from Canada.com

As winter sets in, many Canadians will head to warmer climates and that includes places that don't have the clean and fresh water we're used to at home.

But if your trips take you off the beaten path, and bottled water isn't close by, a portable invention called the LifeStraw can be. New to North America, the award-winning personal filtration system was invented in 2005 by a Swiss Company, Vesergaard Fransden. It's filtration technology has been used by millions of people in developing countries without access to clean water.

Its success has garnered the product numerous awards and accolades, including "best invention of 2005" in Time magazine and in 2008 the Saatchi & Saatchi Award for World Changing Ideas.

The lightweight device resembles a large plastic syringe, and is used just like a straw. It removes 99.9% of water-borne bacteria.