Lifesaver's Liberty bottle removes 99.99% of bacteria, viruses and cysts from water through a filter cartridge and Activated Carbon Disc.
Lifesaver bottles were originally developed as a response to two catastrophic natural disasters, the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans in 2005. Lifesaver bottles have since been used in humanitarian projects the world over and even been put to use by the British military, so you can be sure they work in the harshest of environments.
The headline feature for us is the ability to safely remove viruses from the water source. Having fallen foul of dirty, virus ridden water (that had been filtered) in the past we value this feature highly and recommend anyone drinking from unknown sources to bear this potential hazard in mind.
The MSR Guardian is the only mass market alternative we know of that removes viruses as well as bacteria and cysts. Like the Liberty the Guardian is pump activated but it retails at a considerably higher price - £299, making the £125 of the Liberty seem like an absolute bargain.
Filtration is a simple process in the Liberty, the small pore size in the filter necessitates a pump but this is a breeze to operate. The 5ft scavenger hose allows you to syphon water from the source without placing the bottle, or yourself into potentially contaminated water. The end of the hose has a plastic filter housing which needs to be fully submerged for proper operation. This could do with being weightier as it tends to bob up to the surface but with a little practice and patience it works just fine.
In the fully open position the easy to use flow valve allows you to pump 1.2 L of clean water/min through the spout into your chosen vessel. Overall, we found the process of filtering joyfully simple compared to multi-bladder gravity systems which can be frustrating and time consuming to use.
The bottle itself holds 400ml of water so you can filter into vessels and retain water in the bottle for drinking or decanting later.
An Activated Carbon Disc post filter removes chlorine, taste and odours, the filters at the end of the hose and within the bottle itself also do a great job of removing sediment too, leaving you with clean, tinge free water.
At a weight of 425g the Liberty bottle isn't the lightest out there but it's only 100g heavier than the MSR Guardian, and although I'm a fan of moving fast and light I make a concession for the Liberty bottle and now don't leave home without it on multi-day trips.
While you can't put a price on your personal safety £125 is an absolute steal for such an accomplished water filter making this one of our standout products of the year.
