So you love reverse osmosis water and have one of such system at home, be it a under sink or countertop reverse osmosis system. However, what happens when you are out for camping? How do you get clean water that has been filtered by the reverse osmosis process? The answer: buy a portable reverse osmosis water filter system.

Best portable reverse osmosis water filter reviews

There are a number of countertop reverse omosis in the market but not all of them are useful as portable ROs. One common problem is that you need some form of pressure for these things to work but this is not something doable when you are not in your home. Hopefully, the reviews below will let you have a better idea on what will make a good buy.

AcquaPura water filter review

Strictly speaking, the AcquaPura is not a reverse osmosis filter. Although It does have water filtering capabilities but it is not to the extend of what a RO machine can do. However, this filter is very suitable for camping and outdoors because you don’t need to carry another air pump for it to work.

The AcquaPure’s water filtering strength lies in being able to filter bilogicals, and not arsenic or any other kind of chemicals. I know this is a far cry from what a RO filter can do but remember you are in the outdoors. As long as the water filter is able to make river water safe for drinking, I think it is good.

One great thing about the design is that you can screw the filter on top of your water bottle to make your own “reverse osmosis water bottle” LOL. This means you can actually carry the river water around and drink from it as and when you are thirsty. It is a very useful feature to have especially you are out hiking or camping.  Needlessly to say, it is very light weight so carrying it around wouldn’t be a big problem.

If you are interested to know how it works, here are the 3 filtering stages:

• First stage: a prefilter that sits on top of the straw
• Second stage: an antibacterial charcoal filter. This is the workhorse that will clean the water and make it safe for drinking
• Third stage: it is a hollow fiber with UF Membrane

In terms of longevity, you can use this filter up to 396 Gallons of water, after which it is advisable to get a new one. This is because you can’t replace any of the filters inside except for the prefilter.

Abundant flow water review

Abundant Flow Water’s portable RO water filter is ideal for camping or other outdoor activities.

Its main advantage is the size. It is very compact reverse osmosis system and is easy to carry around during camps.  Total weight is only around 6 pounds. That is very light when you compare against the traditional under sink RO system. The nearest competitor is from APEC and it weighs around 7 pounds.

Despite its compact size, it still produces quality water that has around 7-10 PPM. Again, very good results when you measure it against the PPM level of your tap water.  This high quality is due to the 4 stage filter present in the system. It is not as powerful as a 5 stage system but is good enough for camping trips.

However, do note there is no re-mineralization built in for this reverse osmosis system. I don’t think it is a big problem if you are using this for only a few weeks of camping. If you are using this as an home unit, do read this article on on why and how you need to add minerals back to your filtered water. In short, reverse osmosis removes both good and bad minerals from our water. Some of these minerals are essential to our health and aren’t easily consumed through other food. Adding these healthy minerals back to your water is the reason for remineralization.

Drawback

Despite the power of this portable reverse osmosis water filter, it can only work with sufficient pressure. Unfortunately, this is something that is not readily available when you are camping outdoors. The only solution is to use a hand pump to generate the necessary pressure for the RO water filter to work. Specifically, you need around 40 psi of pressure.

My recommendation is to buy this Jabsco 17215-0000 Drill Pump Kit and uses an electric power source to help you do the pumping. If you don’ t have any power source during camp, then you need a hand pump.

The best thing about this particular pump kit is its compact size, which is ideal for taking it during your camping trips. The disadvantage is that it can less powerful than other pumps that are bigger. However, for the portable reverse osmosis system, it has more than enough power.

Summary

The Abundant Flow Water compact reverse osmosis water system is a very portable machine as it is probably the lightest in its category. The filtering capability is also good but needs a pressure force of 40 psi to activate. If you don’t want the hassle, then the AcquaPura is the best alternative. Although its water filtering capability isn’t as good as a RO, it is very light weight and can be used without any additional pressure pump.