This is probably the most important test of the survival still, because if you ever have to actually rely on the still, you may not have any other cooking method other than the trusty campfire.
Once again, if you rub bar soap on the outside of the bottom pot BEFORE you put it on the fire, the soot will clean up much easier.
While a lot of people think the survival still is too expensive, I think it is a pretty neat product.
I find that using a survival still over a campfire is a pretty easy way to distill water.
(Edit) Now the Survival Still ships with a stainless steel water line. If you have the old silicon one, contact them and they will ship you a new one free. I got one in and it does work well, it is flared, so I find it picks up the water inside the still better, but being steel it is not flexible and I found it harder to fit on my stove with the pots I have – I had to use a bowl instead of dripping into the mason jar I normally use.
When it comes to survival gear I demand that no matter what the other selling points are, if I am going to stake my life on it, it has to work every time. If I don’t get a “do-over” then my gear doesn’t get excuses made for it.
That is one thing about the survival still that makes me not only keep one for myself.
I love that the survival still works no matter what is the heat source. If you can put a pot on it and boil water the still will purify it.
Today we use a homemade rocket stove powered with scraps of wood and twigs picket up from the ground.
The small twigs and inelegant build of the actual stove caused the still to work slower than normal. However, it was not a flaw of the stove, but more a flaw of the builder (me).
Actually the design came in quite useful as I got mud all over the inside of the still and since the survival still is designed to physically separate the dirty water from the pure steam my fumbling did not cause any problems.
I know that in the short term there are cheaper alternatives to this stove, but they all will wear out, be used up, or require replacement while the stainless steel survival stove will keep putting out pure water every day for at least one lifetime.
its cool, but the commenter had a filter, and therefore had no need.
Those are both valid concerns, but – at least in my situation (and probably many of yours) they aren’t accurate.
I know $279 seems expensive, but when looking at durable goods you have to balance cost with benefits. The price of the still is very competitive with filter systems like Berkeys – but unlike filters – they never clog, break, or need maintenance.
As a firearm instructor – I see students try to skimp on quality – and when they come to class with cheap guns trying to save a few dollars on guns and end up with malfunctions and problems – until they end up buying quality the second time.
I would not expect anyone to only have one piece of equipment for such a vital need. At my house we have stored water, multiple chemical purification means, filters, and the materials to make filters. But each has its own pros and cons.
Distillation takes energy, but it its 100% effective. Filters can clog, chemicals don’t work on toxins, and sodis doesn’t work on chemicals.
In the video below we purify salt water- filters won’t work on chemicals in solution – so salt water will be a problem if filters are your only means of water purification.
The survival still I am reviewing today is a lightweight, portable water purification still that can purify almost any water source from any heat source.
That makes it flexible. Which is a vital, but often overlooked feature of survival products.
As soon as I saw this still I knew I had to have one, so far this has been the ONLY piece of survival equipment I purchased without needing to do any research. Understood the science behind the product, and the second I was introduced to the product I knew it was a keeper.
As a matter of fact, my first question was, how many do I need to buy to become a dealer? The only other question I asked concerned the makeup of the drip tube (the only non stainless steel part in the product). By the way, the tube is medical grade silicon so it won’t degrade or release dangerous chemicals if it is accidentally exposed to solvents.
I am a true believer in this product, and as time passes I will show videos where we distill various contaminates, and using a variety of heat sources so you can see the versatility.
The Survival Still is a non-electric appliance that uses the science of distillation to purify water by boiling the water and collecting the pure steam leaving any contaminates behind.
Because of the process, distillation allows you to have consistently pure water from virtually any water source, without the use of filters. There are no moving parts, no filters to clog or replace, and no complicated steps to remember.
The survival still lets you purify water from your swimming pool, a stream or even the ocean, for as long as is needed. When the disaster (or camping trip) is over, simply wash out the bottom pot and pack away.
Extremely effective against all types of contaminants.
Kills and removes bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Is a permanent solution for purifying sea water.
Does not need filters, maintenance, infrastructure or a supply chain.
Distillation is recommended by FEMA and the Red Cross!
The power of distillation
As we said earlier, the Survival Still uses the process of distillation. This process scaled down from nature’s process to purify water.
Nature purifies water through the three-step process of
Evaporation
Condensation
Precipitation.
When water evaporates it cannot hold onto the particulates such as dirt, debris, or heavy metals so these contaminants stay behind while the vapor is pure.
The pure vapor then rises and condenses into clouds. The clouds move inland and release the water as rain. Rain is very pure water and is the source of all fresh water on the planet.
In the same way, distillation produces high-purity water without the need for filters.
How it works
The Survival Still is designed to be used with standard cooking pots that you already have.
To use the Survival Still simply fill a standard soup pot with about a gallon of water and put it on a heat source such as a propane grill, stove top, or campfire.
Bringing the water to a boil kills any bacteria and parasites.
Contaminants are left in the lower pot, while the pure steam rises and is captured by the Survival Still.
The Survival Still rests on top of the bottom pot.
A second pot of water sits on top of the Survival Still, for the purpose of cooling the steam back into liquid water.
Droplets of pure distilled water then drip down and they flow into a storage container.
Once again, the Survival Still® is a wonderful addition to your preparedness plan, it is rugged enough, effective enough, simple enough, and effective enough to be one of your primary water purification methods, and unlike filters there is nothing to replace or clog.
As an added benefit, the action of condensing the pure steam heats the water in the top pot so that as you purify your drinking water on your campfire you are heating water for hygiene needs – so you are getting multiple benefits from the same device.
How does the Survival Still® compare to filters?
Survival Still®
All Filters
Meets Red Cross Recommendations
Yes
No
Converts Ocean Water into Drinkable Water
Yes
No
Fail Safe Protection (air gap that separates contaminated water from purified water)
