Looked into it. They look like they have helped many in the crappy areas of the planet. The CEO took the larger version and drank water which he added cow shit to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycEnu9p1GPE

Complies with US Environmental Protection
Agency 1987 Guide Standard and Protocol for
Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers:
- Removes minimum 99.9999% of bacteria
(>LOG 6 reduction)*
- Removes minimum 99.99% of viruses (>LOG 4
reduction)*
- Removes minimum 99.9% of protozoan
parasites (>LOG 3 reduction)*

Nothing about VOC's, nitrates etc etc. Just the basic virus, bacteria stuff.

I found that the boy scouts carry them in their store in Edmonton for about $22. They even have carbon to help the "cowshit" water taste better. They filter about 2 litres a day for a year. And the company that developed them is working on a family version. My daughter had "beaver fever" once so "just the basic virus, bacteria stuff" isn't so bad. Is there something that covers it all?

It has limited filtration capability, 1k or 18k liters.
I like this guys:
http://www.sawyer.com/sawyersaves/products-pointtwo.html

They have virtually unlimited life as you can wash them and reuse them for ever.
The Sawyer Point ZeroTWO™ Viral Water Purifier offers the same level of protection against bacteria and protozoa as the PointONE™ (All Sawyer filters deliver 0.1 absolute micron biological filtration, removing 7 log (99.99999%) of all bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi (which cause Cholera and Typhoid); and 6 log (99.9999%) of all protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. ), and is the first portable filtration device to remove viruses mechanically. It does so at a 0.02 Micron Absolute 5.5 log (99.9997%) removal rate, the highest level of filtration available today.

They are on top of my list. I almost bought the point one version but I would rather wait a bit more and buy the .02 version.

My choice is the Lifesaver bottles and Gerrycan.

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/documents/LIFESAVER%20Bottle%20Data%202011.pdf

They remove Bacteria - 99.99999% -- Viruses - 99.999% -- Cysts - 99.99999% -- Parasites - 99.99999% - Fungi - 99.99999%
O and if you happen to get to the point of drinking your own urine:
"You can filter urine with the LIFESAVER bottle and it will remove all microbiological contamination however as there is a certain amount of salt in urine the resulting water will have a level of salt dissolved into it that the LIFESAVER bottle will not remove. This will increase as the urine is repeatedly filtered.

We suggest that you could potentially do this up to four times before the salt levels become dangerous. However it is recommend that you seek alternate water sources before using the LIFESAVER bottle in this way."

Not that I have any plans of drinking my own urine any time soon.

On the Go (yes I know RO works for homes) I use a Go Berkey.

This is a comparison of filters that are PORTABLE.

http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkey-answers/performance/water-filter-comparison/

The lifestraw would be great for a small pack or purse though.

Not that I have any plans of drinking my own urine any time soon.

dog meat, urine, I wonder what else is on the menu. It could get worse, you know, it might not be your own urine, it might be your dog's urine. Maybe dog owners should think about training their dogs to pee in a cup.

Menus will definitely change drastically but that's another topic I guess

Since first reading about these things on this thread, I've done a TON of research on these LifeStraws...

The result???

I just bought 14 of them for family and friends.

Picked them up at BassPro (Cross Iron Mills Mall in Airdrie) for $19.99/ea

http://www.basspro.com/LifeStraw-Personal-Water-Filter/product/12061210011934/

I didn't clean the shelves out though, and they have a bunch more left.

GM.