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The Phoenix
06-20-2010, 01:01
http://www.polarequipment.com/


Gets little to no love for many hikers... cheap as dirt... last for 2000 liters

Quick, no bad taste (IMO), light weight...

I love it... won't hike with anything else as far as I can see it...

What are any cons if yall have some?

Godspeed

rp1790
06-20-2010, 01:26
Have read about this before but didn't consider it seriously. Having read the directions properly it looks really good. I converted from a filter to Aqua Mira and never looked back, but maybe...

How many cap's of liquid does the bottle hold? Seems like it needs 2 cap's per ltr at 68f. Id' really want a bottle to hold enough to treat 2 ltrs at a time

millergear
06-20-2010, 07:52
Iodine/Polar Pure treatment take 20 minutes at 68 F to kill 85% of Giardia cysts. Polar Pure doesn't stae\te how long in colder water.

Funkmeister
06-20-2010, 08:20
Somewhere is my bottle of Polar Pure. I used it for years of section hiking and other trips, moving to it after using a filter, and quit using it after discovering AquaMira and a Miox.

Works great in warm temps, but as the ambient temp falls, you need more of the saturated solution to correctly treat the drinking water. The factory setup doesn't allow for 2+ liter treatment in cold weather. I never bothered to find a way to circumvent this shortcoming. I was also never too trusting of the temp indicator on the side of the bottle, either.

SGT Rock
06-20-2010, 08:27
Bottle of it froze and shattered on me once.

Liv2Ride
06-20-2010, 08:34
How many cap's of liquid does the bottle hold? Seems like it needs 2 cap's per ltr at 68f. Id' really want a bottle to hold enough to treat 2 ltrs at a time

Just for you I measured the number of capfuls a bottle holds. It's 9. Based on the tempuratures that I've used it in, it takes 1.5 capfuls per liter of water which means I can treat 6 liters of water before needing to refill it will water. You would get 4.5 liters since you say you need 2 capfuls per liter. Since I never need to treat that much water at one time while in the middle of a hike I always have more than enough. However, I do top it off everytime I use it so it's always full and ready for use again in 1 hour. The bottle weighs 4.95oz full. Regarding the 20 minute wait. If you carry 2, 1 liter bottles and are able to treat one bottle everytime it runs out you will always have 1liter ready to drink at any given time.

I like and trust the product even though I don't use it often. The downside to polar pure or any chemical purifier is that it does nothing to clear up cloudy water or getting rid of debris. So, a prefilter is still in order.

bulldog49
06-20-2010, 12:30
Bottle of it froze and shattered on me once.

Per the instructions:

Protect filled bottle of Polar Pure from freezing:

Once your Polar Pure bottle is filled with water, it is important to avoid freezing. While the Polar Pure solution is not affected by freezing, the bottle could crack due to expansion of the liquid inside if frozen. If you are hiking in freezing conditions, keep the bottle in an inside pocket close to your body or with you in your sleeping bag.

When not in use, store your bottle of Polar Pure where it will not freeze between uses. You can empty the bottle between uses if you prefer. Emptying the bottle is not necessary in normal situations and it is best to have it filled and ready to use when needed. Some liquid will be retained in the bottle when emptied.

NOTE -- The effectiveness of Polar Pure is not altered by freezing.

SGT Rock
06-20-2010, 16:26
Yea I know. I usually kept it like that. It froze overnight on me the night before I walked into Damascus. I got another bottle and was fine. I still have the new bottle - that stuff lasts for a long time.

Jester2000
06-20-2010, 17:50
I've used it and I like it.

Storm
06-20-2010, 18:18
There was thread about this before that had a link that stated prolonged use (I think 2 weeks or more) of iodine treatment was detrimental to your health. Something about killing off the good bacteria in your digestive system.

I think it would be great for a backup.

SGT Rock
06-20-2010, 18:44
Never heard of that. I've used it for long periods of time and no disruption of my digestion at all.

The Phoenix
06-20-2010, 19:43
For those experienced with both aqua mira and polar pure is there any reason to switch from polar pure to aqua mira?

I am certainly comfortable with PP... what are any major pros with aquamira?

Godspeed and thanks for the good feedback

SGT Rock
06-20-2010, 19:50
Polar pure is cheaper. Some like the taste of aqua mira better, I am the other way around.

Vit C also turns iodine into iodide. Same stuff in table salt that is added to it for thyroid heath. If you add just a little bit of any vit C drink mix into iodine water you will see the water turn clear again and the iodine taste go away. Just be sure to let the water "cure" before you do it.

Liv2Ride
06-20-2010, 21:25
There was thread about this before that had a link that stated prolonged use (I think 2 weeks or more) of iodine treatment was detrimental to your health. Something about killing off the good bacteria in your digestive system.

I think it would be great for a backup.

I think that you might be thinking about the tablets. Polar Pure is crystalized iodine and supposably it's safe to use daily. Iodine tablets also expire but crystalized iodine doesn't. As long as there are crystals in the bottle it's still safe and still able to kill off the bad stuff. And...like Rock said, it's cheap :).

Baran
12-30-2011, 20:37
Polar Pure is no longer available thanks the the US Gov. They put the squeeze on the owners, because the crystals can be used to make meth.

Another Kevin
12-31-2011, 08:41
Yeah. They had an appeal hearing on December 21, but it doesn't look good at this point. Essentially, the government is insisting that all their customers would have to have background checks - what outfitter is going to handle that? At some point, someone might get away with introducing something similar that requires a doctor's prescription - pharmacists are tooled up for controlled-substance handling.

The drug problem has gotten absolutely crazy. Apparently, meth is a worse scourge than dysentery.

Tinker
12-31-2011, 10:53
I filter my faucet water at home to remove chlorine and assorted chemicals.

Why would I want to carry chemicals into the woods in a glass bottle to ingest them?:-?

tzbrown
12-31-2011, 21:47
Iodine to treat water works well, as long as you do not have a thyroid issue.
You just need to be aware of which condition you have, if any,
Hypothyroidism, underactive, may be helped by additional Iodine but Hyperthyroidism, overactive, may be a health problem.
Be sure to do a bit of research if you have either condition.


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothyroidism-iodine/AN01829

RORY CALHOUN
01-22-2012, 21:27
sold me. 3 ounces, 2,000 liters or quarts of H2O, kills virus that pump needs iodine addition, on the ready to treat a quart right away and 20 minute wait for next liter, says taste is ok, wait...i skipped the part on freezing...and it could do that in March....have to double back and read that....but legal ruling in 12/2011? Is it available retail?

RORY CALHOUN
01-22-2012, 21:44
oopsie, read top post and scurried down to bottom, overlooking all the wisdom in between. They say some now sniff bath salts?! Anyways, Can't buy PP. Phooey. Makes meth. Ha! Seems like about everything is a variation of carbon/hydrogen molecules, probably can make meth with Ken & Barbie Dolls. i'm thinking a little instant coffee or powdered sport drink or just hold your nose....not planning on drinking like Bear Grillis (man v wild) and drink my pee...maybe some real bear pee from up streams?! Bit gross, sorry for the 5th grade poke.

Hipcheck
03-13-2012, 23:57
Bumping this thread up.. I have a question.

I just scored 4 unopened bottles of Polar Pure(shipment came today, and yes from a reputable/legit place). I was excited to see that the iodine beads were still there, as I had read somewhere that someone's unopened bottle had nothing in it when they checked years later.. as if the stuff had vanished.

Anyway, I opened up one bottle and there was just iodine gunk all over in the cap and on the mouth of the bottle. I wiped and rinsed it all off, and now it seems decent.

Was this somewhat normal when opening a new bottle? Or is it because it was sitting for probably 5-10 years? Since there are still a lot of beads, it should still function, right?

Thanks in advance.

Iceaxe
03-14-2012, 00:23
Here is what the inside of a freshly opened bottle of Polar Pure looks like.
15511
This bottle is 2 years old and has never had water added to it.
If you have gunk around the lid or threads it sounds like your bottle has been used.
So long as it is only water that has been put in there you are fine.
Polar pure is elemental Iodine.
There is nothing else added to the bottle.
I visited the Polar Equiptment "factory" several years ago and watched him put the iodine crystals right into the bottles.
The crystals come from a large brown plastic 10 lb container marked.. Iodine.
Iodine has an indefinite shelf life.
Iodine is Iodine forever until it all is diluted away by water or carried away by air one atom at a time.
If you have crystals in your bottle you have Iodine.
It can sublimate (go directly from a solid to a gas), which is probably the yellow residue you are seeing, but it should be dry until water is added.
If you have "gunk" your bottle was most likely used.

Hipcheck
03-14-2012, 01:05
Thanks for the reply! It is dry "gunk".. not on the threads, just inside the cap and inside the neck.

I opened another bottle, just to see.. and it was the same. This time I noticed that the paper insert in the box says 2002. So I'm guessing these bottles are 10 years old. I don't think they are used, all packaging seems perfect, not a spec of dirt, etc.. but as long as Iodine crystals mean I'm good to go, that's all that matters! Thanks again.
1551215513

House of Payne
06-15-2012, 21:04
http://www.polarequipment.com/


Gets little to no love for many hikers... cheap as dirt... last for 2000 liters

Quick, no bad taste (IMO), light weight...

I love it... won't hike with anything else as far as I can see it...

What are any cons if yall have some?

Godspeed

The website for that company says they are no longer producing their product due to a legal issue with the state of california.

Another Kevin
06-15-2012, 23:06
Iodine sublimates - passes from solid to vapor - even at room temperature. Iver years, the bottle will collect gunk that is simply iodine that sublimated from the crystals in the bottle, and recrystallized on the glass and the cap. While the pure crystals are purple-gray, if there's any moisture at all, there's likely to be some brown hydrated goo about also.

bfayer
06-17-2012, 17:58
The website for that company says they are no longer producing their product due to a legal issue with the state of california.

The legal issue is meth cookers are using Iodine to make their meth. So instead of hammering the idiots that cook meth, they decided to make it hard for everyone to buy Iodine in bulk.

I can imagine that a small company like Polar Pure would have a hard time jumping through all the government hoops and still make a profit.

I still have a bottle I keep as a backup. Good stuff.