York River State Park - Hiking Trail Review

Reach Bluetooth Selfie Stick

Perfect for ultralight backpacking and hiking

     Hello, fellow hikers and enthusiasts. I just wanted to share an easy method of testing the quality of your water. I recently purchased the Happy Hydro TDS Meter at a discounted price in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

     Although this will not tell you if the water you are testing is free of bacteria, it will allow you to see the effectiveness of any water filtration system you are using. In fact, I used this to compare my new Survivor Filter that will accompany me on the A.T. to my tap water, and the water from my Britta pitcher. Surprisingly, the Britta filtered water barely improved the quality of my tap water. Thanks to my new Happy Hydro, I was able to see the truth. I also saw that my new Survivor Filter did its job, and I now know what the normal operating TDS range of my filter is, as well.

     The Happy Hydro TDS Meter has more uses, like testing the water in your fish aquarium, or monitoring the nutrient levels when growing plants by hydroponics but, for me, knowing exactly when to change my water filter when on extended backpacking hikes gives me peace of mind, and at just 0.02 ounces, and about the size of a pen, you can be sure that this handy tool will always have a spot in my pack.

I will use no other filter

I will be hiking the Appalachian Trail in a few weeks, and needed something very effective, light-weight, and compact. I have done a lot of research on portable filters, including reading recommendations and literature on Appalachian Trail websites and hiker websites, and also checking the recommendations and resources on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) government website.

Since this is a rather new product, compared to many respected options out there, I have not seen it listed or spoken of on the hiking websites that I frequent. However, from what I have seen online, and from visiting local hiking stores, such as Bass Pro Shop, REI, and a few other smaller businesses, there is little, if any, that are as good as this one. This is why...

- Most filters that are the favorites of hikers, outdoors-men, and campers are SUBSTANTIALLY more expensive.

- The CDC recommends, for the best filtration, use a filter that has a pore size of 1 micron or less. Many of the popular and considered the "best" filters that I have seen, which usually run anywhere from $70 to $150, meet this standard with filters that have pore sizes ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 microns. The survivor filter has a pore size of 0.05, making it the only filter I can find that has a pore size smaller than 0.1. I find this to be pretty important as the CDC states that some filters rated at 1 micron still allow 20% to 30% of particles (like Cryptosporidium) to pass through. The only filter that I can find that is comparable to the Survivor Filter, both in size and price, is the Sawyer mini, BUT it still only has a filter pore size of 0.1 micron which is only half as good as the Survivor at 0.05.

- I was a little skeptical of the low price, at first, thinking that it might be like it is when you buy a razor for shaving. You know...inexpensive (sometimes free) shaving system to draw you in, but crazy expensive replacement blades (the "catch"). Well, I was delighted when I saw the prices of the replacement filters after visiting the survivorfilter website. They are super inexpensive!

- Here is a direct quote from their website: "Survivor Filter is proud to announce that we have recently completed tests on our Survivor Filter and our Survivor Filter PRO units at Intertek Labs in Columbus Ohio which show that our products have been Tested to filter E.Coli (Bacteria), Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and Phi-X174 (Virus) to the highest lab certifiable level of 99.9%" (Survivorfilter.com, n.d.).

- The CDC also says to look for NSF/ANSI Standard 53 or Standard 58 on manufacturers filter labels to see if they have been tested for cyst removal or cyst reduction by an ANSI-accredited certification organization. Though I have not seen this on the label or packaging, I also cannot find this on any of the labels of the popular, more expensive filters that I have seen in stores.

- Many of the more popular filters can have a slow rate of flow. I thought, with the smaller pores of 0.05 microns, that the Survivor might also be slow, if not slower. Surprisingly, it flows a little better than some, requiring some squeezing, unless drinking from it directly, like a straw.

- Other than field testing it, and finding that it does its job, I was curious as to how it would stack up against tap water, Britta-filtered water from my fridge, and the distilled water I use for my medical equipment. Using my Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter, I tested all three. TDS meters measure parts per million (PPM). You should first know that according to U.S. national averages, ideal drinking water from processes such as distillation, microfiltration, and deionization is 50 ppm or less.
169 ppm or less for carbon filtration, mountain springs, or aquifers (170 - 199 being hardwater).
200 - 299 ppm = marginally acceptable
300 - 499 ppm = high TDS from the tap or mineral springs
(Average tap water falls between about 165 - 420 ppm)
500+ ppm is U.S. EPA's maximum contamination level

My test:
- Distilled water = 0 ppm (as I expected)
- My tap = 137 ppm
- My filtered water from the Britta pitcher = 124 ppm (the filter is a little old and likely overdue to be replaced)
- Survivor Filter = 133 ppm (this might improve as I use the filter more, as small amounts of carbon from the charcoal will wash out, like all carbon filters for the first few uses.

Sure, my TDS test proved that the improvement was only slight, but let's not forget that the purpose of any field water filtration system is to make the water safe for consumption, and not to turn tap water into medical equipment grade distilled water. I am more than satisfied with the Survivor filter, and impressed that it can provide me with drinking water that is even cleaner than my tap water. I don't see any reason that I would possibly consider using anything other than Survivor Filters from here, on out.

I received this product discounted in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Yorktown Beach & Waterfront preview

iPro Max Professional Lavalier Microphone

ALPS Mountaineering Lynx 1 Tent: 1-Person 3-Season

From what I have researched, this tent has very good reviews.  I have not had a chance to test it yet, but I will get my chance in April.

Come back, later, to see my detailed review of how it holds up on the Shenandoah National Park section of the Appalachian Trail.