U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- In the old days when backpacking you had to boil your water or carry water pumps and a storage jug and a bottle to carry water with you. Or if elk hunting you had to carry a 2-liter bottle of water. When hunting, fishing or hiking in the mountains you suck down a lot of water. The climate is dry so while breathing you lose moisture. Plus, just the extreme hiking forces you to use a lot of water. Then in the summer while backpacking or fishing it can get scorching hot during the day, which all adds up that you’re going to burn through the water. The problem is, water is heavy!
Things are a lot easier now. Yes, we may still pump/filter water in camp or heat river water over a fire but no longer do we have to carry a half-gallon in our pack all day (4-lbs.). Years ago, I discovered the filtered water bottles and I love them but sometimes if you’re running/gunning there’s something even better. The Aquimira Frontier Pro Water filter.
Aquimira Frontier Pro Water Filter
I discovered the Aquimira Water Filters years ago. For some applications, they’re the best choice. For instance, when I’m flyfishing in the high country. Obviously, if I’m fishing then water is available so I don’t need to carry water, I just need to be able to filter it so I can drink what is available. Yes, sometimes I drink straight out of the creeks. And in some places you can safely drink straight from rivers and lakes. For instance, while fishing with Plummer’s Lodges last summer in the NWT my daughter and I drank straight out of their pristine lakes. You could see 35’ to the bottom. But in other situations, there’s always the danger of getting Giardia. A buddy of mine got it and it wasn’t a fun ordeal.
The Aquimira Frontier Pro Water Filter is great! I love the regular Aquimira Straw but the Pro has a lot more features.
- To connect to the Camelbak Hydrolink you just remove the UQC spacer and push in the Hydrolink.
- To connect to Nalgene or Source connectors install the UQC spacer.
- A mating UQC connector is included for hydration systems that do not have quick connects.
- It is also made to use in a gravity flow setup. You hang the water reservoir above the Frontier, remove the bite valve and setup as in their directions.
(Attachments are all included so you can perform the above four tasks).
Or, you can just use it as a filtered straw to drink out of creeks and lakes. Although anymore I like to carry a tin cup to dip up water so I don’t have to bend over.
There is a prefilter that is 1” wide and ¼” thick and looks like a big cotton/fiber tablet. This prescreens and removes the larger particulates so it doesn’t plug the actual filter. The Aquimira Frontier Pro Water Filter is rated for 50 gals. but of course the dirtier the water you drink, the faster that it plugs the filter and vice versa.
I can only guess that the Aquimira Frontier Pro Water Filter is a supped-up version of the original Frontier Straw. It has more options that the old Frontier Straw (which I still love).
The MSRP for the Aquimira Frontier Pro Water Filter is $29.99 and as is usual, we will close with the specs.
Features and Benefits
- GRN Line Bacteria Filter with up to 500 ml/minute flow rate
- Certified filtration for 50 gallons (over 180 L)
- Ultralight and compact 2.5 oz. (71 g) packable protection
- Replaceable filter design means highly cost-effective extra capacity capability
- Connects to bottles, bags, bladders, and gravity systems via UQC quick connects
- Includes three pre-filters to extend filter life and remove twigs and debris
- Comes packaged in a zipper pouch which doubles as a water collection and storage unit
- Miraguard™ Antimicrobial* Technology suppresses the growth of bacteria, algae, fungus, mold and mildew within the filter media
- BPA free, chemical free, and iodine free
- Filter made in the USA
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoors writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”
What does it filter out, what %, what size, 1-2-3 microns or.., what does it not filter out? This article carefully fails to describe the most important things! Editors, please do your job to ensure these articles are more that kind advertisements!!
Bill, that’s not so at all. I don’t get one penny whether you buy it or not. I’m writing from the perspective of an outdoorsman. If you get out in the backcountry on a regular basis, then you’re going to love this straw. I keep one in every pack. And yes, I should have included that it filters out the two big worries-Cryptoporodium & Giardia but as far as I know, all reputable filters do that nowadays. Thanks for pointing that out for the other readers because that is important.