I have a son-in-law like that in my family. Hard to shop for! You too might have a hunter, fisherman, hiker, outdoors-oriented person, or someone who needs to be able to drink water after a disaster — that would be everyone!
I recently came across the company Roving Blue, which is headquartered in Wisconsin, part of my old stomping grounds from my youth. They produce a unique water purification tool called the O-Pen. It is featured on the website linked above.
The benefits of this water purification tool is its size and weight. It really is a pen! Thus, you can pack this wherever you go, be it on foot or in a vehicle.
What I’m going to use it for is disaster preparedness. Even healthy people will start dying after 72 hours if they don’t have something to drink. While I’ve got some long-term water stored, it is very heavy, 8.34lbs to be exact for just one gallon of water. I’m not going to be packing much very far.
Where I live there is a park about half a mile away and there is a natural spring running there all 12 months of the year. The pen requires clear water, and that is there in abundance.
If we ever had to evacuate our home, the pen would be very portable and enable us to travel on foot without trying to lug water around.
The only downside of such an elegant tool is the cost: $149. It’s not chump change, but what would you pay for a glass of water when you have not had a drink for two days?
Sometimes at the end of a disaster preparedness presentation where people are sitting at tables, for instance at a lunch, I suggest the following: “Everyone take a drink from the glass that is in front of you now. Then don’t drink a drop of anything else until tonight when you go to bed. It will give you an appreciation for how much you need something to drink.”
