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smoody2
03-26-2010, 13:15
Anybody have recommendations here? I am considering the UV light sticks, and micropur. Micropur is expensive, and I have never used a UV stick before. I have an old katadyn water pump, but it's a little heavy in my opinion. Thanks for the suggestions!

Sam

butts0989
03-26-2010, 13:29
on the AT? carry aqua mira squirt bottles. If you dont like the price, or you're thru hiking, its more economical to buy a Steripen. Personally on the AT most of the water sources are so close to the springs i typically will not filter the water, meaning the aqua mira will last me for up to a month.

Spokes
03-26-2010, 14:08
Yes, Aqua Mira.

Blissful
03-26-2010, 14:09
Aqua mira.

white_russian
03-26-2010, 14:17
I like my katadyn pump for the summer, but if it likely to freeze up I use my steripen. I really like the pump because I can suck water up from puddles if I needed to.

Two Tents
03-26-2010, 14:42
I use gravity filter when I do feel the need to filter. MSR, Amigo pro,and Jason Klass has a homemade one from a Frontier that I use. I think you can find how get to his site through the search feature here.

cravj1988
03-26-2010, 15:21
I use 2 drops of generic bleach per liter of water. After Hurricane Katrina, many scientific articles were published on how to economically teat water with clorine. Aqua Mira is too expensive for me, but people like it. I carried about 3 oz of 6% sodium hypoclorite bleach in a squirt bottle from REI. The bleach can also be used to clean bed mats at Hostels, and kill chiggers that get under your skin.

carlyque19
03-26-2010, 15:40
....we can't seem to find it anywhere in IL. We were told they no longer sell it here and since it is the product we were leaning towards, I was wondering..
is it easy to find along the trail??

:confused:

Mountain Wildman
03-26-2010, 15:41
I have a First Need XL.
Other than that I would consider the Platypus gravity filter and Aqua Mira as a lightweight option.

Bear Cables
03-26-2010, 18:01
I use a steri pen and bring a back up of micropur. If you bring the steri pen be sure to pack extra batteries. Mine takes the C cell very light and take up no space.

radcat21
03-26-2010, 18:13
I've heard, although haven't yet personally got a hold of one yet, that the Sawyer in-line water filter works great. Not too expensive, weighs something like 2 oz, filters up to 3000 gallons with proper maintainence, and from the reviews I've seen seems to work very well for a lot of people, including thru-hikers.

Strategic
03-26-2010, 18:22
I use a modified H2O Amigo gravity filter (the bag is the original ULA) with nylon ball valve, a shortened tube and a Sawyer .1 micron filter unit. I get great flow (about a 1 1/2 liters a minute) and it's no work. It's also handy for scooping up from or catching from virtually any water source. Weighs in at 6.5 oz for the whole thing and works beautifully. It's also nice once I'm camped near a source to be able to scoop up an extra bag of water after I've filled my bottles and use it to wash up back at camp. Light and multi-use, it's my ideal kind of gear.

Mags
03-26-2010, 20:17
You are going to get a plethora of opinions from people and specific brands blah, blah, blah, blah. Next to knives, this is probably the most discussed topic on hiking boards...yet has the least impact on your trip.

Here's my quick and dirty take on water treatment. I don't think there is ANY best gear (yeah..I say it a lot. 'cause it is s true and all the gear wonks on this board tend to forget that)..just what is best for you and your style of hiking.

My (biased) take:

STERIPEN: The main advantage is that it is quicker than other methods. Does not filter out the 'floaties' easily (use a bandanna). Sometimes has difficulty with cloudy water (not as much an issue on the AT vs other trails). Some-what expensive. Does take batteries. Needs to be taken care of a bit more than other methods.

Best for if you want the absolute quickest and simplest water treatment and do not beat on your gear.

FILTER/PURIFIER: If weight and bulk is not an issue, this tried and true method of water treatments works well. Quicker than the gravity filter, if a little slower than other methods. There is a clogging issue..but it does filter floaties better than chemicals or the Steripen.

Best for people who filter all their water and do not want to worry about electronics and variable water conditions. Tends to be on the go more than a gravity filter will warrant.

GRAVITY FILTER: Basically the same as above..but w/o a pump. Good if you spend time in camp and/or don't mind longer breaks (that can be a good thing. ;) ) Simple to use..but time consuming

Best for people who tend to spend more time in camp than hike. Really good for treatment of lots of water at once. Again, works really well in camp.
CHEMICALS: Iodine, tabs, etc. If you are minimalist and/or do not treat all your water, this method works well.

Best for what I just said above. :)


So figure out the basics of your hiking style and go appropriately. I rarely treat my water, tend to go light/minimal and hike more than camp. So chemicals (Iodine tabs in particular) work well for me. Your backpacking style may make for a different choice that is better for you. :)

trlhiker
03-27-2010, 19:33
Anyone use Potable Aqua? I just bought some from Walmart for $6.

Shadowman
03-27-2010, 19:47
I used the Iodine tablets. Usally 1/2 tab per liter and sometime a whole tab if I was concerned. In the morning and evening I cooked and usually drank hot tea or coffee so just poured some boiled water for that before adding the food to cook.

snaplok
03-28-2010, 01:49
Another First Need XL user. It removes everything from water and when I saw this video I went and ordered it the same day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7XPYkmBgAg

I even travel with it now, but I still take a couple of Micropur tablets as backup just in case.

Hikes in Rain
03-28-2010, 08:55
I have a First Need, too, and for all the bulk and weight, they're terrific for making bad water good. I think it's the only real purifier on the market. In most cases, though, it's overkill, and in general all you need is some disinfection. So I haven't carried it for some time, although I'm certainly not going to get rid of it!

Some little while back, I was gifted an MSR MIOX. It's expensive; I'd have never bought one myself (but then I'm notoriously cheap). For treating lots of water, though, it's darned nice. You manufacture your disinfection fluid from salt carried in the little unit, raw water, and electricity from the (large and heavy by comparison to AAs) batteries. Shooting a current through the brine solution splits off the chlorine ions, which recombine in a variety of compounds (chiefly hypochlorite).

My first experiments at home, using already chlorinated tap water, resulted in a bit of a "swimming pool" odor and taste. Using it on unchlorinated water, I can't smell or taste anything.

Since it's a gadget, and uses batteries, I really should carry a back-up.

STICK
03-28-2010, 10:28
I have the Katadyn Hiker Pro and I like it a lot. But it is bulky and weighty. I also have some Polar Pure that I bought and carried with me for back up. But 13.6 + 4.9 oz = a lot for this. So, I have bought some Aqua Mira. I will bring it with me on my next few trips and see how well I like mixing this and waiting. I may go back to the filter, I may try some tablets. I have thought about the steripen, but I am not sure if I am ready to spend that on it yet.
They all have their advantages and it all comes down to what works for you. But IMO you should always have a chemical backup, The filters and pens can fail.

beep
03-30-2010, 18:50
I really like the Aquasimple from Paul Gibson at Arrowhead Equpment HERE (http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/). Paul is a super nice and a dedicated cottage gear provider who developed a simple replacement gravity system that uses the Hiker Pro cartridges. Painless and lightweight!

MapleLeaf
03-30-2010, 19:28
I prefer to filter, but only because I'm not a fan of the chemical water treatments. I do carry Aqua mira as a back up if it's cold and I'm worried about the filter freezing.

It may require some expiramenting with different methods and products, but ultimately it boils down to what ever works best for you.