How to Purify Your Water in the Wilderness
We’re all used to living in a world where many offices and public spaces have an abundance of water dispensers and purification systems. But what about when you adventure into the country-side or wilderness for outdoor experiences? What if you needed to purify water to hydrate with just the rudimentary tools at your disposal? A person is said to be able to survive for weeks without food but only around 5 days without water. If the heat is really bad, possibly only a few hours.
Ok, to be fair, most of us would have tons of bottled water on us if we ventured out of our front yards anyway. But let’s all pretend we needed to channel a Rambo moment out in the wild someday to stay alive. Here are 3 easy-to-remember ways to purify your water in the wilderness:
- Boiling – If you can get a fire going, another survival 101 skill, or even have a gas burner on-hand already, you can boil almost any water to make it drinkable once cooled again. This removes most contamination, bacteria and parasites.
- Purification accessories – As part of your hiking or adventure kit ensure that you buy some filters and purifiers to stash in your rucksack. There are even some high-tech solutions available for water bottles, where the purification process happens as you squeeze or suck water from the lid.
- Evaporation trap – If you can’t find water at all, this is a good way to pull moisture right out of the earth. It’s also drinkable on arrival. First dig a hole in the ground and insert a container on the bottom. Cover the hole with plastic so that no moisture escapes, then put a small weight in the centre of the cover so that there’s a dip. When the water evaporates from the ground, it will condense on the cover and drip down into the container.
Always remember to take water and some of the equipment mentioned in the techniques above i.e. plastic, container and purifying accessories, as well as a fire-making kit. However, if you do get stuck for moisture, you now have three sure-fire ways of staying hydrated!
Get your hands on filters and purifiers by simply clicking here