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  1. #21

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    Anyone got good data on how contaminated trail water is?

    Well, that is the $64,000 question. Isn't it? While I suspect that if you choose you water sources carefully you'll probably be ok, you can't always choose your water sources. You can't judge contamination by a the taste, smell color or clarity of water so why take a chance. Use a filter, chemicals, sterile not or boil it. The choice is yours.

  2. #22

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    That should read "steripen"

  3. #23

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    My favourite option: the Sawyer Squeeze also allows you to screw it to the end of your water bottle and drink straight from that. Although the flow is a little slower than if you were just to chug from the bottle, the main attraction for me is not having to think about purification at all. I'll just unscrew the filter like a regular bottle cap, dip my bottle in the stream and carry on hiking. To me, that's well worth the trade-off of a slightly slower drinking speed.

    My wife much prefers Aqua Mira, but personally I find the mixing and waiting a little too fiddly. It's all about preference since they're both solid purification methods.

  4. #24
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    My husband and I used the Lifestraw bottle on our last little trip. There was tons of water around all the time from streams and we gathered from swift running sections where there were rocks and things, so the water was visually clear and cold. We did get fresh from the ground spring water once, but always just drank from the Lifestraw water bottle. We used Smart water bottles and loaded those up and just poured them into the Lifestraw bottle every time we emptied it. It seals really well and has a carabiner so you can just hook it anywhere on ya. It was easy, tasted good and there were no ill-effects, but I never hear it mentioned here either. Probably because the bottle itself is pretty heavy. I may look into a lighter option for future hikes, just due to the weight alone. It worked well for us though.
    " Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    Baloney

    Am is the lightest possible treatment

    Unless you wanr to pretend other people never take breaks, and thats total BS

    Take your break when you get water, as most do.

    Now, whats the lightest?

    Or look at work done .
    Carrying 2 lbs for 15 min, 3 x per day id still less overall work than 4oz for 10 hrs per day. Do the math.

    As ive said many times, understanding am is key to efficient use. Virus and bacteria is dead in a minute. Giardia is deactivated 1000x in a few min. If you arent drinking sewage, you dont need to wait long. No one is worried about crypto either so forget the 4 hr .

    My 2 wk supply of am weighs 1.2 oz in its little bottles. My water bottles are 0.93 oz dasani.

    Someone who isnt going to carry water, isnt regardless of method. Someone that will, will. pretending otherwise is just pretending really. Just like pretending it has no weight cause it was drank instead of on back .

    Funny to hear these claims but never seemed to be passed by these people with filters and steripens. Maybe they use similar justification for everything in their pack, and it ends up hvy. 4 oz for steripen, 2 oz for backup batteries, 6 oz for wide mouth nalgene, several oz for chemical backup too. Etc etc. All the while argueing they have the lightest system.
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^+1

    I have been using the AM pre-mix strategy for a few years and there is nothing simpler or lighter. Put 35 drops each of A and B in the mixing cup and then vacuum that up into a little 3ml dropper bottle and you're good for the day. I've used AM pre-mix a couple of times to treat some very skanky-manky standing swamp water — with a few extra drops of AM just for good measure — and didn't get sick... and if ever I was gunna, that'd be it.

  6. #26

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    I like your idea. I didn't know how much to mix.

    I prefer the Sawyer Squeeze for ease of use, but if I had to use "questionable" water I would prefilter and use both.

  7. #27
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    Hi, Connie: It is not my idea to do the pre-mix — I got that from Mike Clelland, and I'm not sure where he got it but I also doubt he is the originator. Whoever had it first, it's a good idea.

    However, I did notice (and others have also observed) that the small 3ml "MIX" bottle will often develop a leak over time. I ascribe this to the practice of removing and reinstalling the dropper tip each time the A and B drops are put into the 3ml container. This is why I stopped removing the dropper tip of the 3ml bottle and started mixing A and B in the little cup and using vacuum action to suck the mix into the 3ml bottle. Since then, I have not noticed the tendency to leak.

    I also don't think it matters a huge deal if the 3ml bottle is black or translucent. I mix it and put it in my pocket right away, and have not noticed any difference except that it's much easier to judge how much remains when the bottle is translucent.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    Hi, Connie: It is not my idea to do the pre-mix — I got that from Mike Clelland, and I'm not sure where he got it but I also doubt he is the originator. Whoever had it first, it's a good idea.

    However, I did notice (and others have also observed) that the small 3ml "MIX" bottle will often develop a leak over time. I ascribe this to the practice of removing and reinstalling the dropper tip each time the A and B drops are put into the 3ml container. This is why I stopped removing the dropper tip of the 3ml bottle and started mixing A and B in the little cup and using vacuum action to suck the mix into the 3ml bottle. Since then, I have not noticed the tendency to leak.

    I also don't think it matters a huge deal if the 3ml bottle is black or translucent. I mix it and put it in my pocket right away, and have not noticed any difference except that it's much easier to judge how much remains when the bottle is translucent.
    hmm, I wonder why Aqua Mira did t figure this out and just save a bottle...maybe cause it's supposed to be mixed right before use for the most effective product?

  9. #29

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    Aqua Mira.
    Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. -Kahlil Gibran

  10. #30
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    maybe cause it's supposed to be mixed right before use for the most effective product?


    Yes. But many, many folks have found it "effective enough" when pre-mixed for a 1-day batch.

    1. The trick to making Aqua Mira efficient for group travel is the pre-mix bottle. I use a Backpacking Light MiniDrop bottle for this purpose. In the morning, we add about 100 drops of Part A and 100 drops of Part B into the pre-mix bottle (e.g., enough pre-mix to treat 14 liters of water). Then, when it’s time to treat water, we dispense 14 drops of the premix into a 1 liter bottle of water that needs to be treated (28 drops into a 2L bottle, etc.). With large groups or on treks where we’re consuming a lot of water, we might have to make another bottle of pre-mix during the day.

  11. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lnj View Post
    My husband and I used the Lifestraw bottle on our last little trip. There was tons of water around all the time from streams and we gathered from swift running sections where there were rocks and things, so the water was visually clear and cold. We did get fresh from the ground spring water once, but always just drank from the Lifestraw water bottle. We used Smart water bottles and loaded those up and just poured them into the Lifestraw bottle every time we emptied it. It seals really well and has a carabiner so you can just hook it anywhere on ya. It was easy, tasted good and there were no ill-effects, but I never hear it mentioned here either. Probably because the bottle itself is pretty heavy. I may look into a lighter option for future hikes, just due to the weight alone. It worked well for us though.
    And that's the key. It worked for you. Everyone gets so caught up in " can I shave 0.0001 grams off my BW by using this or cutting that, that it makes your entire experience less enjoyable. It's about being in the woods, and experiencing life. If an extra oz or 2 makes your trip more enjoyable, then go that route and ignore the gram nazis..

  12. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    hmm, I wonder why Aqua Mira did t figure this out and just save a bottle...maybe cause it's supposed to be mixed right before use for the most effective product?
    You can clearly see when AquaMira is no longer effective. The yellow color goes away. In bright sunlight, exposed to the air, this happens quickly. Put it in a sealed bottle and protect it from the light, however, and it will last for many hours. This is why premixing works, and it's a very useful trick to take advantage of.

  13. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    You can clearly see when AquaMira is no longer effective. The yellow color goes away. In bright sunlight, exposed to the air, this happens quickly. Put it in a sealed bottle and protect it from the light, however, and it will last for many hours. This is why premixing works, and it's a very useful trick to take advantage of.
    Even more complicated .
    Rec. dose is based on open mixing after 5 min when open cup reaches peak conc. because its lost to air whole time.

    Mix in closed container, it comes out...stronger. noticeably so. Another way to use less and have it.last longer.

    If you do the math to reach the 4ppm treatment conc, they really dont account for evap losses, variable droplet size, etc. Hence conservative treatment times. this inability to control well is why the liq isnt epa approved purification like tablets are.

    Premix actually lasts days .
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-08-2016 at 10:51.

  14. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by southernfire97 View Post
    And that's the key. It worked for you. Everyone gets so caught up in " can I shave 0.0001 grams off my BW by using this or cutting that, that it makes your entire experience less enjoyable. It's about being in the woods, and experiencing life. If an extra oz or 2 makes your trip more enjoyable, then go that route and ignore the gram nazis..
    Oh but having been under the weight of a very heavy pack... I will look for lighter weight, also dependable, options going forward. What we did was easier than doing any treating or mixing and waiting, but it was also much heavier. Its the marriage of ease and light weight that I am looking for... as well as every other hiker... except Tipi, who could probably carry me on his back without flinching
    " Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "

  15. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    You can clearly see when AquaMira is no longer effective. The yellow color goes away. In bright sunlight, exposed to the air, this happens quickly. Put it in a sealed bottle and protect it from the light, however, and it will last for many hours. This is why premixing works, and it's a very useful trick to take advantage of.
    i just leave my shoe laces at home, I save 4 grams, and bring the extra bottle, but hey, whatever floatest tho boat.

  16. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lnj View Post
    Oh but having been under the weight of a very heavy pack... I will look for lighter weight, also dependable, options going forward. What we did was easier than doing any treating or mixing and waiting, but it was also much heavier. Its the marriage of ease and light weight that I am looking for... as well as every other hiker... except Tipi, who could probably carry me on his back without flinching
    Here's a complete AM kit for a week (solo). Both the A and B bottles are full.Aquamira system weight_lorez.jpg
    Using the pre-mix method it is both easy and lightweight.
    Last edited by cmoulder; 06-08-2016 at 12:33.

  17. #37

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    My pool is 35,000 gals. Can I use aqua Mira to treat it? I'm trying to save and shave a few steps from the garage to the pool, how many drops will I need, what will be the cost? Can I pre mix.

    not fur nuthin' but this is in the health, safety, hygiene forum, if it were in the gram weenie fourm I wouldn't be as snarky...maybe.

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    I really don't understand your snarkiness. We are trying to present facts to someone who wants to know facts.

    Or maybe you missed LNJ's sentence above, "I will look for lighter weight, also dependable, options going forward."

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    Here's a complete AM kit for a week (solo). Both the A and B bottles are full.Aquamira system weight_lorez.jpg
    Using the pre-mix method it is both easy and lightweight.
    Nice! But for those who care not about weight... the Lifestraw was super easy.
    No need to worry about snarkiness. It's not my first day on WB. Its all part of the charm.
    " Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. "

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