Mountain Hideaway Blog

MSR Autoflow Gravity Filter Review:

I was in the market recently for a new water filter and debated for a long time on what to get.  I started out with the Hyperflow, but the initial production of it rendered some flaws.  So 3 replacements later, I decided to go with the autoflow and was very happy with my decision.  (As a side note, MSR recalled all of their hyperflows and fixed the problem)

What I really like about the autoflow is the convenience of it.  I can go down to the stream, take up 4-6 liters of water, carry it back up to camp and filter it till I run out.  If I don’t have 4-6 liters of water that needs to be filtered, I can just let it hang there until I do need some more filtered water.  Very convenient when your camp is 1/2 mile away from the water source.

I also like the fact that is weighs almost nothing, 10.5 ounces.  This is great because I don’t feel like I am carrying a big bulky water filter anymore.  The Autoflow packs down to a 7inch by 4 inch bag and has mesh on it to allow for drying.

The only down side I can see to it, if it is even that, is that you are recommended to backflush it every 8 liters.  You only have to backflush it a half a liter and if it pretty simple.  I really do give  it a 10 out of 10, because MSR has made a filter that is easy, light, and super conveniant.

Until the next product,
Dan the Man

The latest headlines have shown that a new strain of Influenza is starting to be transmitted in the US.  A hybrid of sorts, but mostly the same structure as swine flu (which if common among pigs).  About a year back I happened to see a special interview the director of the CDC and it opened my eyes to what would really happen if a flu pandemic hit.  He said that our system of commerce is set up in a way that if a pandemic where to hit, everything as we know it would shut down.  Purified water would run out in about a month, food would no longer be stocked in grocery stores, and electricity might even eventually go out.

So, as I have been seeing these headlines recently, I thought I would lay out some things for the average person to do if Influenza sweeps across the US, or really any disaster for that matter.  Although this list seems drastic, it is really just to help you see what you may have to do if things get really bad.

1. Be prepare to stay in your home for 6 to 8 weeks
   That’s right, 6 -8 weeks.  Think about it, if a pandemic is flying across the country, it is taking place because people are coughing,sneezing on each other, and interacting with each other.  If times get drastic, this may be your only course. The question is do you have enough in your home for you and your family to survive for this length of time.
2. Make sure you have provisions
   Our food/shipping system is built to run on a daily basis.  If sometime like a pandemic where to stike there would be a run on the grocery stores, and your resource for food would dissapear.  Transportation of the food may stop, which means the grocery stores will not get more food for a considerable amount of time.  Plus, if there is a huge amount of people crammed in a store buying groceries, imagine the chances of that disease being spread just by people trying to prepare for the pandemic… not good.
   So make sure that you have provisions set aside just in case. Mountain House #10 cans are an awesome investment for just this situation.  With a 25 years shelf  life, these bad boys will be a life saver in times of no food and need.  The #10 cans are one gallon cans of freeze dried food that only need water to turn them into a delectable meal.  You can also stock up on canned goods, which are easily attainable.  Canned meats, vegetables, fruit… my friend even has canned tamales.  Kinda weird but not a bad change of pace.

   Grow a garden.  You will be surprised at what a little garden will produce in the summer as you are waiting for the pandemic to clear.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are going to be worth their weight in gold if something like this happens, and may even be used to barter if things get really bad.  A great book for learning how to make the best out of a little garden is Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.  It will show you how to get the same amount of food out of a garden 8x smaller.

   Water is something we take for granted. If influenza were to hit, most cities only have about extra chlorine and chemicals to purify our water for a month.  So 2-4 weeks of you staying in your home will probably be without the water that you normally consume.  Buying an extra gallon of water every time you go to the grocery store and putting it in the closet is something that your will be glad you did if a pandemic hits.  There are other ways to get water and stockpile it in an emergency (which we will cover in point #4), but having several gallons of water set aside is something you cannot go wrong with.

3. Invest in a good stove
   A good multi-fuel burning stove is invaluable.   Why?  Most people stoves these days run on electricity, and if our electricity stops abruptly, so does the cookin’.  Your stove can be used for cooking as well as purifying your water.   Bring your water to a boil with your stove and you have killed 99.9% of anything in it that can hurt you. I have the MSR Dragonfly, which will burn everything from Jet fuel to white gas, and it is awesome.  I know that all I have to do is siphon out the gas in my car and I have fuel to run my stove for a long time.
4. Water Water Water
   Water is our life force.  Take our water away and we die.  Simple fact.  So how do you save it in a crisis, and what do you do with it?  Well, hopefully you have been buying  a gallon or so every time you go shopping, but if you have not, and you have a feeling that your water is about to stop, this is what you do.  Get all of your bathtubs, containers, trash cans, hot water heater, and anything else that you can think of and fill them up.  Even if it is a dirty container, you can purify your water later (ie with a stove or water purifier).  This will give you a much better chance of survival.  Also, make a rain barrel to collect water.  This could be as simple as a trash can under the valley of your roof, or a full blown system incorporated into your gutters.  Any way to collect water is essential.  My wife and I have built a rain barrel that is hooked up to our gutter system, for our garden really, but it will be great if a crisis happens.
   Get a good water purifier.  There are a ton of different water purifiers out there, so just shop around.  They have some that are industrial sized, all the way down to personal backpacking water filters.  Someone the other day told me that you can buy the Aquamira Frontier Pro filter, and an adapter, and filter out the water in your hot water heater if is comes to that.  These little guys are straw filters that are only good for 50 gallons, but 50 gallons is the size of a lot of hot water heaters.  They are only $17-$25 dollars depending on where you shop around.
5. Don’t touch your face/wear a mask
   A huge percentage of people getting sick are sick simply because they touch their eyes and mouth without knowing it.  You touch a door nob, counter, computer mouse, taco hot sauce packet that someone sneezed on, even the salad dressing ladle at buffets and your are getting other people germs on your hands.  Lets say that your then wipe your mouth and then lick your lips, well now you have just ingested those germs.  So if you want to lower your chances of getting sick, stop touching your face.

   The current strain of swine flu going around is believed to be spread through sneezing and coughing, so if it gets bad wear a mask.  This will do wonders at preventing the spread of influenza.  One, it will keep your sickness to yourself.  Two, it will keep your from getting the sickness from others.

6. Get a Dynmo lantern/hurricane lamp
   You are gonna need to see at night.  eGear makes a great LED lantern that is powered by you.  Just wind it up and it will provide a consistent amount of light for your house.  These lanterns are great because they can be used to charge your cell phones in a crisis as well.  Although a charge from this lantern will only give you about 5 minutes talk time, it will give you a 150 minutes of run time.
   If you don’t have the money for one of these, go to Walmart and get a hurricane lamp for $10.  These lamps are tried and true, and will provide light for you as long as you have matches and lamp fluid (which are also cheap).  1,000’s of generations of people can’t be wrong.
7. Get something to protect yourself and your family
   Sad to say, but we have all seen what happened to people when hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.  They went psycho.  Looting, killing, and everything else.  If people and their families are starving, they will go into survival mode.  Sometimes this means that they may do anything they can to survive.  This is why a gun, baseball bat, taser, or anything else that you can get to protect you an your family would be a great thing to have in a crisis.  Ultimately is boils down to what you feel comfortable with, but just remember that it may come down to a time where you have to protect yourself and your family in order to survive.
8. IF you have to go out, avoid crowds
   Ideally people would be able to stay in their homes and ride out pandemics and disasters till their over, but that is not always that case.  You may have to go out in public.  If so, try and stay away from big groups.  Go shopping for groceries and other things early in the morning or late at night.  Avoids public restrooms,  restaurants (where people could easily sneeze or spit on your food), and even places like movie theaters, coffee shops, and malls.
9. Buy a bunch of Trash Bags
   If you are saving your water and food, what will you do when you have to use the bathroom?  If water is scarce, then you are not going to want to use your liquid gold (water) to dispose of your waste, so this is where the trash bags come in place.  Although gross, it may be necessary.  Simply get a 5 gallon plastic bucket, some cedar chips, and your trash bags.  Place the trash bag in the bucket, and after you have done your business, take the cedar chips and cover up your feces, and put the lid on the bucket.  This this can go on for a long time, as long as you are clean about it.  Avoid urination in your bucket, as this makes a big mess even bigger.

   If theft is really high, trash bags can also be used to bury stuff that needs to be out of site until needed.   They are great for water storage if you have a container where sanitation is questionable.  They can also be used to seal up your windows if something hazardous is air-borne.  They can even protect valuables in flooding and wet situations.

10. Contact your Physician ahead of Time
    Are you in a job that has high personal interaction with others?  Are you concerned that Influenza is spreading through your city?  Contact your physician ahead of time and see if they can help you out.  They are saying that they will not give you an anti-viral unless you are very sick, but the doctor will be able to tell you what you need to do/take to help prevent getting the disease. If they give you an anti-viral before you have influenza, the virus could build an immunity to it and then there is no helping you.

Hopefully this will give you some things to think about and prepare for as things start to play out in the world as we know it.  Remember, it is better to be safe than sorry. If you are worried about what people are going to think about you if you start to stockpile and prepare, then don’t tell them what you are doing.  It is probably safer that people don’t know anyway.  This will keep them from coming to you when they cannot find food elsewhere.

Mountain Hideaway has a survival department with some things that we recommend for you in case of emergencies.  We can get pretty much anything you need as well, so if you don’t see what you want just give us a call.  We can be reached at 1-800-559-7714 or email us at service@themountainhideaway.com.