Clean water is critical, no matter where you live. When things go wrong, do you have a plan to ensure your water is safe to drink–off the grid? Let’s break down the best off grid water filters for emergencies, survival, and everyday use so you can stay prepared no matter what.

Clean Water Starts with the Right Water Filter

Here’s the deal: even the best water filter can’t work miracles if the water is severely contaminated. Always start with the cleanest water source you can find. That’s your first line of defense. In an emergency, survival scenario, or something more mundane, you want to give your water filtration option the best chance to do it’s job and keep you safe.

Off-Grid Gravity Water Filters: The Home Base

When it comes to home water filtration, especially for long-term preparedness, I’m a big fan of gravity water filters. They don’t need electricity, so if the grid goes down, they keep working. Just pour water in, let gravity pull it through the filter, and collect the clean water.

Berkey Water Filters*

This one is my go-to. It’s well-known for being able to handle bacteria, protozoa, and even reduce chemicals and heavy metals. If you’re preparing for survival, everyday use from the tap, or just want peace of mind, the Berkey is top-notch and comes in either the classic stainless steel variety* or a more modern transparent plastic (the Berkey Lite*). We personally used one for a couple years when a home we lived in had an unsealed water system that needed to be purified before drinking, and we really liked it.

Katadyn TRK Drip Filter*

The Katadyn TRK uses a more classic ceramic filter that removes bacteria and parasites like giardia, down to 0.2 microns. It also boasts a long life of up to 40,000 gallons (according to the manufacturer)! It’s built tough and our family used one for 15 years with great results.

Which One?

These gravity systems are perfect for your home base. No electricity needed, no complicated setup—just clean water, whether it’s from rain, a creek, or even your tap.

Personally, after having used both, I slightly prefer the Berkey because it is supposed to filter out more items, the filter elements are less fragile than Katadyn’s ceramic ones, and I’m all for removing plastics from our lives whenever possible and the stainless steel classic Berkey is one way to do that. Having said that, the Berkey’s filter elements have to be primed if they go dry for a period of time, while the Katadyn primes itself.

Portable Water Filters: Your Go-To for Emergencies

Whether you’re camping, making a bug-out kit for hard times, or just facing an unexpected emergency—you’ll want a water filtration system that is compact and portable. The options are pump filters, gravity filters (yes, there are portable gravity filters!), or micro filters.

Portable Pump Water Filters

Pump water filters are a great option here because they’re compact and built to handle rough conditions. They are also light enough to throw in a backpack or bug-out kit. Here are a couple of my favorite options after years of use and abuse.

Katadyn Pocket Filter*

This Katadyn Pocket water filter is built like a tank, it filters out bacteria and protozoa, and it can handle thousands of gallons of water (13,000 gal is what Katadyn claims!). It’s a bit heavier and isn’t the easiest pumping filter out there, but if you need something for long-term survival, this is the one.

MSR MiniWorks EX*

Looking for something lighter and easier to pump? The MSR MiniWorks is perfect for that. It’s great for less brutal conditions or emergency situations where you’re on the go. The filter lasts up to 500 gallons, which is really good for this class of lighter-weight water filters, but if you anticipate needing it for long-term use, you’ll probably want some spares. Oh, and there’s even some activate carbon built into the filter element for reducing bad odors, tastes, and pesticides or other chemicals.

MSR Guardian*

The best of both worlds, the Guardian is both a water filter and a water purifier, meaning it even removes tiny viruses that a standard water filter cannot. But it does it without the use of chemicals–a first as far as I’m aware. This is accomplished with a microscopic filter pore size of only 0.02 microns (as opposed to 0.2 microns in standard water filters).

On top of that, it is built heavier-duty than the MiniWorks and has some added features, such as self-cleaning the filter with a portion of the water you pump, reducing the need to clean the filter. And the filter life is significant, at up to 2,500 gallons!

It’s an amazing filter built to stringent military specs. But that comes at a price of higher cost and weight. Also, there is no activated carbon built into it, so you’d have to add that as an additional inline filter if required for reducing chemicals and such.

Which Portable Filter?

If you’re only camping in the backcountry and are on a budget, I like the MSR MiniWorks. If your budget is higher or you might be in a location with more dangerous water (like viruses), the Guardian seems like an amazing option. But if you simply need the absolute longest-lasting water filter and aren’t concerned about viruses or speed, the Katadyn Pocket filter is for you.

Just keep in mind that most portable filters won’t remove chemicals or heavy metals, so always aim for the cleanest water source possible, like a spring or tributary. Even ones with activated carbon (like the MSR MiniWorks) only reduce the amount of chemicals until the carbon can’t adsorb anymore.

Micro Filters

Life Straw*

The classic micro-sized filter is the Life Straw. It’s tiny, light, simple, and cheap. And it filters to 0.2 microns like most filters. What a great option for throwing in every car’s survival kit and bug-out bag!

Emergency Water Purification Off The Grid: When Filters Aren’t an Option

Sometimes, you won’t have a filter handy—especially in a sudden emergency. But don’t worry; there are still ways to make water safe to drink.

Boiling

This is one of the easiest and most reliable methods. Bring water to a rolling boil for at least a minute (three minutes if you’re above 5,000 feet). Boiling kills off bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

Chemical Purification (bleach)

If you don’t have a way to boil water, unscented household bleach or water purification tablets are a possible (though undesirable) backup. Just add two drops of unscented bleach per quart of water (eight drops per gallon), stir it in, and let it sit for 30 minutes. Purification tablets like Potable Aqua work in a similar way. While I don’t like this option for obvious chemical reasons, it’s better than not drinking or getting sick from your water.

UV Purifiers

Devices like the SteriPEN* use UV light to kill bacteria and viruses. These are handy for emergencies or camping trips but work best on clear water. They don’t remove chemicals or particles, so they’re not always the best option in murky conditions. Personally, I don’t consider this to be as reliable as mechanical filtering. For one thing, the water has to be clear and you have to use it properly.

Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS)

If you have nothing else, SODIS can be a last resort. It involves leaving water in clear plastic bottles in direct sunlight for six hours. It’s not as effective as boiling or chemical treatments, but it’s better than drinking untreated water. For best results, I recommend using clear plastic tubing so the sunlight gets greater exposure to the water. Also, placing a dark-colored background behind the clear tubing or container can enhance the effectiveness of this method.

A Quick Note on Distillation

When water is seriously contaminated with chemicals or heavy metals, distillation is your best bet. It removes pretty much everything from the water. However, distillation takes lots of time and energy, and almost all systems require electricity–lots of it. It’s not something you’ll use probably be able to use in an emergency situation unless you somehow still have power and are in a stationary location. Otherwise, I have rarely seen non-electric distillers that can be used with a fire or gas stove. These used to be manufactured under the brand “Survival Still” but it seems to no longer be in business. I have seen some others online but don’t know anything about them. Regardless, the cons to distilling likely outweigh the pros unless your water is truly awful and you are able to pull off the energy or fire needed for it to run.

Don’t Forget Water Storage

Filtration is crucial, but it won’t matter if you don’t have water to begin with. Unless you have an independent water system that is constantly producing good water, it’s essential to have a water storage plan. You’ll want to keep as many gallons as possible stored in food-safe containers. Rotate your water supply regularly, and you can use a bit of bleach or colloidal silver to keep it fresh.

Wrapping It All Up

Take action now. Set up your water filtration systems, have some redundancy, store some clean water, and make sure you’ve done what you can to provide for your family’s water needs. For the long-term, try to take steps toward getting into a location where you can have your own water source. But until then, just do the best you can. And then it’s time to leave the rest in God’s hands put your water worries aside.

---

*This link is an affiliate link from which we earn a small commission for any sales which occur. This helps keep our small family business going and doesn’t cost you an extra penny. Thanks for your support!