LifeStraw Go Water Filter Bottles with 2-Stage Integrated Filter Straw for Hiking, Backpacking, and Travel

Felt compelled to write this review because of previous reviews I saw. There are several that state it is extremely difficult to suck water out of the straw, and I think I figured out why. If you look at my pic, you’ll see that there is a small piece of cellophane wrapping the tip, and it fits very tightly. If you don’t really look at it, you would not notice it. I didn’t notice at first and when I tried to sip I got a tiny amount of water. Upon further inspection, I figured out that it was actually wrapped. It’s tight so it will take you some effort to remove it, but then it’s no problem. In my pictures you’ll see how it looks different when it’s on, half off, and fully removed. Hope this helps. Also, I have not noticed any leaking problem, although I just got the bottle today.

So I'm testing a few water purification methods for a backpacking trip I'm leading next year around the TRT. This bottle is my first experiment and I received it yesterday.I opened the LifeStraw Go bottle today, read all the instructions and followed them explicitly. I admit to being nervous as this filter is not fine enough to filter viruses like the bigger LifeStraw filters and some other brands of water bottles. As such, I will not give the bottle more than 4 stars without that capability.In any case, I stopped by Lake Topaz on the California/Nevada border, scooped up some water and sipped it down over the next couple of hours. I'm writing this now 9 hours later and feel no ill effects as of yet. So far so good LifeStraw Go!After reading so many other reviews, I was skeptical about the suction required to drink and the fragility of this bottle. 1) suction: I admit I'm surprised at how easy it is to drink from the straw. Although the flow rate might be a little slower than my camelback straw water bottle, it's not a significant decrease. I've got to say, I really don't understand how this is a complaint unless some people are suffering from defective filters or user error.2) Fragility: The bottle seems sturdy enough so far and although I haven't smashed it against anything, I did gently knock it around with no damage. I plan to use it daily to drink from the mountain streams out here in the Sierra Nevada mountains over the next few weeks and update this review as I go.Update: So I dropped a few stars on this product because the flow rate decreased to zero after letting it sit for a few weeks before picking it up again. I imagine it would probably have continued to work had I used it daily but as I don’t live in a third world country, I only need it periodically. If I have to buy a new filter for every time I want to take it hiking or camping, it isn’t worth the cost compared to other options on the market.

I looked around the internet for a while for a viable way to purify water. I actually tested two different brands of water purification tablets. Although they would work in a pinch, they were both absolutely disgusting. The next thing I tried was a Katadyn water filter pump. It was expensive, added more weight to my pack than I would have liked and way too time consuming to set up and pump for it to be practical for a day hike. I randomly stumbled across the LifeStraw Go Water Bottle on Amazon and decided to pick one up .After using the Go Water Bottle on the trail for 3 hikes, I was in love. Simply put, the LifeStraw Go Water Bottle is easily one of the best hiking accessories I’ve ever used. It’s essentially a BPA free water bottle with a built-in water filter for a straw. You can literally scoop water from the stream into the bottle and drink it directly through the straw without waiting. The water has absolutely zero bad aftertaste as far as I can tell. The manufacturer claims it should filter 264 gallons of water before the filter needs to be replaced and should filter out 99.9999 percent of bacteria and 99.9 percent of parasites. However, they do recommend using a water purification tablet anywhere where human sewage might be present because it will not filter out viruses.The Lifestraw Go Water Bottle retails for $30, which is about 1/3 of what I spent on my Katadyn water filter. The Go Water Bottle also weighed less, 8 ounces vs 11 ounces and that’s not including the fact that you still need to carry a bottle when you’re using the Katadyn filter.You can attach the Go Water Bottle to your bag using the included carabiner, or just shove it into a side pocket like any other water bottle. I plan on ordering an extra one to keep in the car in case I ever break down and need fresh water. This would make a great addition to your emergency kit at home in case of some type of water emergency. As a resident of Southern California in the middle of a 4 year drought, it couldn’t hurt to have one of these at home just in case.5/5 Exactly as advertised, exactly what I've been looking for

I noticed mixed reviews about how easy it is to suck the water up the straw. Some users say it's not so bad, others say it is very difficult.When I received my bottle, I fell into the latter category. My face hurt after a few sips.If you remove the carbon filter at the top altogether, the straw is very easy to draw water through. If you have a straw that is difficult to draw through, you can try the following small rework to see if it helps you. For me, it made it bearable to use the straw with carbon filter installed, after this small adjustment.Instruction:1. Remove the carbon filter from the top of the straw2. Pry open the plastic casing with finger nail3. If you can see the seam on the top of the plastic casing (this reduces the surface area for water to pass through), gentle remove the carbon bag4. Re-position the bag with seams along the cylindrical wall of the plastic casing5. Gently push and wiggle the bag back into the casing, and replace the cap6. Put the carbon filter back into the straw and check to see if easier to draw water through the straw