SteriPEN, anyne ever use this?

[Cedar1974]

I've checked this out, and it seems like a quick light weight solution to water purification. But has anyone ever used this on the trail?

[misprof]

Have not tried it on the trail but have used in many 3rd world countries and have never gotten sick from the water when I used it. Also Just7 or Just Evan used one last year on his section hike. They work best if the water is clear and the bottle is opaque.

[Deadeye]

I've been using one for the last couple years (2 to 5 day section hikes), and have been very happy with it so far. I use my 1-liter cook pot for treating the water (fill the pot, stir with the pen), then pour it into bottles. It is very quick and easy, and I've found that I wind up drinking more. I'll stop at a spring, fill the pot, treat, pour into the bottle, fill the pot again, treat, drink & go. No taste, no chemicals, no waiting.

[HooKooDooKu]

I had nephew that thru hiked the AT using a SteriPen. One of the benefits of using the SteriPen is that it is freeze safe. That is one of the few limitations of the Sawyer filter... it absolutely must never be allowed to freeze. Once used you can never get all the water out and if that water freezes it will rupture the hollow tubed that make up the Sawyer filter, and even worst, there is no way to figure out if the Sawyer has been compromised in the field. As a plus, the SteriPen kills viruses a filter can't filter out. But that's not usually a concern on backcountry trails in a first world country.

[Phlashlite]

Used in 2007 for thru loved it

[Walkintom]

Seems like people mostly fall into two camps with Steripen: theirs works and they love it vs. theirs failed and it blows chunks.

Personally, I prefer a Sawyer filter.

[q-tip]

Using since 2009, most important piece of gear I own. Dehydration is a life threatening issue for me on the trails. Steripen gets water ready in 2 min. Had lot of problems with filters, this is a must have gear item for me.....

[Offshore]

I've checked this out, and it seems like a quick light weight solution to water purification. But has anyone ever used this on the trail?

Not a fan at all. To me, it's making a process overly complex and introduces too many potential points of failure. Your raw water needs to be very low turbidity for it to work. In the end it's an electronic device that requires batteries and is more prone to equipment failure than chemical disinfection or filtration. I stick with a Sawyer squeeze or mini and if I'm concerned with viruses, I'll polish the filtered water with chlorine dioxide.

Carrying a Steripen as your only means of water treatment is like leaving the map and compass at home and relying solely on a GPS - works great until it's not working anymore. Besides, I've still not been able to find any independent testing documenting the specific efficacy of any of the Steripen models. Plenty of evidence that UV works - but these articles tend to address large scale water treatment settings with filtered water and high intensity UV so I don't know if you can extrapolate findings to the Steripen. )I doubt it.) Municipal water treatment facilities are pretty much ideal conditions. The backcountry is not.

[Shutterbug]

I've checked this out, and it seems like a quick light weight solution to water purification. But has anyone ever used this on the trail?

I am an early adopter. I have been using the steripen since it first came on the market. It works well, but one does need a backup. I have had two different steripens fail when I was camping. I carry purification tablets in my first aid kit as the backup.

I use mine for backpacking and for foreign travel.

When the most recent version came out, I scoffed because it has rechargeable batteries that charge using a usb connection. Then, when one of my friends bought one, I discovered that I love it. I bought one for myself. I always carry a battery pack to recharge my iphone, my fitbit, and my fenix watch. The same battery pack works with the steripen. The new version of the steripen is lighter than previous versions so it partially offsets the extra weight of the battery pack.

[Bucho]

I've checked this out, and it seems like a quick light weight solution to water purification. But has anyone ever used this on the trail?

Yes my first steripen failed 300 miles and the replacement failed less than a week later. That's when I found out about sawyer, lighter, cheaper, no batteries and they're actually reliable.

[lkmi]

A lot depends on what kinds of water sources you'll have.
My first two overnights on the AT, the water sources were pretty shallow. It was tough filling my bottle so I could use the Steripen. Meanwhile my fellow backpackers quickly got what they needed using their pump filters.
I switched to that (Katadyn Hiker Pro) and have been very pleased since.

[Deadeye]

When the water source is shallow, I use my coffee cup to fill my pot. All methods have pros & cons - filters clog & jam, SteriPens need batteries, etc., so a backup is good to have. One of my water bottles is an AquaMira sqeeze filter bottle, and I carry a filter as a backup for my SteriPen. Lots of choices and methods out there to try.

[LuckyMan]

Worst piece of backpacking gear I ever bought - worked ok at first but then on second pair of $17 hard-to-find batteries failed after only four days. Arrogant steripen company refused to take it back, wanted me to mail em a check to have it "tested," but luckily the mail-order company in Montana where I bought it agreed to a refund. Since then nearly every hiker I have met who has used steripen has panned - one couple I know have two broken steripen a (can't believe they bought more than one). More Chinese-made junk. I am much happier using aquamira or bleach, which are also much cheaper and lighter. Avoid like the plague - even if it works as advertised, the steripen opti treats only 50 liters on every pair of $17 batteries.

[Starchild]

Steripen worked great for my thru and how it naturally is used saved me weight in the amount of water I would carry.

[Jake2c]

I have the pen but do not take it backpacking. I use filters with a chemical backup if needed. I was a little concerned about viruses but don't like to put any more chemicals into my body then necessary. I found a Life Straw filter, the one they call the Mission, that filters at .02 microns. That is not a mistake, it is .02 not .2 as you might expect. That is small enough to take out viruses and it has a built in back flush. Having said that, I may just go with the Sawyer squeeze in a gravity filter configuration. I like the Life Straw but it is heavier and bulkier than the Sawyer. Still figuring out which way I will go for my thru hike.

[mPalozzola01]

I found a Life Straw filter, the one they call the Mission, that filters at .02 microns. That is not a mistake, it is .02 not .2 as you might expect. That is small enough to take out viruses and it has a built in back flush.

the smallest viruses are .005 microns the life straw will filter some viruses but by no means all of them. Be careful what info you trust on the Internet

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[Rain Man]

I have a Steripen Classic. It worked well for me. Most of the problems I heard of were user-error. In fact, just saw one such example this weekend in the GSMNP by some young hikers trying to sterilize a gallon jug and not putting the electrodes in the water.

That said, I have made the switch to a Sawyer Mini.

Keep in mind too that many people throw around terms like "kill" and "purify" and "filter" interchangeably. More user-error to me. Steripens sterilize, they do not kill. Sterilize means can't reproduce. You're still drinking the little critters live in the water, they just can't multiple in your gut.

Pros and cons for each and every choice. Hike your own hike is a good mantra!

[Jake2c]

the smallest viruses are .005 microns the life straw will filter some viruses but by no means all of them. Be careful what info you trust on the Internet

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A good point and I agree, few things are 100% affective against everything. I had read where viruses can range from .005-.3 microns but I kept my search to viruses that affect humans and are readily found in North America. I did not do a real exhaustive search but the general standard I found was that a .02 or smaller micron filter is supposed to take out 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of protozoa, and 99.999%. UV units advertise, 99.9% and there are many variables so that 99.9% can be questionable. There is conflicting data on this but since North America is not known to have virus problems unless you start using stagnate pools of water, it seemed to me that a .02 micron filter should give me a safety margin in the AT area. I have not read much on this site that reports people getting sick using a .1 micron filter which is why I am still deciding which filter I will take. If that is wrong I would really like to know it before I start my hike. Thanks for any info you share.

[Jake2c]

A good point and I agree, few things are 100% affective against everything. I had read where viruses can range from .005-.3 microns but I kept my search to viruses that affect humans and are readily found in North America. I did not do a real exhaustive search but the general standard I found was that a .02 or smaller micron filter is supposed to take out 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of protozoa, and 99.999%. UV units advertise, 99.9% and there are many variables so that 99.9% can be questionable. There is conflicting data on this but since North America is not known to have virus problems unless you start using stagnate pools of water, it seemed to me that a .02 micron filter should give me a safety margin in the AT area. I have not read much on this site that reports people getting sick using a .1 micron filter which is why I am still deciding which filter I will take. If that is wrong I would really like to know it before I start my hike. Thanks for any info you share.

There was supposed to be the word "viruses" after the 99.999%.

[Kraken Skullz]

I've never used one but it seems like there are better backpacking options. I would hate to be too reliant on something that requires batteries to work as my main water purification system.

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[QiWiz]

I have sometimes brought a SteriPen for mid-day no-wait treat-and-drink water at a stream or other water source. Prevents having to carry water while you wait for your Aqua Mira to do its job. Aqua Mira plus SteriPen or Aqua Mira plus Sawyer Mini make a flexible, redundant water treatment option.

[Kraken Skullz]

Double filtering in the USA is redundant too. I just use my Sawyer and boil if that doesn't work.

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