First Need XL Water Filter/Purifier (1 filter/purifier)
General Ecology First Need XL Water Purifier
 |  List Price: $115.00 Sale Price: $92.01 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days   |
Product Description
The most effective portable Water Purifier at any price! The First Need XL Water Purifier is effective against cryptosporidia, bacteria, viruses and unmatched in removing harmful chemicals. It consists of increased purification capacity, more secure hose fittings for backwashing and a "direct connect" to most water bottles and hydration packs. There is also a flexible sanitary cap directly attached to the pump cover, longer tubing, comfortable handle, greater capacity and fastest flow of all!
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General Ecology First Need XL Water Purifier 4.9 out of 5 based on 16 ratings. 343 user reviews
General Ecology First Need XL Water Purifier The most effective portable Water Purifier at any price! The First Need XL Water Purifier is effective against cryptosporidia, bacteria, viruses and unmatched in removing harmful chemicals. It consists of increased purification capacity, more secure hose fittings for backwashing and a "direct connect" to most water bottles and hydration packs. There is also a flexible sanitary cap directly attached to the pump cover, longer tubing, comfortable handle, greater capacity and fastest flow of all! $115.00 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41xm2bG67UL._SL160_.jpg
http://www.wesurviveit.com/survival-water-purification-filters/first-need-xl-water-filterpurifier-1-filterpurifier.html
Rating
Surrounded by water and none to drink! Not with this baby. It may sound unconventional but I tried this out in my stagnant rain barrel and it is amazing (a little disconcerting still). Water tasted like it was out of a bottle. With the threat of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods etc. clean water is never a sure thing but it is a must. Hopefully you never have to, but you can trust this little baby if you have to.
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Bought two of these in 1990 for my wife and I, and used them across Africa, India and Indonesia over 15 months travelling (needed one spare cartridge per pump over this time). We were recommended them by some experienced travellers. They are “ugly and not made in Switzerland”, but worked perfectly with some very dubious water and we never got ill from what we drank (we had a few problems with food now and then…) I’d buy another without a second thought. Recommended.
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i bought this backpacking water purifier at the recommendation of a friend whose mother is a forest ranger in idaho. i absolutely love it! it is light weight and esay to use and never clogs! i have been on many a trip w/ folks who use other brands; they are all envious of the first need, even if it isn’t “cool” looking, because it WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This is simply the best purifier out there, especially for the price. It purifies anything, pumps fast, and screws on to nalgenes and other bottles. I even used it in a sulphur hot springs, and it completly removed the smell and taste. You will here a lot of stories about drinking water from wierd places with these, because they work!You cant go wrong with these babies… Survival Training School of California approved!
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Do not get me wrong, I LOVE this filter. It totally smoked my friends MSR filter on a recent trip to Yoesmite. It takes 40 pumps on this filter to create a liter of water. The MSR took 90+ pumps to do the same job. Yes, it is a bit bigger than other filters but if you have ever had to fill 3, 6-liter dromedary bags solo in mosquito infested areas, you want a filter that is going to process water quickly, and easily which the First Need does VERY WELL.
Now for the three downsides… I will start with the most minor… Attaching a Nalgene or drom bag to the First Need is a bit of a pain. The pump shaft is located too close to the filter mouth and the drom bag materials and the cap rings on the Nalgene bottles get all hung up between the filter parts when screwing them on. Now, my preferred method for using the First Need now is to take the cap and ring OFF of one Nalgene liter bottle and use that as my primary pumping receptacle. Then I just dump-fill from that bottle into others so that I don’t have to fight with caps and rings on ALL of the items I need to fill.
2nd bummer – my filter canister froze and the filter element inside failed. It was my fault for letting it freeze, but I treated it with kid’s gloves druing the defrost process but the insides still broke apart and failed the integrity test (after just 5 days use)
3rd bummer – On my last trip, the rubber connection tube between the pump and the filter housing blew out – tore right across the tube – I assume due to the pressure. Luckily I had some tubing from an MSR shower kit that I was able to boil and then slip over the tear in the tubing (as a sleeve) to get me through the final 5 days without issue. However, at a Max pressure of 50 p.s.i. (at stated by Generel Ecology) that rubber hose should not have burst.
At the ned of the day, however, I would buy this filter again and I would pay more money for it than I did originally!
Rating
I seldom get motivated by a product’s performance to write a review. However, this First Need water purifier is fast, easy, lightweight and works great at a reasonable price point. We have taken it canoe camping on several trips and always had great tasting, clean water.
Prior to taking the filter into the wilderness, we tested it by separately filtering a cup of black coffee and a glass of cranberry juice. Both produced crystal clear water with no aftertaste or hint of the original beverage. The only exception was that the filter removed everything but the sugar content of the cranberry juice and produced a clear, sweet tasting water.
I would not hesitate to recommend this product and would definitely purchase another one in the future.
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I tour by canoe weekly and wilderness camp. My average outing is two days in wilderness environments with trips of two weeks ocassionally. The Deluxe First Need Water Purifier has performed flawlesly. I’ve used them years ago when I backpacked extensively and they were great then but, this current product is sensational. It is fast. A quart of sweet, clear water can be pumped in under a minute. The unit comes with a long surgical rubber hose with a float attached that makes reaching the water source easy. The pump works smoothly and quickly, pumping water on both the up and down stroke. Bicycle and Nalgene bottles alike will screw onto the bottom of the filter facilitating the pumping process and guaranteeing the water in the bottle does not become contaminated from an external source. I have not had to back flush yet but, I went through the procedure just to make sure and it is easy. I would buy another First Need Deluxe and I recommend it to anyone who is serious about filtering water, especially when your life might depend on the results of the equipment used.