New water filter, (The Life Straw)

[veteran]

The LifeStraw, a beefed-up drinking straw designed by the Swiss-based company Vestergaard Frandsen, uses seven types of filters, including mesh, active carbon and iodine, to make 185 gal. of water clean enough to drink. It can prevent waterborne illnesses, such as typhoid and diarrhea, that kill at least 2 million people every year in the developing world. It can also create safe drinking water for victims of hurricanes, earthquakes or other disasters. And finally, it makes a handy accoutrement for the weekend warrior's back-country hike. The price of a caffe latte—about $3—really can save a life.

http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...9522-2,00.html

http://www.lifestraw.com/en/low/low.asp

http://www.lifestraw.com/en/low/cont...merica_low.asp

[justusryans]

Yea, but where do you BUY one?

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

One of the links indicates the straw will be available in early 2006.

[Panzer1]

I don't think it will be any good for backpacking.

Panzer

[swift]

The specs page on this filter states it is a 15 micron filter. The CDC recommends a filter with pore size of 1 micron or less for efffective filtration of giardia and cryptosporidium. Backpacking filters like Sweetwater and Pur have pore sizes in the .2 and .3 micron range. It's all about money, this Lifestraw is geared for affordable free mass-distribution in 3rd world countries where something is better than nothing.

[Almost There]

Get your water from a free flowing water source and forget the filter! Filters are for mud puddles and standing water!

If you own a dog you stand more of a chance of getting giardia from your dog than from drinking unfiltered water from a good water source!

[Newb]

it weighs .095 kilograms. How much is that on the normal scale?

[Fiddleback]

Get your water from a free flowing water source and forget the filter! Filters are for mud puddles and standing water!

If you own a dog you stand more of a chance of getting giardia from your dog than from drinking unfiltered water from a good water source!

First time I've ever heard about (directly?) contracting giardia from any pet. Previously, ingesting the parasite was thought to be the only way to come down with the illness...any details that changes that?

As for running water, it's free from giardia only if there are/have been no contaminated feces in it. Since virtually all backcountry waters (execept perhaps, at the very point where it bubbles to the surface) are contaminated by feces of one type or another the issue becomes do the feces contain the giardia parasite.

FB

[gumby]

it weighs .095 kilograms. How much is that on the normal scale?

3.35 oz

gumby

[Two Speed]

3.35 oz

gumby

I nutted up on that and checked. According to the unit conversion on the ol' HP 48 Gumby's conversion is spot on.

That's one honking straw, ain't it? The best part of a quarter of a pound? What's it made of, heavy guage stainless steel with ball bearings for filter media?

Something ain't right with this picture.

[gumby]

I nutted up on that and checked. According to the unit conversion on the ol' HP 48 Gumby's conversion is spot on.

That's one honking straw, ain't it? The best part of a quarter of a pound? What's it made of, heavy guage stainless steel with ball bearings for filter media?

Something ain't right with this picture.

Yup I used my trusty freeware YAUC (Yet Another Unit Calculator) on my Palm Pilot. If you have a Palm this is one app you should get. Better yet, it's free. It performs more conversions than the commercial ones I've tried out.

gumby

[Two Speed]

Linux version of YAUC available by any chance?

[gumby]

Linux version of YAUC available by any chance?

Nope and the same for Winblows. Sorry, I'll keep my eye out for you though.

gumby

[Fiddleback]

ScienceMadeSimple...all the conversions you'll ever need.
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html

[totempole99]

FINALLY got an email back from them today, after I had given up hope of them responding to me. From the email "LifeStraw has been launched but in North America it will take a little longer for us to be able to sell it since we will be going through EPA for their approval. We estimate to receive the approval by first quarter 2007."