Watermakers usually live bolted down in a boat, plumbed in and serviced by someone who knows the system. Access goes the other way. Vital Lyfe built its first watermaker as a 25 lb box with a carry handle, a single start button, and a hose you drop into the water beside you.
From seawater, Access produces up to 6 gallons of drinking water an hour. Freshwater doubles that to 12 gallons an hour, and a reserve runs $749 direct from the maker. TIME named Access one of its Best Inventions of 2026 in the Outdoors category.
Price: $749 reserve
Where to buy: Vital Lyfe
A custom high pressure system built in house
Seawater desalination needs pressure, and lots of it. Inside sits a custom high pressure reverse osmosis system developed in house, pump, pressure vessel, controls, and sensing included, instead of an adapted marine design. Working pressure sits above 800 PSI.
At that pressure the membrane removes more than 99.5% of dissolved salts. Onboard sensors read the source water as it comes in, and adaptive controls adjust pressure and flow to match, so brackish water and open ocean water don’t need separate settings dialed in by hand.
Founders Jonathan Criss and Andrew Harner came to water from SpaceX, where both worked as engineers, and that background shows in the packaging. Everything sits inside one clear, sealed case, with quick connect fittings on the front and the membrane housing up top where it’s easy to reach.
Six gallons an hour from seawater and twelve from freshwater
Setup runs in three steps: drop the intake hose in the water, press start, and drink. Intake lift reaches up to 6 ft, so the unit can sit on a dock, a deck, or a bank above the waterline and still pull. There’s no permanent installation at any point.
Freshwater sources move faster through the membrane, which is where the 12 gallons an hour figure comes from. Lakes, rivers, and wells all count as source water here, and output doubles compared with seawater because the salt load the membrane has to reject is far lower.
Off Tierra Bomba in Colombia, the maker’s field video shows the system running on seawater, producing drinking water on site over a multi-day demonstration. It’s a useful watch because it shows the whole routine at real scale, hose in the ocean and water coming out the other side.
Battery power for an hour of saltwater and plug in power past that
An integrated 210 Wh battery sits inside the case. A full charge gives about 1 hour of runtime in typical saltwater at around 32,000 ppm, which works out to roughly 6 gallons per charge. Draw while running is about 200 W.
Past that first hour, Access runs continuously from a standard AC outlet or a compatible 24V DC source. Charging is flexible too. AC power, DC power, solar powered battery systems, and portable power stations all charge the battery, a 12V source works, and higher voltage sources charge faster. An AC adapter comes in the box.
Launch materials put membrane swaps at under 30 seconds with no tools, at about $30 per membrane, with a membrane life of 6 to 12 months depending on the source water. A post filter UV-C sterilization module, rated NSF 55 Class B in the launch summary, handles disinfection after the membrane.
Built to get carried, splashed, and knocked around
Dimensions run 20 by 9 by 8 in, and weight is 25 lb. That’s a one-person carry with the handle, closer to a small cooler than to installed marine gear, and it moves between boats, camps, and properties without a toolkit or a plumber.
Protection ratings match the places this will actually sit. Sealing is IP66 Type 5, and impact resistance is rated ISTA-6. A unit that lives on decks and docks gets hosed down, rained on, and dropped, and those two ratings are the ones that decide whether it survives the routine.
The Amazon alternative runs on arm power
Shoppers who want a desalinator that ships as a regular retail product today land in a different class of machine. LrpoIv’s portable manual seawater desalinator on Amazon uses a hand pumped reverse osmosis membrane, weighs 2.98 lb, and rejects 97% or more of salt, at $839.
On output, the gap opens up fast. Hand pumping produces 2.0 to 2.65 liters an hour, about 0.7 gallons, against 6 gallons an hour from Access on battery or plug-in power. LrpoIv’s unit suits a life raft kit or an emergency bag. Access is built for anyone who needs water for a group, a boat, or a property, hour after hour.
Price: $839
Where to buy: Amazon
| Vital Lyfe Access | LrpoIv Manual Desalinator | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $749 reserve | $839 |
| Power | 210 Wh battery, AC, or 24V DC | Hand pump |
| Seawater output | 6 gallons per hour | 0.7 gallons per hour |
| Salt removal | More than 99.5% | 97% or more |
| Weight | 25 lb | 2.98 lb |
Patience is the exchange for that output. Reserving one at $749 puts you in line for a first-generation product from a young company, and the 210 Wh battery caps cordless saltwater runs at about an hour before a plug or a power station has to take over.
For boaters tired of hauling water jugs to the dock, off grid properties near the coast, and emergency kits that need more than a hand pump can give, the trade reads well. Six gallons an hour from the ocean, from a box one person can carry, is a capability that used to require an installed system and a much larger check.
Price: $749 reserve
Where to buy: Vital Lyfe
Reserve through Vital Lyfe at the link in the box, and size your power around the work you plan to do. A gallon or two on battery is easy. A full day of water means an outlet, a 24V source, or a power station in the kit beside it.
