Have any of you given any consideration recently to this choice? Obviously, there a big difference in price. They are also quite different technologies too.

The manual watermakers are an older technology which has been extensively tested in real life situations - not only by recreational boaters but by the military. It does seem to have its problems, though - not the least of which is the fact that eventually they will require expensive servicing. They also are bulky and weigh more (especially for the higher rated Survivor 35).

The Sea-Pack desalinators can be used a limited amount of times and therefore would be a bad choice if you ended up being in a life raft over a protracted period of time. They do seem to be simpler to operate, are much less expensive, require less maintenance, and are lighter and less bulky.

Of course, it is also possible to have both systems - and bottled water or water in packages should be carried in any case.

Thoughts?

Jerry