LifeStraw
LifeStraw Peak Series Personal Water Filter Straw
- Protection: 8/10 What it removes from water, and how well that is proved.
- Flow rate: 1/10 How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use.
- Weight: 9/10 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
Drinking straight from a stream on a fast day or a run
- Type
- Straw
- Removes viruses
- No
- Flow
- Not published
- Weight
- 65 g
- Pore size
- 0.2 µm
- Rated life
- 4000 L
Where to buy
GO Outdoors £30 Out of stock. £3.99 standard, free over £80. Member prices are not included.
View at shop: GO OutdoorsUltralight Outdoor Gear £29.99 Out of stock. Free tracked UK delivery on all UK orders.
View at shop: Ultralight Outdoor GearPrices 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.
0.2 µm hollow-fibre membrane. LifeStraw's page and data sheet say it meets US EPA and NSF P231 for removing bacteria and parasites (99.999999% and 99.999%): a named standard for bacteria and protozoa, so 4. No virus claim.
Flow rate
Estimate from maker's specs: filter type (no flow rate published) 1/10How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use. 1: A real weak point.
Estimate from maker's specs
Weight
From maker's figures 9/10How much it adds to your pack. 9: Among the best you can buy for this.
65 g (LifeStraw). OutdoorGearLab measured 65.2 g. Under 90 g.
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.
OutdoorGearLab scores ease of use 8.0 out of 10 (4) and UKH's Dan Bailey found it easy to use (4). CleverHiker found it clogs in silty water and takes a lot of suction (3). Average 3.7 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. OutdoorGearLab's page is a test of 20 filters with a scored table and written hands-on notes on this straw. UKH had free products, which it says.
In short
Good for
- Drinking straight from a stream on a fast day or a run
- A 65 g back-up filter in a pack or glovebox
- Day walks where water sources are frequent
Strengths
- 65 g
- Rated to 4,000 L, twice the Peak squeeze bottle's 2,000 L
- No extra parts to carry
- Meets NSF P231 for bacteria and parasites (LifeStraw)
Weaknesses
- You have to suck hard (CleverHiker, UKH)
- Clogs in silty water and needs cleaning after use (CleverHiker)
- Does not remove viruses
- Not safe after freezing: LifeStraw's manual says not to use or expose it to temperatures below 0 °C
- LifeStraw publishes no flow rate
- Drink at the source: it does not carry water
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (6)
- LifeStraw: Peak Series Straw, specs
- LifeStraw: Peak Series Personal Water Filter Straw user manual (not to use in or expose to freezing temperatures)
- LifeStraw: Peak Series Personal Water Filter Straw performance data sheet
- UKH Gear (Dan Bailey): LifeStraw Peak Series Water Filters review (free products, disclosed)
- CleverHiker (Brett Kretzer): Lifestraw Peak Straw Review
- OutdoorGearLab: Best Backpacking Water Filters (20 filters tested; no separate Peak Straw page; scored table: ease 8.0, durability and maintenance 5.0)