2 Liter Water Filter from Natural Items 

I remember out with my dad many many yrs ago we list our water and he made a filter a lot like this and we did quite well. I always felt safe when I was with my dad. He knew so much about living. He was not highly educated but I have to say , you would want someone with his smarts to be there with you to survive . He has been gone now many yrs and I'm now 62 yrs old . There is not a day that he doesn't pop into my head. And thankfully I have remembered much if the things he showed me. One example of some of the things he could do was " He could smell out snakes" can't tell you how many times that came in handy as we where around many poisonous snakes. I miss my dad. Liston to the wise ones . They won't be around forever and someone must pass it on.✌

This guy just radiates manliness in everything but it isn't condescending or patronizing. He gives us this information for free

I know it’s been 7 years, but great video man. You laid this out in a very understandable way.

I’m an old lady and you make me feel like I could do this too! Thank you for the video and the great explanations of how and the why.

Every elementary school should teach this and expand on the science of it and different techniques at a larger scale as they advance in grade. So simple and so important. Doesn’t hurt that it’s fun to learn and hands on!

Give a man a cup of water he drinks for a day ,, teach him how to process his own water he drinks for as long as he wants.

Thanks, We did this today in our survival course here in France and and everyone was impressed how clear it came out.

Great demo, i have been teaching Emergency Preparedness classes since 1971. This was well put together and easy to follow Harry E Swank

I'm ex-army and I thought this was very well done, thanks for sharing this, and wish you continued success on your channel. Peace ✌🏻😎🇺🇸🇨🇦

When using sand,.... if you heat it in the fire in a pan 1st,.... to sterilize it,..... makes it even better!

This city woman hopes that she never has to drink water like that, however, that was the most interesting video to watch and skill to learn! Could be a life saver. One never knows! Thanks for the demonstration! Knowledge is power!!

This was the most informative demonstration of how to filter filthy water, then make it safe for consumption I've seen.

I am so glad you mentioned the fact that you have to boil it.

Guys like you make others stronger. Thank you for the step by step instructions.

"little choppy choppy" First time on this channel and that line has just sold me

Interesting video. I'm a licensed water system operator. The concept is similar to how professional filtration systems work. A properly functioning sand and activated charcoal filter will remove parasites, most sediment, but not impurities that are in solution. I.E. metal salts. To remove those, an ion exchange process or reverse osmosis is generally used. Another thing. If you intend to store water, treat it with plain bleach. A few drops a gallon or so should work. You can buy test kits for a reasonable price and test the water. Finally, cleanliness is critical when working with drinking water. Wash tools. Wash containers. If necessary, treat with bleach. By the way, bleach is not very effective against parasites. As he said, boiling is also effective against parasites. Someone asked a question about chemical contaminants. They are another can of worms. If the contaminant is a volatile organic solvent (VOC) it will generally have a lower boiling point than water. This means boiling is somewhat effective for some, but not all contaminants. Interesting video.

When I was 16 for a summer job I worked for the local water company. They supply some districts in London, UK. My job was grass cutting around the filter beds. These were shallow basins, the size of a tennis court, about 2 or 3 feet deep with a drainage pipe system at the bottom and a foot and a half of sand on top. The water supply was straight out of the river Thames at Hampton. The beds were flooded with water and the filtered product was piped into the 'chlorination building'. Once given the filtration by sand and the sterilisation with chlorine, the water entered the public water system and the next time anyone saw it, it was coming out of a tap. Apart from the detectable, but not overpowering smell of chlorine the water was fine to drink and use for other purposes. I appreciate that hikers probably don't carry chlorine bleach in their pack, but the product can be sterilised by boiling as mentioned in the video. So all this is to say that simple filtration through sand is good enough for the UK health authorities, and I'm alive to tell the tale.

I remember making a filter exactly the same way, that was homework in fifth grade back in El Salvador. Good job sir!

I'm late to the party on this demonstration, but thanks Stephen. I learned this so many years ago, but I'd forgotten the details. We all need a refresher now and then, and this was a clear and concise explanation of how to and why to. Especially liked the sapling hoop, first class work.

Many thanks on the the video, S Kinney. .. great video! You mentioned if anyone had suggestions to bring them to your attention. I've got two. One: Even if you let the water run through for the first and consecutive times, you are not harming future water by catching it in one of your containers, and putting the water back through so you don't waste any of the water you might have worked hard to locate if you are wilderness hiking or lost. Two: Better safe than sorry, the reference I'm provided with over the years suggests 10 minutes with cover on high until bubbling is the safest you might get to drink. Lastly, were you aware that you can add an additional safeguard to your water by adding herbs such as thyme and rosemary that you can carry and use sparingly, and that are very easy to grow once you get to a place where you are stationary for a period of up to three weeks? There are now all sorts of emergency kits that have these herbs ready in dry-seal pouches, and if you've no finance, you could also most easily find wild onion, red clover and chives to add to the water to help boost resistance to any micro-contaminants that cannot be filtered or heated out of the water. .. kind of a back-up plan of sorts. Love the video, and you're very appreciated for taking a moment to share your gems with those of us who might find theirselves in such situations now and again. Very admirable, indeed. Good man! Peace, and may G_d bless.

This is very useful , possibly life preserving information. I already knew how to make a similar filter. I use clean river rock for the bottom to keep my carbon in and smaller rocks on top to keep larger stuff out. The sand will create nitrogenating bacteria (4 inches or more needed) that will digest bad bacteria, carbon to eliminate pollutants, bad taste , and whatever got by the sand. Rocks on bottom oxygenation and of course keep the carbon in. Not many people have any idea how to make an effective filter. Praise worthy vid, thank you.

I would love to teach this to kids in an outdoor education class! Learning on the land is the best!

I want to say thank you.Out of all the videos I've seen on this topic.You're the first person to ever say how long to boil the water.Thanks again.

Wow! My brother bought a fire striker and was so excited about it and I was like 😒🙄!! He got so upset and talked so badly about me saying I wouldn’t know the first thing to do if I was ever stranded lol! I quickly came to RU-vid to figure out how to use it and ended up here! SO EXCITED I DID! This was nothing less than amazing and informative! Thank you for taking your time to possibly save my life if I ever need this in the future! God Bless!

as an initial action, let the dirty water stand a few hours so the sediment drops to the bottom and filter the top, very slowly so as not to disturb the sediment. My old boy scout manuals of 50 years ago suggested this.

Excellent video. Love that you didn't skip any steps and walked through the entire process. Also that you emphasized the difference between filtering and purifying. Very simply taught, and easy to remember. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I wish I had known this when I was living in the woods in Oregon. I had serious issues with clean drinking water. You are the bomb diggety! Thank you

Good video. Very smart and easy way to help filter your water. Like Steve said, always boil your water regardless of the filtering. I always boil water before I use my Sawyer Mini. Helps to keep it cleaner and extends the life

One of the best step by step videos I've seen in a long time. Thank you.

Boiling water is necessary but it will make it taste flat. Fix that by passing it back and forth between two cups to add the air back lost during boiling.

So good to hear a WNC voice. Good information.

I spent a long time looking for a filtration system I could make. Every video I clicked on just tried to sell me some product. This is super helpful, thank you so much!

Thank you so much! My 5yr old son got interested as soon as he saw me watching this! we were both able to learn!

thanks im a city boy an know nothing about surviving the outdoors. Thank you for making the video. And yes learning how to do these things in case covid makes people go nuts and have to retreat to nature

Thank you Stephen. Your patience with us greenhorns is golden. That is very valuable information. Bless you sir.

Thanks for the education...nice to hear you covered basic water safety in the wild and possibly at home if water sources go bad. I'm an RN thanks again!

Years ago there was a series of books called FIREFOX that had a ton of old survival and traditional skills that the early American Pioneers used. They are great books and you might find them on amazon or even in your local library. They are worth having and reading. Great video! Thanks for the presentation.

Always handy to have a few bags of kiln dried sand that you can use.........it's super fine and great for filtering. Also, if you want the charcoal layer to be more effective, start off with larger chunks and then gradually layer up finer and finer amounts until you're dropping char dust into the bottle through your fist........the smaller your particulate, the more efficient the filtration!

I loved your whole set up including how you hung up the filter. Awesome tutorial. thank you.

I could stack several of the bottles.(say 6 on top of each other) and it does 6 times the filtration. Excellent survival knowledge. Thanks

I saw a primitive guy make one of these on a much larger scale. I want to make one out of a couple walmart buckets this weekend and try to filter our pond water. If the S hits the fan, we have water it is just muddy. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much! I want to do a 128 mile hike, and I was concerned about carrying enough water to survive the journey. I wanted to be absolutely sure I knew what I was doing when it comes to water filtration. I knew about rocks sand and charcoal, but didn't know about putting grass in it. I saw someone else's comment about moss having iodine, and that's good to know too.

This was super helpful. We live on 10 acres of hardwoods in the wetlands of michigan, and we have everything right here to do this. Thank you. Do more survival stuff

Thank you, this was well taught and I loved the attention to detail without adding unnecessary information. I plan to do this to see how it works for me. I love trying new things.

Thanks for a video that is not only informative but actually very survival oriented. I’m a former marine thought many survival skills and I must say that this video is very useful. Thank you and keep the good work up.

wow - thats the first time I've seen that. Really cool man! I may wind up using this system some day! Thanks for spreading the knowledge....America needs to be more self sufficient.

We learned this in 4-H when we would go camping 30 years ago...I had forgotten about this.....Thanks for the reminder

Just caught your video and I like it. I use filters for house water AND now I understand filters better. I'm glad you explained that filtered water is not purified water. I like the way you demonstrated all components as you explained the use. As one commenter said, "I learned a lot in 8 minutes", I agree. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.🤩 👸🤠

Thank you for sharing this... I lost my Pop's but I still love to learn. God bless the Earth

Geeze people,,,, pay attention to the video before asking questions. He explains it over and over. There is a difference in "filtering" water (to remove dirt, leaves, sticks, etc) and "purifying" water to kill the microscopic critters.

This is awesome, I knew about the charcoal, sand and gravel, but not the how to put it together in an outdoor setting. Thank you so much❣

In these days and times, you're doing God's work. Appreciate you brother

Great video. Using a millbank bag really helps get rid of the floating nasties in the water. It will catch, mud, silt, just about anything floating. Same situation, it has to be purified either by modern type filters, water purification tablets, boiling, chlorine, etc. Also, using hard woods for your charcoal works the best.

Great video, I sure hope society looks to the traditional men for wisdom in these uncertain times. Maybe the long ignored will finally be appreciated & respected again!! Kudos& be safe.

I was just telling my daughter this morning how to do this! Funny how I came across this video! Thank you, Sir!

Excellent. Thanks for being so thorough. Looking forward to trying this out.

I like how you used just what you find in nature,you kinda made it idiot proof,thank you for that!

Nice video. A buddy and I are going to to Bushcraft it for 24 hrs. The wives are back at base camp so we can't stay long, but we want to practice. So on the list is the water filtering, crayfish trapping, shelter building. It works for the summer where I'm at but you always need water. Even if it's from snow it is a good idea to filter and boil.

Awesome!! At least someone takes the effort and interest to do such simple tests and filters the fine particle from the stream..Mankind's shall always keep the environment and water source clean..Congratulations to your simple test and result. 😅.❤

Thank you for making this simple and easy to understand; using just natural materials. And for explaining all the microbe details. I will be sharing this and making one with my grandchildren. 😃

Mr. Kinney this was AMAZING! You kept my attention the entire time. I am a first time viewer and I am a new subscriber for your channel. This was very educational, it was not difficult to hear or understand you, and level of difficulty in my opinion is super simple. Thank you again!

This was very informative. I'm actually going to do this just to see if I can... Nothing else to do while I'm stuck at home

thanks for the info! I appreciate the fact that you used found and made items to make the filter.

thanks for the video. My 13 year old son is homeschooled and studying wilderness and urban survival and I was looking for a video that actually didnt use any type of cloth. I watched several youtube vids and this was my favorite. I also enjoyed the comments. People have great ideas.

Hands-down the best video of this type of filter. Covered everything & did so correctly. Great job, ranger.

just saying that when you drink the water it is fine if some charcoal is in it because in small portions charcoal if you eat it it can help with poisoning

Entirely well presented material. Very obvious and plain material, using a clear bottle makes it easy for viewers to understand what is used and applied. The explanation about boiling is essential, and is make more simple by the comparison with the multiple see-through containers.

Thank you very much, im currently making a survival journal for myself with tips and knowledge and illustrations. This is great, i forgot which order things went in to filter. Now i have it drawn and labeled.

Subbed within the first 30 seconds. Simple presentation, speaks clearly, audio quality is excellent, great ideas.

This is the same technique the Indians used. The hardest step was searching for a 2 liter bottle

Love this. Easy enough for anyone to do in an emergency. Thank you.

First time I actually saw the finished product in action. Thank-you I have a survival book. It doesn't explain the part about running the water through like you explained. Really appreciate that gem nugget of information. I also, bought the survival straw. To use after the boil.

This is so clinic!!! Absolute brilliance in simplicity and in instructing in filtration and purification!!!!

Great video and an outstanding demonstration on how to prepare the filter and then boiling the water at the correct time! Thanks so much for such an excellent and well thought out presentation!

Thank You for the video. One of the better videos I have seen to filter and purify water.

Best water filtering video I've seen. Very easy to remember. Thank you so much.

I was watching Thor’s world record lift, then learned how to make sauna, followed by how to drill a 20 feet well and here i am! Who knows whats next

This is good info to know. I've seen someone build a water filter like that but with a 5 gallon bottle. Who knows one of these days we all may have to learn how to filter our own water

Great to see this. It may be a life saver one day. Thank you for showing us. Over the pond England.

This video made me feel good I know that if something happens I will survive by using this method of filtering and purifying water I’m going to start saving my bottles and making my Charcoal ahead of time. Thank you so much!

Yes that works in an emergency, I carry a Sawyer mini and it gets rid of cryptosporidium and giardia , but in bad water I still boil my water .the Sawyer mini is made right here in Safety harbor Florida, they are only 1995 and filters 100,000 gallons of water , not everyone has one and the method you showed does work great job.

This was an excellent, and thorough, video. You touched on all the points I wondered about with purification vs filtration. Awesome video! Thanks!

Just wanted to say that I really appreciated this video. Great job explaining the process

Great video man... I can find a coke 2 liter just about anywhere, and the other materials everywhere. That was some nasty looking water and you got it pretty damn clear fast! Appreciate ya! Stay safe

Thanks for the refresher Mr. Stephen Kinney, you da man!

I used a 2 liter bottle to filter water for a good many years, and I have a way to improve your system. When you are set up and have run a few liters through to purge the filter, it is important thereafter to introduce water into the top by drips, not filling it the way you are showing here. Reason is when the lower charcoal region is flooded, water will run between the grains and so a portion will not be filtered at all. If you poke a hole in your second 2 liter bottle and position it above the filter so it releases water in a drip, drip, drip, fashion one drop at a time, every bit of water will be making contact with the charcoal, and the result will be clear and clean smelling. I say clear, unless the water you are using is stained with tannin. And personally I believe a little tannin may be just what the doctor ordered, as the Native people drank it all the time.

Wow!! Loved this Video,Thank's so much from the South of UK.

Thanks for the lessons on how to build a water filter, and how to use it properly. Also on how to purify water after it has been filtered.

Thanks for your public service offering survival tips. We never know when an emergency creates a need to know about the number one survival basic: water.

really love this video I wasn't boring I enjoyed watching you do everything that you did I like how clear you explained everything thank you so much for your expertise

Great vid! I knew about this but didn’t know details and the order of how to put the materials. Very informative. Thanks!

I knew a little about this water filtration method but i didn't know the details.thanks for the detailed information.this is a life saving knowledge in a survival situation. 🙂

Thank you very much. This could be a life saver one day.

Thank you brother, at times we are in now "survival" is an essence as well to being prepared with a basic plan of what, where and when to do things... I appreciate this video as I needed it for basic skills.

Thank you for the video, we may be needing it some day soon. Thanks again.

I love the fact that you said “purty it up a little bit”!!❤️ Great video! Thank you for the education

Make a filter “ladder” using multiple of these bottle filters. Get your bottles cut up then take a length of paracord starting from bottom bottle and working your way to the top, lace them up like a shoe ending with a square knot for a hanging loops fill and suspend your filter so that every bottle is resting on the top layer of rock in the bottle underneath. Also if you want, add a couple of empty bottles in the bottom to catch and store your filter water in. Also when your priming this filter, don’t just dump out the first run water, run it through the filter again. He was wasting a lot of water priming his filter when he could have just been double filtering the same water

Just watched your 2 Liter Water Filter video - you explained it ever so clearly. Thank you - subbed.

Thank you so much. That is the best simple explanation yet I've found.

This is looking to be a GREAT project/ experiment for my grades 2 and 3 classes! Very practical too. It's going to be knowledge for many people as we go forward.