This looks like it'd get contaminated right quick, take a lot to set up, and be damaged extremely easily. My recommendation would be to collect water from a nearby source and run it through a filter that lasts longer, it's more reliable, and you get more water out of it.
Filter options include charcoal/sand, wood, and vines. Charcoal and sand filters need a large vessel and a cloth bottom, and won't get rid of microorganisms. The advantage is that you can hook up a rain collection outflow directly to it, and it'll last for a while. You make it by first acquiring a vessel, such as a barrel, putting a hole or several in the bottom, and putting a few layers of cloth over the outflow. Then apply alternating layers of charcoal and sand. Charcoal can be made by several methods, if you want a video I recommend Primitive Technology on YouTube.
Wood and vine filters will remove microbes, are able to easily be made in the wild, but will only be effective for as long as the tissues are alive. All you do is find a suitable plant, cut it, shape the cuttings if needed, then stick the end that draws water in the source and the end that releases water in the receptacle. Grape vines and Cyprus wood work best for this.
Reminder that I'm a random person on the internet, and you shouldn't believe everything you read online.
My dad taught physiology and survival training in the Air Force, and later for the FAA. You're right about this not being very useful in any kind of survival scenario.
You're going to lose a lot more liquid just digging the hole than you would ever gain from collecting condensation. Pretty much the most important survival item in any scenario is a pot that can boil a couple cups of water.
For the most part, filters are just for taste and mouth feel. Nothing you can make or find in an emergency situation is going to filter out the stuff that's going to give you dysentery, or it won't work fast/efficient enough to keep you from dehydrating. Unless you have some iodine or bleach handy, being able to boil water is a must.
Correct, there is no reason to plan that far ahead.
Solar stills are only useful in certain, niche circumstances and are improvised with materials on hand. In fact this is the first time I've seen a diagram with a drinking straw rather than instructions to just pull the container out and drink.
Finding some transparent, eco-friendly sheeting and packing it just to run a solar still is fucking stupid.
Solar stills are only useful in certain, niche circumstances and are improvised with materials on hand.
Finding some transparent, eco-friendly sheeting and packing it just to run a solar still is fucking stupid.
Seems like you are being a dick because someone else didn't know that this was something that could only be used in emergency situations and nobody plans for those. I mean you could have said 'filter straws are a better option if you are planning ahead' if this method is worse, but I bet you feel a lot better having trash talked someone for not being aware of some additional context not present in the OP.
Seems like you doubled down on an ignorant statement when you were provided context.
You could have cut bait and kept your mouth shut, but I bet you feel a lot better having tried to shore up a bad position instead of just taking on the new information and moving on.
I don't understand how you thought this guy was being a dick just because he said "fucking stupid"...are you really that sensitive? He's right. Keeping some clear plastic on you at all times, because one day you might have a 0.000001% chance that you need to use it to obtain fresh water...is stupid. It's fucking stupid.
There's plenty of plastic already freely available out in the environment already! You'd only be adding another piece of plastic!
Unless you ... bring it outside of the environment....
In an emergency scenario anything that water will not soak into and ideally that light can pass through will likely suffice well enough. Generally this would be a rain poncho or tent, not just big sheet of plastic.
You also don't need plants and can do sea water or urine instead. Or, if you are in the desert, you will have to dig deep enough to draw from the moisture in the ground. But in both these cases it is important that the "plastic" funnel be transparent so sunlight can pass through.
