Water filtration filter bottle purifier kit for camping emergency prep backpacking hiking outdoor system travel virus bacteria & cyst removal with pump 20,000 UF Jerrycan Family Disaster Pack

The metal foil seal was compromised. The package has previously been opened by someone else. The staples on the packaging cut the foil seal in multiple locations and hole was also found. Probably would of been ok if someone had not opened the box and resealed the box (should of removed the staples!!!).Could not except a damaged foil seal, ruins the shelf life of the product.

I had correspondence directly from Lifesaver about the carbon taps and potential custom charges. I had a question regarding purchasing additional carbon filters that go into the cap that are not available here but possibly available from the Lifesaver's website. I was also concerned about having to pay custom charges in addition to the price charged online. I received the following response from them:Good AfternoonApologies for the delays in responding to you, we have been extremely busy and had a long Bank Holiday weekend.With regards to the Carbon filters for the Jerrycan, these had been removed and were only available to purchase by buying them pre-installed in the taps, but this is currently being rectified and will be available again shortly. [A later email told me that they are only available in the Disaster Pack and cannot be purchased separately - you must purchase the Carbon Taps which are available online.]Secondly the LIFESAVER products are zero rated at USA customs so the price on the website is the final price.RegardsLorraineSo there will not be any custom charges if shipped to the United States.

A unit like this deserves a detailed review. It is quite literally a life saver for some.Let me first state that I purchased this unit when it was a little cheaper than it is now. Thusly I will split my review into parts.I live in the UK. I intend to use this in the UK. I will be at my farm, which has a field that is populated by sheep, with me and an other working by a few streams fed by a spring (my water sources) at the bottom of a valley, by an open sided quarry. I will use it as my clothes washing, personal washing and showering, and drinking water supplier.This purchase at the time was cheaper than an un-mylar-ed version thanks to Amazon. So I bought this unit knowing that I would be opening it this year, rather than placing it in my stores in case of a future zombie apocalypse. I am not taking the mickey here, I still want an other unit in the future for my personal stores, possibly just a replacement filter rather than a whole jerry-can arraignment. I will know after the testing if I think the jerry-can itself can survive a lifetime of use.1. Quality of packaging; when I got hold of the set, I looked for issues as you do on any new purchase of this importance that uses a mylar bag. Comming from a prepper mind-set, the presence of a mylar bag is important. All the individual items were there. All the items were sound, in their respective mylar bags, and fully sealed. These smaller items (other than the carbon filters) are inert, and an oxygen free atmosphere is not required anyway. It is not beyond most folk to take two mins on the web to find out how to seal a mylar bag if they wanted. So replacing the air in these smaller bags is simple if you wanted to make it your 'zombie apocalypse go to'! Absorbers are found everywhere on line. The main unit, the jerry-can BAG, was however punctured, I saw a small tear in the bottom of the bag. I was suspicious as I had seen online a few examples of a properly sealed mylar bagged Jerry-can, a tight drum of plasic covering, and another where the buyer returned the unit due to a punchtured bag, so my prepper suspicions were raised. I e-mailed the supplier that answered all my related questions.In a nutshell, the unit is packaged in the mylar bags to enable the company to give the long shelf life. Once the mylar bag is discarded, the shelf life is reduced to the amount of water that one intends to pass through the unit. That is to say; If you buy a jerry-can without the mylar bag, your unit will have a long shelf life (unused) anyway. It should not be sealed in a mylar bag once used (duh).For me, the unit will be opened soon anyway, so it was semantics with me. However, one should apreciate this; The unit does not need the foil wrapping as a protection from oxygen as the cartridge filter is within the body of the jerry-can. In this case, the mylar bag (punctured or not) is there to protect the unit, It is not there so much for reasons of keeping oxygen away from the unit. It is there as a bad-ass protective wrapping that will last for more than ten years under normal circumstances and stop the moement of air around the can.If I were to use this product as my zombie apocalypse go to unit, then I would have been a little upset as to the fact that the unit was not sealed in the bag. I spoke with the suppliers and was left happy when the function of the bag was explained. I would not need to be sending the unit back, and if I realy wanted to, and with a prepper mind-set I could have re-sealed it with no problems. The mylar bag that they use is top grade though. Army grade, they say. And will last the distance, holes or not.If at a later date I were to buy a replacement filter, this would be sealed in a bag as it should not be exposed to oxygen/air.2. Quality of the unit and parts;The SHOWER UNIT has a quick release to the jerry-can. It has an extra washer that you must fit to the can before you use the shower. It works. You must squeeze the shower head to allow water to flow. In the places of the world where water is scarce, I can see why. I will therefore not be using the shower in the UK to take a shower. I will be using it to act as a moveable tap that means that my counter or kitchen work space has more functionality, rather than keeping the bottom area of the jerry-can free from pots or buckets etc.It will help if there were a wire handle to hold the shower head free from the surfaces or worktops when not in use. I will make one.There is also a spare washer for the other end of the shower. And a quick guide to assist.MAINTENANCE KIT. It contains the instruction sheet for the Jerry-can, various washers and stoppers, some grease and a quick start guide. Not knowing that the instruction manual was in this pack I had contacted the supplier to provide one if they could. And they did via a PDF. It might be better if for the zombie apocalypse prepper that there was a link on the lifesaver site to a PDF so that none of the bags have to be opened before hand or place an idiot guide for the novice in the box, but outside any of the sealed bags.Edit; There IS a link on their pages, look for it and print out for your reference, or your trouble card's information for those not privy to its use. http://www.lifesaversystems.com/resources/technical-informationCARBON DISC. These little things are placed into the tap outlet, and are there if one need protection from chemical contamination or heavy metals. I will be using them for both. Like was stated above, I will be using water that has been on farm-land. Chemicals abound there at times. Also, the rocks that the water spring permeates though is suspect until I do some tests for mineral/heavy metal content.JERRY-CAN. Unit is stable when up-right. But it wobbles a little when placed on its front edge to retrieve water from the bottom of the can. I intend to use it on its edge. Therefore I will be buying a pack of rubber feet that I can stick onto the edge. They are cheap, will do the job, will not corrode the jerry-can and I can place some spares in the maintenance kit bag. I foresee that most folk using this jerry-can will have a shelf system in place, be it from their car or at the base camp.It feels strong. The parts look well made.One design flaw in my view. The tap area is well looked after by being in a recess built into the jerry-can. However, the pump and water inlet is not protected at all. In a vehicle, that is full of junk and normal travel things, this might one day cause an issue. Might I suggest a plastic cover bowl that serves to protect the top of the unit in transit, and to serve as a scoop for low lying water?The follow-up to this review is due to you in the latter half of this year (2015), and that will to tell of its effectiveness as a system.