Gear Review: LifeStraw Water Filter Giveaway & Review - Belly Up to that Mountain Stream and Take a Sip Worry Free. AND For Every LifeStraw We Buy, A Third World Child Gets Clean Water for A YEAR.

Test run of the LifeStraw in a California high mountain stream.

Let me take you to a breathtaking place called The Middle of Nowhere, California, northwest of Tahoe in the California Sierras… The perfect spot to take my cool, flute-like, light-blue LifeStraw for a test-run. - ps. Giveaway at the end of this blog, but stay for the read first!

An award-winning personal water filter. It's been used for humanitarian efforts in third world countries to help alleviate water borne disease issues AND stop the burning of precious trees for fuel to boil water -- this product is a feel good purchase with a very practical use. Fresh, clean water. AND for every LifeStraw we buy, LifeStraw provides a child in Africa clean water for an entire year. Yes. 

Weighing just 2oz, I sling it around my neck feeling like a pied-piper with his magical flute, and tromp to find a rare, lush, green oasis in the midst of the dry, California stream beds. A eureka moment finds me at a literally babbling-brook that reminds me of the streams I used to drink directly out of in Vermont as a kid.

Using It: Popping open the top and bottom caps where you suck from and draw the water in from is a snap & easy for little fingers, too. It's the laying down at the edge of the stream bed that's definitely awkward, especially if the ground was wet or snowy. 

An arm bent this way, wiggling forward, pushing grass and baby trees out of my face, I'm able to find a little pool at the edge of the stream. Insert LifeStraw. 

Sucking in, I get air only for 3-5 seconds, which is normal. And then comes the rush of crisp, seriously delicious, ice-cold mountain water. Without the worry of stomach bugs or a thousand future trips to the bathroom in serious agony. And honestly, it was much, much tastier than the water that's been sitting around in my water-bottle for a few hours. And I was surprised at the flow of water I got with each draw.

My dude using LifeStraw from a camping pot. Easy.

The Reality: The reality is I don't likely see me wanting to lay down at the edge of streams to drink all the time. Which is why we also scooped some water into a camping pot, my son's idea, and tried it out that way. That made a little more sense.

I can see the function of this particular straw in a few different ways. I see this making an excellent addition to the emergency preparedness backpacks we have for earthquakes or floods - California living. And I also see it as a lightweight option to always throw in my backpack while hiking anywhere to "always be prepared".

For Our Outdoor Family: Two other products that make more sense for my family for camping, hiking and outdoor activity on a practical level are:  The LifeStraw Family 1.0 which has a literal "water bucket", hose, and filtration cartridge. And, The LifeStraw Go which has the LifeStraw technology inside a water bottle.

LifeStraw Spec Hightlights:
- Filters 264 gallons of water per straw
- 2oz
- Removes up to 99.9% of waterborne bacteria & protozoan cysts (yuk)
- No chemicals

Retailing @ a reasonable $20-22, it's an interesting and practical addition to our outdoor gear AND a contribution to solving vital health and water issues on our planet. Check it out!

-Outdoorsy Mama
"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." -A. Einstein

LIFESTRAW GIVEAWAY - FREE GEAR for one lucky person! Easy to enter in Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
LifeStraw by Vestergaard provided this product for review and the giveaway. Opinions are my own always. 

Giveaway is open to US Residents only and sorry can't ship to PO Boxes. Contest starts on July 6th, 2014 5am EST & ends July 15th, 2014 3am EST. The lucky, hydrated winner will be announced a few days later. Good luck everyone - love sharing the cool stuff!