Water Treatment/Carrier

[barbarakerns05]

1. What is your opinion on using chlorine bleach for water treatment? I want to go light and was planning on using Aqua Mira drops, but a thru-hiker friend of mine suggested bleach.

2. What about carrying water bottles vs. a hydration system? I thought I'd carry 2 light weight 1 liter soda bottles (and maybe purchase an Aqua Mira bottle), but my friend suggests a hydration bag.

Thanks, Barbara, aspiring '05 thru-hiker

[c.coyle]

1. What is your opinion on using chlorine bleach for water treatment? I want to go light and was planning on using Aqua Mira drops, but a thru-hiker friend of mine suggested bleach.

There's already an extensive thread on this subject, under "General > Bleach to Treat Water". The short answer is chlorine bleach doesn't kill nearly all the bad stuff.