Puribag 120L System — Field Review

surviveitsouthwest

3 days ago

5 min read

A lightweight way to turn questionable water into something you can actually drink

In a survival situation, finding water is only half the problem. The water you find isn't necessarily safe to drink.

That was what I wanted to test with the Puribag 120L System — an Australian-designed water treatment system that combines water treatment and storage into a lightweight, portable package.

The system is designed around treating 10 litres of water at a time, with the 120L kit containing 12 treatment sachets. The whole system weighs less than 200 grams, making it particularly interesting for survival kits, emergency preparedness and anyone who spends time away from reliable drinking water.

But the real question is: does it actually work when the water looks absolutely horrible?

I decided to find out.

What is the Puribag?

The Puribag is essentially a flat-pack water treatment and storage system.

The 120L system contains:

A reusable Puribag
12 water treatment sachets
Each sachet treats up to 10 litres
Total treatment capacity of up to 120 litres
Integrated filtration at the water outlet

The manufacturer describes the treatment process as combining filtration, flocculation, sorption and chemical disinfection in a 30-minute treatment cycle.

That means you're not simply adding a purification tablet to clear water. The treatment is designed to deal with water containing a significant amount of suspended material as well.

Putting it to the test

For my test, I deliberately chose water that certainly wasn't something I'd want to drink untreated.

The water was essentially swampy rain runoff, with plenty of organic material and contamination potential. Even though I knew the water was rain runoff, you should always treat water found in the environment as potentially contaminated because you don't know what's upstream or what animals have been doing around the water source.

I filled the Puribag with the dirty water, added one treatment sachet and sealed it.

The instructions call for the bag to be shaken for approximately five minutes before being left for 30 minutes.

After the initial mixing, I could already see the treatment starting to work. Heavy particles were visibly separating from the water and settling towards the bottom of the bag.

After the full 30-minute treatment period, the difference was pretty dramatic.

The material that had been suspended throughout the water had settled out, leaving considerably clearer water above it.

There was still a brownish colour to the water, which I identified as tannins from decomposing vegetation. Tannins can give natural water a tea-like colour and aren't necessarily an indication that the water remains microbiologically unsafe.

The treated water then passes through the outlet filter as it leaves the bag, providing another stage of filtration and helping prevent sediment from making its way into the drinking water.

What did it taste like?

This is where you need to remember that the Puribag uses chemical treatment.

The water had a slight chemical taste.

It wasn't particularly pleasant, but it also wasn't unexpected. If you're used to purification tablets or other chemical water-treatment methods, you'll probably recognise the taste.

For me, that's a reasonable trade-off in a survival situation.

I'm far more interested in whether the water is safe to drink than whether it tastes like bottled spring water.

The storage advantage

One feature I particularly like about the Puribag is that it doesn't just treat the water — it also becomes the container for the treated water.

That's important because once you've gone to the trouble of making contaminated water safe, you don't want to immediately contaminate it again by transferring it into a dirty container.

The manufacturer also states that the system can be stockpiled for up to three years, making it suitable for emergency preparedness as well as outdoor use.

120 litres from one kit

The 120L system contains 12 treatment sachets, with each sachet treating up to 10 litres.

That gives you a total treatment capacity of:

12 × 10 litres = 120 litres

That's a significant amount of drinking water from something weighing less than 200 grams.

The manufacturer states that this could provide enough treated water for a family of four for up to two weeks, or one person for approximately a month.

Obviously, actual requirements will vary considerably depending on climate, activity level, age and individual water needs, so I wouldn't treat those figures as a universal survival calculation.

What I liked

Very lightweight

At under 200 grams, the amount of water-treatment capacity you get for the weight is impressive.

Handles dirty water

This is probably the biggest advantage I found during my test. The water I started with looked terrible, and the visual improvement after treatment was significant.

Large treatment capacity

Being able to treat up to 120 litres from one compact kit gives you considerably more capacity than carrying a handful of conventional purification tablets.

Reusable bag

The bag itself can be reused with additional treatment sachets, rather than being a single-use system.

Australian product

The Puribag was developed by a couple of guys in South Australia, so it's an Australian-designed product that is particularly relevant to Australian outdoor and emergency conditions.

Water storage and treatment in one

I like the fact that you're not just treating the water — you're also storing the treated water in the same system.

Things to consider

The Puribag isn't a magic solution for every water source.

It is designed for fresh water, not seawater. If you're dealing with salt water, you'll need a completely different process such as distillation or reverse osmosis.

There is also a 30-minute treatment time, so this isn't an instant filtration system. You need to plan ahead and allow the treatment process to work.

And, as I found during my test, chemically treated water can have a noticeable taste.

My verdict

For me, the Puribag ticks an important box in a survival kit: it gives you a practical way of turning questionable freshwater into drinking water without carrying a large or heavy filtration system.

What impressed me most was the combination of size, weight and capacity.

You're carrying less than 200 grams, but you've potentially got the ability to treat 120 litres of water.

My test water started off looking like something I wouldn't want anywhere near my mouth. After the treatment process, it was dramatically clearer and, according to the manufacturer's treatment specifications, suitable for drinking.

I'd still follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully and choose the cleanest available water source whenever possible. Water treatment should be about reducing risk, not deliberately choosing the worst possible water when a cleaner source is available.

For a survival kit, emergency bag, vehicle kit or outdoor adventure, I think the Puribag is a very interesting piece of equipment.

And for me, the biggest advantage is simple:

You don't have to carry all your drinking water with you — you can carry the ability to make water safe when you find it.