Wayfarer Water Purifier – Compact Military Grade Water Purification System up to 5,000L – Perfect for Camping, Hiking, Backpacking, Survival and Emergency Preparedness

My husband, an avid outdoors enthusiast with decades of camping and multi-day hiking experience, and I both really like the functionality of the Lifsaver Wayfarer water purifier. This model is a lot easier to use than the squeeze bottle type of purifier we’ve used previously. Although the Wayfarer is slightly heavier and bigger than the other type, it’s still quite lightweight and easy to transport. One really great feature is the long hose with foam swimmer that acts as a prefilter, making it possible to collect water from below the surface and not worrying about clogging. The squeeze bottle uses surface water, which sometimes has debris in it and easily clogs. The other advantage is that the mechanism of the Wayfarer is different (the system gets pressurized) and it requires very little effort to pump the water through and filters unlimited amounts of water as long as you pump. The squeeze bottle requires a lot of muscle strength to squeeze (or even sit on it) and it only filters 1 liter at a time. If you want to fill a big pot to make spaghetti, for example, the squeeze bottle is cumbersome, but it’s very easy with the Wayfarer filter to purify as much water as you want. The instructions on how to clean the filter apparatus were not totally clear in the manual, but the manufacturer responded very quickly to my email to describe the proper procedure (use baby bottle sterilizer), and also where to buy more activated charcoal filters. The only (minor) caveat is that once you use it, the membrane must stay wet to remain effective, so you need to store it with water in it. But overall it’s a great product and we’re ready to to get rid of that squeeze bottle purifier and upgrade to the Wayfarer Purifier on a permanent basis!

This filter worked great on a 28 mile backpacking trip in Montana- & us perfect for hiking-you can travel lighter! It's easy to use and there is no need to carry water for the entire trip. I was impressed with how good the water tastes! Easy maintenance when done too - disassemble and let dry. I think it out-performs the gravity type filtration & I feel safe having it on hand at home if I ever need it for emergency water. I think everyone should have some type of emergency filter... and ever backpacker should have one of these, especially since they are so well made and works so well. *The 2 pockets for dirty/clean hose was smart too.

Although I’ve bought many different water filters and purifiers in the past, this is just the product I need! Many filters are fine for North America as they filter bacteria. And many water purifiers that filter both bacteria and viruses (crucial for international travel) are straw or bottle type personal devices only. The Wayfarer allows me to not just filter, but also purify, water for my whole travel group. Although compact it seems solidly built. A lot of thought has gone into the design. I especially like that the tubes are color-coded and have their own pockets in the carrying case to avoid inadvertent cross-contamination. It will come with me in a couple of weeks on a backpacking trip through Namibia where space (and safe water) will be at a premium. On my return it will form a crucial part of my emergency preparedness pack until my next adventure!

Although it is made of plastic it seems made well and durable, not a Chinese piece of junk. Took camping a few times and put in a couple creeks to test it out. I had no issue with the process; pretty much just hook up the hoses (clearly marked “IN” and “OUT”), toss the one into the water, put the other in your bottle and pull the handle up and down. It was a bit difficult pumping handle up and down though. Pretty compact so doesn’t take up a lot of space, and comes with a nice storage bag. Be sure to dry all parts as some water does remain in the tubes and main housing after using. All in all, not a bad little water filter and much cheaper priced than some of the other ones.

Did a few test on this unit. We bought it for "emergency" use, but I wanted to make sure it worked as advertised. It does fill faster than some other units and seems to filter very well. Short of sending water out to a lab for testing, it seems to do the job. Whether or not the unit can filter 5000 liters is impossible to test, but I will assume their claim is correct. I will say the claim is subject to how contaminated the water you filter is. We intend to filter rain water we caught during an emergency, so it will likely meet that claim. Easy to use and seems quite sturdy.

Five star on this product’s weight, compact design, and overall general ease of use. However, it deserves a 1 star for durability. We purchased this last minute for a 5 day backpacking trip in the Wallowas this past week and the handle snapped off on our last day (literally as we were pumping water for our 7 or so mile trek back to the trail head). Fortunately we brought backup water purifying tablets. The replacement filter for the purifier we normally take (purchased in 1996 and still going strong) wasn’t going to arrive in time hence this being a last minute purchase. Not sure if this was just a fluke or the result of a cheap design … either way it seems a $90 water purifier pump was too good to be true.

Setting up and using the Lifesaver Wayfarer Water Purifier for the first time is simple and quick but follow the directions. The water purifier was tested for aftertaste using domestic water and there was none. The purifier is compact and seems well built. It comes with two color coded hoses one for pickup and one for the filtered water discharge. A valuable item to have when camping, hiking, for emergencies at home or on the road.

The unit seems to work well out of the box. Assembled per instructions, employed on a 4 week trip in Central America. It worked very well for the first ~ 4 gallons but the pump seemed to blow by after that and production per stroke dropped dramatically. Disassembled and cleaned filtration components per the instructions but the pump seems worn out. Will disassemble back home to see what wore out or broke. Also be sure to push over the verticle plunger not the outer “ear” of the handle. Saw other review that mentioned breakage due to that.

This isn't a easy thing to pump i have now bought the rechargeable one much easier and faster on the positive it Dose produce very clear and clean drink water 🚰