Portugal may be a small country compared to other much vaster territories around the world, but surprisingly there are still places in the remotest parts of the country I go to while preparing my trips, where finding a controlled source of water may be difficult. Not to mention when I’m in the middle of nowhere and I run out of drinkable water—the only option is to walk to the nearest river and get on my knees to satisfy my thirst.

Until very recently I used to carry several single-use plastic bottles of water, albeit at the cost of loosing space inside the Defender and a big environmental footprint which I’ve been trying to reduce. On one of my guided trips across the northern parts of Portugal, I couldn’t avoid noticing a customer drinking water straight from the tap, which in this case was a matte green jerrycan located in the back of this vehicle and looking quite sturdy. After taking note of its name I went online and it didn’t take long to contact the manufacturer to get one for myself.

The LifeSaver 20000 UF jerrycan is made of hard plastic, holding just under 19 litres of water, and claiming to filter up to 20,000 litres of clean drinking water while removing 99.9 % of viruses, bacteria, cysts, and parasites. If you are a tech geek (or at least like to know your stuff), this is a Log 3 according to the NSF P248 compliance standards, for virus, bacteria and protozoan cyst reduction set by the US Army Public Health Center (MEDCOM). The filter is made of activated carbon which removes chlorine, taste and odour, hence improving the palatability of any water I manage to source while I’m on tour.

To use it, just fill it with water, and pump it up 10-15 times. Open the tap on the other side and a vigorous flow will come out to wash your dusty hands and face. For the ultimate camping experience, or if you just want to wash the mud off your boots, there’s a shower attachment which, at a flow rate of 4 l/min, provides a nice shower effect. Be mindful though that if you use standard jerrycan holders, this one might not fit due to its oversized dimensions; so check first before you click the “buy now” button.

Having clean, drinkable water always available is absolutely vital to preserve your health whilst on a trip, and it may even save your life should you have to use it to clean a wound (the name of this jerrycan could not be more appropriate). It helps protecting the environment from single-use plastic bottles too, so double points here!

€271 (excl. VAT) | iconlifesaver.com