LifeStraw
LifeStraw Peak Series Compact Gravity Water Filter System 3L
- Protection: 8/10 What it removes from water, and how well that is proved.
- Flow rate: 6/10 How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use.
- Weight: 5/10 How much it adds to your pack.
- Ease of use: 7/10 Filling, squeezing or pumping effort, how fast it clogs in peaty or silty water, and how easy it is to clean.
No shop we checked has it in stock
Camp water for two to four people: fill, hang and cook while it filters
- Type
- Gravity
- Removes viruses
- No
- Flow
- 1.7 L/min
- Weight
- 228 g
- Pore size
- 0.2 µm
- Rated life
- 2000 L
Where to buy
Ultralight Outdoor Gear £79.99 Out of stock. Free tracked UK delivery.
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearWild Bounds £59.95 Out of stock. The 3L, shown with the earlier price £79.95 struck through (a sale price). Free UK delivery over £50 (Royal Mail Tracked 48 is £3.95 under £50).
View at shop: Wild BoundsPrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Protection
From maker's figures 8/10What it removes from water, and how well that is proved. 8: Clearly better than most.
Bacteria and parasites at 0.2 µm, to NSF/ANSI P231 with an outside lab report (LifeStraw). A named standard for bacteria and protozoa, so 4. No virus claim.
Flow rate
From maker's figures 6/10How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use. 6: A bit better than average.
LifeStraw's page gives 1.7 L/min for this system (new filter). 1.2 to 1.79 L/min. LifeStraw's own longevity test for the Peak Gravity (size not stated) found about 1.55 L/min new, falling to about 0.57 L/min at 2,000 L. OutdoorGearLab timed 30 to 90 seconds a litre (0.7 to 2 L/min) depending on how high the bag hangs, and 30 to 35 seconds when it is hung well and the filter is clean.
Weight
From maker's figures 5/10How much it adds to your pack. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
228 g for bag, hose and filter (LifeStraw's page). 150 to 299 g. OutdoorGearLab measured 230 g. You also carry a vessel to drink from.
Ease of use
From reviews 7/10Filling, squeezing or pumping effort, how fast it clogs in peaty or silty water, and how easy it is to clean. 7: Better than most.
Fill the bag, hang it and walk away: no squeezing or pumping. GearJunkie (4) used it daily on an Appalachian Trail thru-hike and liked cooking while it filtered. Expedition Portal (4) found it easier than a pump but hard to fill from shallow pools, so it carries a bottle for scooping. We Are Explorers (4) found setup simple apart from a fiddly hose fit. OutdoorGearLab (3) also found it hard to fill in shallow water and says there is no separate clean-water vessel. Average 3.8 out of 5, so 7 out of 10. OutdoorGearLab's 10-point scores are halved and a half rounds down (9.0 becomes 4, 8.0 becomes 4, 7.0 becomes 3, 5.0 becomes 2), the same as on other Fellkit pages.
In short
Good for
- Camp water for two to four people: fill, hang and cook while it filters
- Group trips and basecamps where you want filtered water without squeezing
- Hut stays and van or car camping with a hook to hang from
Strengths
- Hands-free filtering: no pumping or squeezing
- About 228 g for bag, hose and filter
- Meets NSF/ANSI P231 for bacteria and parasites (LifeStraw)
- Filter rated to 2,000 L and also works as a straw or on a bottle
- The bag has a leak-proof cap, so it also carries water
Weaknesses
- Hard to fill from shallow or still water: take a bottle to scoop
- The bag can tear along a repeated fold (GearJunkie)
- Does not remove viruses
- Not safe after freezing: the manual says not to use or expose it below 0 °C
- LifeStraw's own lab figure of about 1.55 L/min for a new filter drops to about 0.57 L/min over the filter life
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (8)
- LifeStraw: Peak Series Gravity Filter System 3L, specs
- LifeStraw: Peak Series membrane microfilter performance data sheet
- LifeStraw: Peak Series 3L Gravity user manual (do not use or expose below 0 °C)
- LifeStraw: Peak membrane evidence dossier (NSF P231 longevity test, gravity systems)
- OutdoorGearLab (Trish Matheny): LifeStraw Peak Gravity 3L review
- GearJunkie (Xiaoling Keller): LifeStraw Peak Gravity 3L and Peak Squeeze review (Appalachian Trail thru-hike)
- We Are Explorers (Jess Barlow): LifeStraw 3L Peak Series Compact Gravity Water Filter System, reviewed and tested
- Expedition Portal (Matt Swartz): Field tested, LifeStraw Peak Series Gravity System and Straw