MUST READ • 12 Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2023
Written by Aiden Freeborn
Well, it’s no secret that water is essential for life, a point which is often strongly emphasized at one point or another in a traveler’s career! You don’t have to be in the desert to be at a loss for how to get good drinking water-you might be camped out by an entire lake, but worried about how clean or safe the water is for drinking.
Whether you’re just going on long weekend hikes or multi-month international trips, a portable water filter falls on the list of essential items for many travelers.
As we all know, the planet has a plastic problem. A BIG plastic problem. Portable water filters and purifiers help backpackers eliminate the need to purchase single use plastic bottles day after day. Plus, who goes hiking with an unopened bottle of Evian anyway?
These days I never travel without my water purifier bottle; it is an invaluable tool of the backpacking trade – because we all need to drink and we don’t want to pollute the earth or ourselves in the process.
We’ve tested all of the top backpacking water filters on the market right now. Read on to learn which water filters made the cut and which ones you should 100% steer clear of.
We’ve tested all of the top backpacking water filters on the market right now. Read on to learn which water filters made the cut and which ones you should 100% steer clear of here.
December 3, 2023
The Broke Backpacker
Ditch your desk and travel the world FOREVER.
Growth begins at the edges of your comfort: this is the mantra that has defined my journey as a budget backpacker.
More than a decade ago, I first hit the road. I was shy, I was anxious, and, most of all, I was BROKE. I had a few hundred dollars stuffed in my sock, a battered tent, an aging gas stove, and my thumb. That was it.
Actually, that wasn't it - I had one more thing. I had my ingenuity. The mind is the most powerful tool a person has at their disposal; with it, they can go ANYWHERE. And travel refines that tool.
My adventures as a budget traveller took me far; I quickly learnt that it was indeed possible to travel the world for less than $10 a day. Soon, I fell in love with offbeat travel, travelling to the "No Go Zones" of our beautiful planet. And, in time, I turned to raw and challenging adventure travel, carving trails by foot and by my trusty two-wheeled steed.
At all turns, I was taken out of my comfort zone. And at all turns, I was growing. That is what I want for YOU.
Here, you will learn HOW to become a broke backpacker. You will read our catalogue of free and epic content, you will learn the art of budget backpacking, and you will be inspired to have the same journey I did.
Except it won't be the same. It will be YOUR journey - 100% through and through. Start writing your story today, and never stop writing it. It's a wild, weird, and oh so wonderful world, amigos, and you don't need a thing to see it.
...Except your mind. And a dash of courage.
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We surveyed 365 section or thru-hikers about their stove, food, and water preferences and their experience of illnesses on the Appalachian Trail in 2019.
Media Mentions
Emily Ford completed a winter thru-hike of the Ice Age Trail on March 6th, 2021 after 69 days on trail. She is the second person—and the first woman—to ever thru-hike the trail in winter.
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