View Full Version : Aquatabs or filtration?
wildernesswoman
02-12-2017, 08:52
Hi, in past I have used aquatabs as my method of water purification. I was wondering what everyone uses, if aquatabs and the like are popular, or filtration straws. Thanks!
Sandy of PA
02-12-2017, 10:41
Sawyer Squeeze filter, is the most commonly used method that I have seen on the AT.
Have you ever used aqua mira drops? If so, how did they compare to the tabs?
Asking because I bought the tabs by mistake and am wondering if I should stick with them or pick up the drops.
ScareBear
02-12-2017, 11:33
I carry these as a back-up to my pump purifier...
https://www.amazon.com/Taharmayim-Israeli-Water-Purification-Tablets/dp/B0077TB65U/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1486913421&sr=8-10&keywords=chlorine+dioxide+tablets
hyperslug
02-12-2017, 12:00
I use Aquamira and have for a very long time. Aquatabs do not work against cryptosporidium which may or not be an issue on the AT. Aquamira comes in drops and pill forms. Aquamira drops are much more cost effective than tabs including Aquatabs. A bottle package runs $13-15 and will last you a month on the trail. They weigh about 3.2 oz but will reduce as you use them.
Murky water you'll want to pre filter with a bandanna and you have to wait about 20-30 minutes to drink. I think they are the lowest weight option besides the pill form. I'll carry few Aquamira tabs in case the bottles run dry on the trail.
hyperslug
02-12-2017, 12:08
Here is a comparison I found. Not sure how accurate it is.
http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Chart1.jpg
Sawyer squeeze is 3 oz . Can drink water with no waiting. So for me it's lighter then chemicals. Must keep filter from freezing.
nsherry61
02-12-2017, 18:09
Only problem with a Sawyer Squeeze is that neither it, nor most other backpacking filters, remove viruses. So, if you are concerned about norovirus or hepatitis (not common problems in back-country water in North America), you would want to add a drop of bleach or other chemical to your filtered water kill the viruses. But, since viruses are quite quick and easy to disable chemically, you don't need as much chemical or as much time if you are treating water that has already had the protozoa and bacteria removed by a filter.
swjohnsey
02-12-2017, 19:30
Just about anything works on the AT because there is little need to treat the water as it is coming right out the side of a mountain. I think I treated my water about twice using bleach. Aquamira is probably the most common chemical treatment on the trail.
I have met some that double treat water filter then chemicals. I'm in the less is more camp;0)
thom
Mac-Gear
02-14-2017, 08:58
Sawyer mini squeez hands down. Instant Ive used 1 for 4 years now and hundreds of gallons. You wont regret thw $20 purchase. Pick up the 2 pack of 64oz squeez bags makes it a perfect kit to hang gravity feed or squeez.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
hyperslug
02-14-2017, 09:51
Sawyer squeeze is 3 oz . Can drink water with no waiting. So for me it's lighter then chemicals. Must keep filter from freezing.
The 3 ounces is the dry weight of the Squeeze and it is never dry on the trail. Plus you are probably carrying some accessories so Aquamira drops are lighter weight. Tabs are much more so. But the weight difference is not big enough to matter much.
Do many people carry Aquamira or other chemical treatment as backup for the sawyer squeeze?
StealthHikerBoy
02-14-2017, 10:06
On longer hikes I bring two forms of water purification: a Sawyer Squeeze and Aqua Mira drops. Most would say this is overkill. I tend to use the Sawyer during the day as I pause at water sources or so I can grab a liter of dirty water and drink out of it via the filter without stopping. I like the filter because, uh, it is a filter and gets dirt and stuff out of the water.
But I noticed that when I make camp I like to go get a lot of water ... to get through dinner, breakfast, and to take for the following morning. At that time of day I am never in the mood to sit at a stream squeezing a filter for 15 minutes. The drops are great in that situation.
I'll use both if the water seems really sketchy, but that doesn't happen often.
If you are uncertain for a thru hike I'd say bring both and within a week or so you'll know what works for you.
Slo-go'en
02-14-2017, 10:40
The problem with chemicals is you have to wait for them to work and the colder the water, the longer the wait. Up to 45 minutes to be safe. Many people don't time the treatment and drink it way too soon for it to be effective, so they shouldn't have bothered in the first place.
I use a filter because if I feel I need to purify the water (which is pretty rare, but depends on the source) I don't want to wait. Plus, since I drink pure, mountain stream at home, I don't want to be drinking chemically treated water out on the trail and ruin the taste.
Another Kevin
02-14-2017, 11:39
I use Aqua Mira this time of year because I don't want to run the risk of my filter freezing. If I'm melting snow for water, I just boil it. (Similarly, water that I boil for meals or hot drinks doesn't have to be treated.)
In the summer, I use a Sawyer Mini. I still carry Aqua Mira and like to use it at least every couple of days to make sure the surfaces on my water containers are clean.
Tennessee Viking
02-14-2017, 12:03
I have used Aquamira and Steripen on quick day hikes. I also used Katadyn Hiker Pro.
The 3 ounces is the dry weight of the Squeeze and it is never dry on the trail. Plus you are probably carrying some accessories so Aquamira drops are lighter weight. Tabs are much more so. But the weight difference is not big enough to matter much.
No extras and it's lighter I can drink at the he source. No waiting.
No extras and it's lighter I can drink at the he source. No waiting.
Why would I filter when I could add chemicals to the fresh water taste
Why would I filter when I could add chemicals to the fresh water taste
Because you either have to sit and wait for the chemicals to do their thing before drinking it, or carry the extra pounds. With a filter you can drink immediately.
True, but with the chemicals you can pour them in and walk immediately without pumping/squeezing. You aren't drinking immediately, but you are back on the trail much more quickly. Tradeoffs.
colorado_rob
02-14-2017, 18:16
True, but with the chemicals you can pour them in and walk immediately without pumping/squeezing. You aren't drinking immediately, but you are back on the trail much more quickly. Tradeoffs. I carry my AM drops in one of my large hip belt pockets, and I reached a point in Aqua-Mira "skill level" where I can mix a capful (or two if I want to treat 2-quarts) of the 2-part solution while walking, assuming I'm on relatively easy terrain. Then when I get to the water source, I just fill up the bottle or two, pour in the pre-mixed AM, and head right out, saving that annoying 5-minutes.
Some will this this is silly, and I cannot refute, but I just want to hike, not sit there waiting for that 5-minute drop-mixing thing.
Once I'm walking I allow 20 minute before drinking for regular water temps, 40 minutes if extra cold. Al so far, so good, and when we repeat the AT this year, I'm keeping the same M.O. I only use a filter (the Sawyer, of course) in places where the water is of lesser clarity. AT water is generally pretty darn clear.
nsherry61
02-14-2017, 19:27
I haven't seen much talk of this on this site, but, Aquality Mira drops can be mixed and kept in a small dropper bottle for sevreal days without loosing effectiveness so you don't have to mix it at each stop. Makes using Aqua Mira much simpler.
Turk6177
02-14-2017, 19:42
I started with an MSR pump filter when I started backpacking. I soon switched to Aqua Mirra to save weight, but I didn't like waiting around a water source for 15 minutes to "camel up." I switched to the full size Sawyer Squeeze filter and would not go back. I really like the instant access to water that I can immediately drink. I have made a couple modifications with some plastic tubing and some screw caps that are specific to fit the sawyer and have turned it into a gravity filter while not adding much weight. I really enjoy just filling my dirty water bag, screwing the cap on it and letting gravity do all the filtering for me. I tended to be impatient with the sawyer bags and squeezed holes in them when using it the conventional method. I like the versatility of my system and the ease of use.
hyperslug
02-14-2017, 19:45
From what I understand once they are mixed they activate and have a limited time to use. The mix gasses off and becomes ineffective but not sure how long but I doubt 3 days. I was getting Aquamira before it was on the market from a friend who worked for McNett. Later I was a sales rep for the line but maybe things have changed since then.
To give a counter point to someone's point above, the problem with filters is it takes time and effort to use. With aqua Mira drops, you just add the premixed chemical to your bottle that was directly filled from the source with no extra effort. The initial 5 minute wait is non-existent since I use that time to fill my bottles. I can treat more than one container at a time since I carry extra caps from previous bottle sets. The number of times I've needed to prefilter my water with a bandana on the PCT or AT was twice do it's a non issue in my case.
Yes, you can drink your water faster by filtering. But the drops work fine with 15-20 minutes of waiting most of the time unless you are dealing with snow melt sources. i usually take a break for that time anyway. Or just hike on for that time before stopping to get a drink. Maybe it's because I never measure my water use so that I run out more than 30 minutes away from the next water source, I don't normally show up thirsty where I need to drink immediately. And the filter people never mention how long they take filtering which reduces the time between the 2 methods.
While some are squeezing or pumping away, I'm relaxing with snacking. I'm all about less effort rather than time savings. Yes, I'm lazy about anything other than hiking.
Place 5 drops of each Aqua Mira bottle inside a Gatorade cap, then fill Gatorade bottles. By the time bottles have been filled the 5 minute wait is usually up. Add contents of the cap to the Gatorade water bottle and you have water in 30 minutes. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
nsherry61
02-14-2017, 23:50
. . . once they are mixed they activate and have a limited time to use. The mix gasses off and becomes ineffective but not sure how long but I doubt 3 days. . .
FWIW, one can apparently purchase chlorine dioxide test strips to measure how much is in your solution at any time. After reading that Mike Clelland regularly mixed a weekend's worth or Aqua Mira to use on his shorter hikes, a guy on BackpackingLight (https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/75490/), a few years ago, bought some test strips and premixed AM, comparing premixed with newly mixed AM over 30+ days.
The conclusion? AM does NOT loose the effectiveness of its mix over just a few hours or days. It takes a lot longer than that to off-gas or otherwise diminish the concentration of chlorine dioxide in the mixed AM.
Thus, if one buys into the above suggestion, anecdote, and study (which I do), by using the premixing technique one can make using AM even easier and less trouble on the trail.
colorado_rob
02-15-2017, 09:29
FWIW, one can apparently purchase chlorine dioxide test strips to measure how much is in your solution at any time. After reading that Mike Clelland regularly mixed a weekend's worth or Aqua Mira to use on his shorter hikes, a guy on BackpackingLight (https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/75490/), a few years ago, bought some test strips and premixed AM, comparing premixed with newly mixed AM over 30+ days.
The conclusion? AM does NOT loose the effectiveness of its mix over just a few hours or days. It takes a lot longer than that to off-gas or otherwise diminish the concentration of chlorine dioxide in the mixed AM.
Thus, if one buys into the above suggestion, anecdote, and study (which I do), by using the premixing technique one can make using AM even easier and less trouble on the trail. Fantastic, thanks for sharing Nsherry. There are some good question in that thread, mostly but not completely answered though. I'm slightly nervous about the inconsistency of some of the measurements, but this is inevitable in these little experiments.
It seems like in previous threads on this little subject, the consensus was to not pre-mix by more than a few hours, but this seems to debunk that. I just might go this way (pre-mixing) on our upcoming AT hike this spring.
I find zero need for any sort of silly filter backup on the southern AT. As many have said over and over, there is likely zero need for ANY treatment, but my conservative nature has me treating with Aqua Mira, and making this simple process even easier is fantastic.
TwoSpirits
02-15-2017, 10:32
One concern I've always had is fertilizer & pesticide runoff when hiking in areas near farmland or golf courses. I mean, I'd avoid getting water from a source so obviously close and flowing from a farm field, but I wonder about how much is leaching into the ground and how far away should my water source be before I can feel sure I'm not getting [a lot of] chemicals into my water? Neither Aqua Mira, filtering, or Steri-Pen are going to clean those out.
colorado_rob
02-15-2017, 10:44
One concern I've always had is fertilizer & pesticide runoff when hiking in areas near farmland or golf courses. I mean, I'd avoid getting water from a source so obviously close and flowing from a farm field, but I wonder about how much is leaching into the ground and how far away should my water source be before I can feel sure I'm not getting [a lot of] chemicals into my water? Neither Aqua Mira, filtering, or Steri-Pen are going to clean those out. Yep, nothing you can do about this, but is drinking very small traces of this "contaminated" water an actual health concern? It sounds bad, but I'm not sure it is.
TwoSpirits
02-15-2017, 10:47
True enough.
Sarcasm the elf
02-15-2017, 10:57
One concern I've always had is fertilizer & pesticide runoff when hiking in areas near farmland or golf courses. I mean, I'd avoid getting water from a source so obviously close and flowing from a farm field, but I wonder about how much is leaching into the ground and how far away should my water source be before I can feel sure I'm not getting [a lot of] chemicals into my water? Neither Aqua Mira, filtering, or Steri-Pen are going to clean those out.
Since you mention it, the Katadyn Hiker Pro filter has an activated charcoal filled core. The company website states that it is "effective against chemicals" however I have not seen them make any claim more specific than that.
Since you mention it, the Katadyn Hiker Pro filter has an activated charcoal filled core. The company website states that it is "effective against chemicals" however I have not seen them make any claim more specific than that.
I carry a brita soft squeeze water bottle sometimes, it has a carbon filter 3.8 oz lasts 40 gal
"reduces chlorine ( taste odor ) "
Thom