A portable water filter is a device that can be used to filter and purify water from various sources. It is an ideal solution for people who travel or camp and need to drink clean water. Portable water filters are also useful for emergency situations when access to safe drinking water is limited. They can remove contaminants such as bacteria, parasites, heavy metals, sediment, and other impurities from the source water. Portable water filters are available in different types. In this article, we’ll discuss types of portable water filter and their uses.

Types of portable water filter
Different types of portable water filters include:
- Portable water filter straw
- Portable water filter pump
- Portable water filter bottle
- Portable gravity water filter
- Ceramic portable water filter
- Portable water filter with UV
- Water treatment tablets
- Portable ultrafiltration water filter
Portable water filter straw
Portable straw water filters are also known as suction-powered. This type of water filter uses straws to fetch water from the source. You draw water with the power of your mouth.
The straw water filter uses hollow fiber membranes that are 0.2 microns wide. The water passes through the membrane where all the viruses and bacteria are removed on their way to the straw.
Advantages of straw water filter
- It helps to remove particulates (sediment and silt), bacteria, viruses, and protozoa present in the water.
Disadvantages
- They are not effective in removing dissolved contaminants such as chemicals, heavy metals, and chlorine.
- The hollow membranes clog more often, so they require to be clear
Our top pick of the best Portable water filter straw goes to Survivor Filter
The Survivor Filter is capable of removing Viruses, Staph, Bacteria, and Protozoa, as well as Mercury and Lead, according to NSF/ANSI Standards.
This device offers triple filtration compared to others because it lasts up to 264,000 gallons
The second choice goes to LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
The LifeStraw personal water filter removes waterborne bacteria (Including E. Coli And Salmonella), waterborne parasites (Including Giardia And Cryptosporidium), microplastics, dirt, sand, and cloudiness.
This Filter Will Provide 4,000 Liters (1,000 Gallons) Of Clean And Safe Drinking Water.
but if your water has lead you need a device that will remove lead efficiently and Survivor Filter is the right choice.
Portable water filter pump
The portable water filter pump uses a small hand pump to fetch water from the source. You put the hose into the source of water and use the pump
They use ceramic filters or fiber filters in conjunction with a carbon-activated filter which makes it suitable to remove contaminants such as particulates and dissolved contaminants.
Pro
Cons
- The pump filters that use ceramic filters are not efficient in removing bacteria or other small contaminants because they have large pores. Also, it is not able to remove organic compounds.
Our top pick of the best Portable water filter pump goes to Purewell Water Purifier Pump with Replaceable Carbon.
Purewell water purifier pumps filter water in 4-stages and is capable of removing lead. There are other systems better suit the different situations. For instance, if you want to free your hand while filtering you can opt to choose an electrical portable water purifier. The best electrical water purifier is Survivor Filter Pro X Electric Water Purifier Survival Filter.
If you want to remove heavy metals, TDS, salt, and nitrates reverse osmosis portable water filter is the best choice. The best portable reverse osmosis system is FS-TFC Portable Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System.
Portable water filter bottle
It is an ordinary drinking bottle that has a filter to remove contaminants present in your water.
If you don’t need to clean the water, you can remove the cartridges and use them.
They use both fiber and carbon-activated filters.
Portable gravity water filter
The filter has two containers placed above each other.
You pour contaminated water into the first container; the water passes through the filters using gravity and gets into the second container, which is placed lower.
They use ceramic, and carbon-activated water filters to clean the water.
Portable water filter with UV
The filter uses UV technology to clean water and requires a battery to operate.
Water treatment tablets
Water treatment tablets are chemicals like tablets put in water to help kill contaminants in water. The best tablets include:
- Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets
- Potable Aqua Water Tablets
- Polar Pure Iodine Water Filter Purifier
- Katadyn Micropur Tablets
- Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment drop
- Survival kits online 55 Gallon Water Preserver Concentrate
- MSR Aquatabs Water Purification
- Quake Kare Water Purification Tablets
- Coghlan’s Drinking Water Tablets, 50 Tablets
- MIGHTIE Water Purification Tablets
- Ef-chlor Portable water purification tablets