“Travelling, it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” -Ibn Battuta.
This quote summarizes the importance of traveling for its lovers. These people don’t like being indoors for too long. They love hiking, camping, exploring ancient architecture, experiencing new cities, countries, and whatnot. Simply put, they are addicted to being glomads.
However, as great as this sounds, everything has a downside.
One of the major downsides of traveling is, you are never aware of the purity of the water at a specific place. Even the natural water from streams and waterfalls generally contain all sorts of harmful minerals and lethal microorganisms.
These impurities develop diseases in thousands of travelers every year. As a consequence, this not only ruins their adventures but also adds up to their medical expenses.
Therefore, a traveler must be aware of some common contaminants and the methods to remove these contaminants.
However, the question is, what is the best way to get rid of these harmful contaminants from your drinking water?
The answer is simple; buy a water filter that suits your traveling style and needs!
This filter should be portable, efficient, and should not require energy to operate.
So without further delay, let’s discuss the water-related diseases of travelers and the best water filters that can help in preventing them.
Water-Related Diseases While Traveling
While traveling, you are susceptible to all sorts of diseases depending upon the area.
The common culprits behind these diseases include:
Minerals
Mineral contamination depends upon the source of your water.
The city water may contain arsenic, iron, lead, etc.
Likewise, countryside water or water from streams and lakes can have nitrates, phosphorus, manganese, etc.
The illnesses caused by these contaminants depend upon the mineral itself.
For example, arsenic mainly causes gastrointestinal and neurological disorders, while iron mainly causes staining problems.
Bacteria
E. coli, shigella, salmonella, and c.bacter are some of the most common disease-causing bacteria for travelers.
They cause gastrointestinal diseases, such as traveler’s diarrhea, vomiting, cramps. etc.
Parasites
Out of all the parasites, cryptosporidium and giardia are the top ones that infest the travelers.
Cryptosporidium causes watery diarrhea, characterized by dehydration, vomiting, nausea, etc. If severe and left untreated, it can become a life-threatening disease within no time.
Giardia also causes similar diseases and symptoms. However, it persists for a much longer time than cryptosporidium.
Viruses
Viruses may include Hepatitis A, enterovirus, norovirus, and rotavirus.
While most of these viruses cause Gastrointestinal diseases and respiratory problems, hepatitis A can cause severe liver damage.
Best Water Filters for Travelers
As mentioned earlier, a filter for travelers should be portable, fast, and highly effective in filtering impurities.
A few suitable water filters in this regard include:
Survivor Filter Pro
This filter easily earns our top spot in the portable filters category.
It comes with a 0.01-micron filter, which is the best for heavy metals and small viruses that others may miss.
Furthermore, It is durable, fast, and comes with a lifetime warranty.
The Survivor Filter Pro is made from ABS material, which is the same material used in the manufacture of car bumpers. Hence, you don’t have to worry about the durability of this product.
With a triple filtration system of 0.01-micron, lifetime warranty, and 500ml per minute of flow rate, you cannot go wrong with this decision.
Are you itching to know further details about it? Click here to know more about this filter.
Filtered Water Bottles
These types of water filters are next in line.
They are efficient, plastic-free, and as portable as an ordinary water bottle.
Some of these filters also provide a filtration capacity of 0.01 micron, which efficiently gets rid of 99.99% contaminants.
With moderate water storing capacity and less weight, they are ideal for hikers.
Hear over to our in-depth reviews of the top 5 Filter bottles available in the market to choose the best one for your needs!
Water Pitcher Filters
These filters have a simple functioning mechanism. Just fill the pitcher with water and pour the water into the glass, as you do with any other jug.
Most of these filters come with 0.01 micron and are WQA verified. So, in terms of protection, you will be glad you made this choice!
The only drawback of these filters is that they can be slow (1 liter per 10-15 minutes) as compared to others. However, they also provide better water storing capacity, which is enough to overshadow this drawback.
Click here to find more about Water pitchers!
Water Purifying Straw
The best filter in this category is the LifeStraw Go Water Filter Bottle.
If you are someone who adores wild adventures, this is your soulmate.
It is lightweight, can filter 1000 liters of water with a high flow rate, and removes 99.99% of the dirt, debris, and other contaminants.
Furthermore, it passes all the standard tests set by the EPA; thus, you can focus on your adventures while fully trusting the quality of your drinking water.
Water Purification Tablets
For hikers and campers, this might be the most portable item when it comes to water purification.
Each bottle or pack purifies around 20-30 liters of water and weighs 20-40 grams. However, do not judge the efficiency of these tablets by their weight.
These tablets contain chemicals, such as iodine, which are safe for humans. On the contrary, they can kill 99.99% of the microbes and neutralize many toxic substances.
With a few ounces of tablets in your pocket, you can rest assure that the water you are drinking is free from the majority of the bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
Click here to check our review of the top five water purification tablets.
In conclusion, getting sick during our tours is one of the worst nightmares. All the hiking, camping, and traveling activities require us to drink lots of water, and consuming anything without proper purification could lead you to a catastrophe. Therefore, it’s better to use some coin on an efficient water purification system, then to spend your vacays stuck in bed!