usually grab a gallon of it in a jug and go. What happens when you need more? You can drink from a stream, never-minding the pine needles and floaties, and pray that you don’t get crippling diarrhea. You can boil a pot full if you don’t mind spending a lot of time for a small bit of clean water. Or….. filter.
The problem with most filters is the effort-to-product ratio. There are straw filters that give you a good drink, but not much in the way of stored water. There are pump filters which are a step up for camping use, but still require a very hands-on approach. Survivor Filter (who’s base straw filter I’ve reviewed before, here) is attempting to bring a new approach to the filtration scene: the Electric Survivor Filter PRO X, a portable, electronically powered water filter.
The filter itself is Survivor Filter’s standard fare, which is to say: excellent. The 3-stage filter system removes junk down to .01 microns. Removing “~99.999% Virus, Staph and Bacteria and significantly reduces Heavy Metals”. The filter’s re replaceable, with the two “Ultra-Filters” lasting 26,000+ gallons and the Carbon filter needing replacement after 528 gallons. The only maintenance needed is the occasional backwashing of the system, easily achieved in less than two minutes.
The Electric Survivor Filter PRO is obviously electronically powered, so let’s talk about how. This little unit can run on a pair of AA batteries, which gets on average around 5 hours run time per pair. That’s around 40 gallons of water. Also, if you’re in an area with electrical sockets but questionable water sources, you can simply use a wall plug. The last (and neatest) option, is to use the included Solar Power Bank.
This little power source features a 10,000 mAh internal battery, which is equivalent to 4-8 AA batteries, depending on what type and quality of AA you compare it to. It has a small solar panel on top, which is considered it’s secondary charging source, with the primary being a plug into a car charger or wall outlet. In a pinch, one would be mighty happy to have it available as it’s very handy all on it’s own. I’ve used it while camping for recharging my watch (GPS enabled), lights and phone, as well as running the Survivor Filter. It also has a built-in 1w LED light. It’s light, durable and a very versatile addition to the Electric Survivor Filter PRO package.
Regarding performance, the Electric Survivor Filter PRO is pretty impressive. It is simple to set up, and provides clean water at a fast rate. The company states the motor is capable of exceeding it’s 500 ml/minute rate but the carbon in the filter needs more time to absorb potential contaminants. 500 ml/minute comes in at nearly 8 gallons/hour, which is quite a haul when you’re camping (cooking, washing dishes) and equates to near palatial splendor in a survival situation. When the first responders find a lost hiker who is hauling one of these, I’d bet dollars to dimes they’re going to find them whizzin’ on a tree, thoroughly hydrated.
Bottom line: Survivor Filter has done it right with the PRO package. It is light, tough and works very well. The simplicity of use, effective flow rate and options in it’s powering make the Electric Survivor Filter PRO a heavyweight contender in the water filtration market. Straw and pump filters still have their place, but if you want voluminous quantities of water quickly and with little effort, this is IT. At $125, it’s well worth the price of admission. Quick vid below.
