Therearen’t many companies that can say they developed an outdoor waterpurification device specifically for use by the US military … andtook six years to be sure they got it right. MSR can make that claimand more with its new Guardian Water Purifier.
Filtersystems have generally been constrained by their ability toeliminate only bacteria and Cryptosporidium (a microscopic,diarrhea-causing parasite), but not viruses. Purification systems getrid of viruses, but take longer to do so. What makes the MSR Guardiandifferent is that it acts as both filter and purifier and is claimed to eliminate all biological threats you might find in even the dirtiest of water.
While there are other products out there that combine filtration and purification into a single unit, the Guardian does so without the use of chemicals, batteries, UV light, carbon or pre-filtering ... and it's self-cleaning.
Thekey is in the system’s hollow-fiber structure made of what thecompany describes as advanced medical-grade fibers that are woven tight enoughto block the smallest microbiological elements. MSR says the hollow fiber structure is undamaged by freezing temperatures and the Guardian can withstand drops from up to six feet onto concrete and up to 300 pounds of force.
The Guardian meets US military testing standard–NSF Protocol P248 and is able to fit on most standard water bottles. It can filter and purify up to 2.5 liters of water per minute and can produce over 10,000 liters of clean water before it’s no longer useful.
The self-cleaning feature sees ten percent of the water that's pumped through thesystem fed back through the filter through a separate line toflush it clean. So no more hassling with scrubbing cartridges orbackflushing to ensure both a steady and clean flow.
The MSR Guardian will be available to the public in January 2016, presenting an attractive option for hikers and backpackers who may no longer have to contend with the expensive and environmentally-unfriendly prospect of buying bottled water. But this kind of advanced, worry-free technologydoesn’t come cheap at a list price of US$350.
MSR made the following short film to showcase the Guardian's versatility.
Source: MSR
