Lifestraw created a whole new category back in the day when they debuted their water-purifying straw, which allowed you to safely drink straight out of sketchy water sources. They’ve made numerous iterations of that pioneering product over the years, including one made from steel, one with unlimited shelf life, and a stubby one sized to fit comfortably inside pockets. With the new Lifestraw Sip, the outfit is releasing their slimmest water-purifying straw.
How slim is it? For the first time, one of Lifestraw’s designs can actually pass off as a conventional straw. Specifically, it looks like one of those stainless steel straws some people like to carry around these days, all while purifying your water on the fly with every sip.
The Lifestraw Sip is a 10.1-inch long straw, so it’s still not the kind of accessory you can carry comfortably in a pocket (unless you’re fine with six inches of steel sticking out or something). However, it’s significantly slimmer than the outfit’s previous releases, with a thickness comparable to the reusable straws you see people using frequently, making it suited not just for backcountry adventures but for everyday urban pursuits. That way, you can drink city tap water all day without worrying about ingesting something nasty.
Despite the slimmer profile, it retains much of the potent filtering power of its bigger counterparts, allowing it to get rid of 99.999999 percent of bacteria, 99.999 percent of parasites, and 99.999 percent of microplastics, along with any silt, sand, or any other particulate that causes cloudiness on your drinking water. Sadly, it doesn’t clear out waterborne viruses and chemicals, so it’s not quite as potent as the best water-purifying bottles for outdoor adventures. Still, this is extremely useful, especially if you want a filter accessory that makes sense in both trail and town settings. The filter is rated for 1,000 liters.
The Lifestraw Sip works much like the rest of their straws, which filters water on the fly, putting it through the integrated membrane microfilter right before it reaches your lips. We can see this being very useful during travel when you’re not quite certain about how your body will react to the local tap water, since the size makes it very convenient to bring along while you visit tourist spots and go about a day exploring the city. It weighs just 1.8 ounces.
The straw itself is cut in BPA-free stainless steel with a silicone mouthpiece at the top, so you don’t have to wrap your lips around cold steel every time you want to sip on a drink. The mouthpiece is removable, by the way, in case you’re a weird person who prefers biting down on cold, hard steel (we don’t judge). It comes with a plastic case that, honestly, looks like one of the outfit’s larger water-filtering straws, which you’ll probably want to bring along if you don’t want your steel straw to get dirtied up sitting bare inside your bag. Of course, you can also carry it in whatever you normally use to carry reusable straws when you leave the house.
The Lifestraw Sip is available now, priced at $34.95.