Water Filters
A water filter turns stream, lake or ditch water into safe drinking water. On a multi-day trek it weighs a fraction of the water you would otherwise carry. Few items in a pack earn their place so easily.
The category covers straw filters, squeeze filters that thread onto a bottle, pump models and purification tablets. A hollow-fibre filter with a 0.1 micron pore size stops bacteria and protozoa. Over its lifetime it treats thousands of litres. Most filters do not stop viruses. Add tablets or boil the water where that risk exists. For Estonian conditions a filter-plus-tablets combo covers nearly every scenario and fits a crisis stash too. Water purification tablets with chlorine and chemicals should stay for crisis - not the first go to solution. Never let a wet filter freeze, because ice ruptures the fibres. A thermos keeps treated water from freezing. The rest lives under food and drink.
Our reservist team runs these same filters on exercises. The advice comes from use, not the box.
