Why pay more?
The water quality in our area is great. We don’t need a filter for our day-to-day needs. But what would we use if we lose our city water source? To answer this question, we looked at a variety of portable options. After weeks of research, it looked as though the Big Berkey would be the best solution. From our perspective, it had a couple of problems.
First, it’s too tall to fit under the upper kitchen cabinets if we place it on the countertop in the kitchen, and that’s without the stand that’s needed to get it high enough to fit a glass under it.
Second, it’s expensive! Too expensive to store away for an emergency. Third, once filled with water, you can’t let it sit, or algae will build up on the filters and sour the water. Fourth, you can’t really clean the filters; they have to be replaced on a yearly basis (expensive!).
Thankfully, a good friend directed us to the Sawyer SP181 All-in-One Water Filter Kit (about $65). It comes with a bucket kit that easily converts a 5-gallon bucket into a water source. Best of all, the PointONE filter removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera and E.coli; and it removes 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium.