LifeStraw’s Peak Solo water filter and Activated Carbon Filter Attachment

I often find myself deep in the backwoods of western and central Oregon. But more often than not, I find myself just slightly in the backwoods of Oregon; not truly remote, just remote enough for the free time I have available. An afternoon post-work might be all I can cram in, but the scenery is still beautiful, the cell service is non-existent, and the safe drinking water is nowhere to be found.

So when LifeStraw sent me their Peak Explorer Pack (that includes their Peak Solo, Activated Carbon Filter Attachment, and carry case) recently to try out, I wanted to test it out on a hike in the backcountry. Safe water is no joke… backpack, camp, or travel abroad long enough, and you will probably fall victim to some water that maybe looked fine, but that you learned the hard way wasn’t. I packed a backpack, found a mountain lake I could hit after work, and set out with it attached directly to a water bottle, resting in my backpack’s rear open pocket. It weighs only 1.7 oz, so I didn’t notice this little blue tube sticking out from my backpack at all.

Springtime in western Oregon is my favorite time… that sweet spot of rainy season having recently just ended, so everything is green and vibrant. At the same time, dry season brings us sun and warmth we have desperately missed, but it has not been around long enough to turn everything into forest fire kindling. It’s fair to say my hike was during ideal conditions: warm, sunny spring in full bloom, and my backpack a few pounds lighter than it normally would be. See, I did a "full send" on this little hike: No pre-filtered water in my bag, just an empty water bottle and filter. If I were going to trust this little tube deep in the wilderness, I might as well pretend it was my only option.

The LifeStraw Peak Solo, which removes bacteria, parasites, silt, sand, and the Activated Carbon Filter Attachment, which filters heavy metals, chlorine, odors, and organic chemicals, screwed directly onto the standard water bottle I brought. Turning any mud puddle into a hydration station felt…almost too easy…like cheating. I mainly filled my water bottle from a lake that, while not crystal clear, was not exactly a mud puddle, but I purposely stirred up the murky, algae-coated bottom to give it a run for its money. The filter truly exceeded my expectations! I have used similar “water filtration straws” in the past, and they almost always require your cheeks to suck so hard they hurt. You get a sip of safe water, sure, but at the cost of sore cheeks and a face perfect for replicating a goldfish.

The Peak Solo talks a big game about its flow rate (3L/min), and it performed. I was able to sip water from my bottle directly after I dipped it in the lake at a slightly slower but not annoying rate. Compared to boiling water, gravity feeds, and UV methods, this thing is pretty instantaneous. Connect it to your bottle of dirty water and drink away!

After exploring around the lake that was my destination for the evening, and drinking way more water than I normally would for a similar length hike because of all my testing, I started the trek back out to my car, tallying the final score of this water filter.

My takeaways:

Size: Convenient. Bigger than a bottle of iodine, but I have drunk enough sterilized water turned brown from those little pills that I would choose the LifeStraw any day.

Reliability: This filter cannot run out of batteries, fuel, or anything else that would make it fail mid-trip. So, for any shortcomings it might have, failure is not one. The membrane microfilter lasts up to 2,000 L, and the carbon filter lasts up to 100 L - so as long as you're trying to drink from a pond, and not drink the entire pond, you'll be all set.

Taste: I didn’t notice a strong taste of anything, including weird lake water tastes, odd “filter tastes”, or anything else. I did use the Activated Carbon Filter Attachment with it, so the water I sucked down tasted like, well, water.

Overall: I think LifeStraw is onto something here…a fail-proof way to extend the size of your water bottle to any source of water you can find, no matter how sketchy it looks. Crystal clear lake? Sure, it will make sure no invisible bacteria get you sick. Dirty, algae-ridden pond? Yup, it will filter not only the invisible stuff but all the gunk and grime. Stream that you wish was moving just a bit faster to make itself? Not a problem at all. Would I trust it on a longer trip? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to anyone who ever finds themselves even lightly off-grid? Without a doubt. A bonus on top of all that is the fact that LifeStraw is a B Corp, and for every purchase of one of these bad boys, a child in need receives a full year of safe water…they're at 11 million kids to date.

The Peak Solo and Activated Carbon Filter Attachment is the real deal. I drank lake water—and I’m still here. You probably should, too, so get out there!

Follow along with more of Jonah's adventures outside on his Instagram: @theoutsidexperience