I bought this for a 5 day 4 night Bounderey Waters canoe trip. It is kind of bulky for a trip like that, but I wrapped it in a blanket to keep from getting broken, and worked fine. We purified at least 3 gallons of water every day .Once it gets going, you can filter a gallon of water in 20 minutes or so. We just set it up first thing when making camp and go back every 5 minutes and refill it. The water tasted fine to us, but, in all fairness, we were filtering clean water from a lake that was already clear water. Still glad I bought this at a sale price and would buy again.

How does one know that a product like this REALLY works? Reviews and company reputation pretty much are your only options, short of finding your friendly neighborhood industrial polluter or livestock farm, and drinking from their water discharge. Since I didn't have the time to do that, I went with Lifestraw. If this works as an everyday water purifier for families in some of the worst parts or Africa, it certainly works for the occasional user like me. I absolutely needed the capability to filter viruses since my travel often takes me to third-world countries, and nothing else does that in this price range other than a couple of products from far less reliable companies. I've run a couple of gallons through the filter and that has greatly reduced the slight plasticky taste to the water, and I fully expect that too to go away with some more use.

EDIT: We've successfully used this on a 10 day backpacking trip through Asia where our main source of water was the bathroom tap at hotels. Had exactly zero issues. In order to reduce the bulk, I removed the blue 2L bucket and simply plugged in a 3L water bladder bought on Amazon. Worked beautifully!

Delivered on-time, no issues. I haven't used it, and I hope I never have to, unless its for a long camping trip.
This seems to be the best deal in water filters. Its not as pretty as the other gravity filters that are on the market, but it works just as well, and it is much more affordable. This product provides me some comfort of mind knowing I have a good quality water filter, should the need arise.
I would buy this product again, and I would recommend to family and friends.

I think this product should be included in every family that has an emergency food storage. It claims to be able to supply a family of four for three years with water. That's amazing. I have it for my two person family as an emergency source of clean water. Given the calamaties we've been experiencing in the continental US lately, it is probably a good thing for every person to consider.

We have a well at our home and we wanted something extra to protect ourselves from any contaminants that may enter our well. When I read about the LifeStraw Family water purifier I decided to give it a try. It took me a few times to figure it out, but now I am a pro. It's easy to use, and if you set yourself up with everything you need it does not take long to fill a couple of gallons of water. I am very pleased with the unit. I did have a few leaks at first, but I just wiggled the spout and push it in and now there are no leaks. I would highly recommend this water purifier. I use the LifeStraw in conjunction with my Brita. The Brita takes away the metals and the LifeStraw takes away the bacteria. In fact, for Christmas, I am going to purchase my daughter and son-in-law the personal purifiers.