Water treatment question....

[borntobeoutdoors]

Question:

Do people who were born to be outdoors need to treat their water?

No but they tend to live longer then people who don't.

Hey, don't take offense. Smart people do foolish things, i know, I've done a lot of them.

I got deathly sick way out in the middle of nowhere, drinking "pure" water from a stream where I doubted there had been any humans for a long time. It had me laid up for three days, unable to hold anything in and getting dangerously dehydrated.

So the facts are that you never know for sure about your water source. What you are sure is safe, may in fact not be.

So if you want to gamble out there with the possibility of stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, have at it. far be it from me to try to prevent someone else's discomfort.

hawk

[Tennessee Viking]

If you go chemical Polar Pure and Aqua Mira are the great. Iodine, in my opinion, leaves a salty taste and doesn't quinch my thirst.

I heard great things about the Hiker filter.

My outfitter barely carries water filters. They have the MSR MIOX. What the hell is it? MSR tells that it is battery powered and is used all over the world. But no what it does. Whats its filtering technique?

[Bob S]

I guess if a person wants to take a chance you can save weight and some time by drinking without filtering or purifying. But I don’t want to chance it.

[envirodiver]

Polar pure is Iodine crystals. MiOx uses mixed oxidants, it is effective, but IMO a bit of a pain in the neck. I use MiOx, but waiting for the Hyperflow.

[MamaCat]

I like my Steripen. Have not had any problems. It is generally less volume used in my pack and lighter than a filter system. I store my pre-filter (only 1 pre-filter made to my knowledge) in a ziploc bag. When I use the filter, I screw it on the nalgene and scoop the water with the ziploc I stored it in. I then pour it through the filter into the nalgene. This helps when the water source is nothing more than a trickle. I then remove the pre-filter and use the steripen adventurer. The pre-filter just gets rid of sediment and mud and algae stuff.

The threads are usually dry due to having the pre-filter screwed on the bottle. It is a numbers game anyway. You want to reduce the number of bad bacteria/virus/protozoa in the water to a small enough amount that you body can get rid of it with out making you sick. So if there is a micro amount of water around the threads or on my fingers, I don't worry about it.

I am about to go on a trip and I wanted to reduce my nalgene bottle weight. So I am only carrying one nalgene to fit the pre-filter on and treat, then I am pouring the treated water into my lighter store bought water bottle. I always team with my hubby so he will carry 2 store bought lighter water bottles.

I also wanted to mention, I do take a couple of water purifying tablets as a backup when I am not with a group utilizing treatment of their own. I know the chances are probably slim to get anything from the water, but I got cryptosporidium when I was growing up. It got into the water supply of the city I lived in. I can't imagine hiking trying to make it back to civilization with something like it. The cramps were so bad not to mention the other stuff happening too.

[wakapak]

I like my Steripen. Have not had any problems. It is generally less volume used in my pack and lighter than a filter system. I store my pre-filter (only 1 pre-filter made to my knowledge) in a ziploc bag. When I use the filter, I screw it on the nalgene and scoop the water with the ziploc I stored it in. I then pour it through the filter into the nalgene. This helps when the water source is nothing more than a trickle. I then remove the pre-filter and use the steripen adventurer. The pre-filter just gets rid of sediment and mud and algae stuff.

The threads are usually dry due to having the pre-filter screwed on the bottle. It is a numbers game anyway. You want to reduce the number of bad bacteria/virus/protozoa in the water to a small enough amount that you body can get rid of it with out making you sick. So if there is a micro amount of water around the threads or on my fingers, I don't worry about it.

I am about to go on a trip and I wanted to reduce my nalgene bottle weight. So I am only carrying one nalgene to fit the pre-filter on and treat, then I am pouring the treated water into my lighter store bought water bottle. I always team with my hubby so he will carry 2 store bought lighter water bottles.

I also wanted to mention, I do take a couple of water purifying tablets as a backup when I am not with a group utilizing treatment of their own. I know the chances are probably slim to get anything from the water, but I got cryptosporidium when I was growing up. It got into the water supply of the city I lived in. I can't imagine hiking trying to make it back to civilization with something like it. The cramps were so bad not to mention the other stuff happening too.

Thanks for the info MamaCat! i guess my next biggest question is, doesn anyone use the SteriPen with bladder systems, or is it better with just water bottle usage?? I like to hike with bladders, cause then i drink more and stay hydrated better.....wondering how the pre-filter would do on a camelbak bladder or something similar, and if the Steripen would be able to treat larger quantities of water at once then just a quart....

[russb]

Thanks for the info MamaCat! i guess my next biggest question is, doesn anyone use the SteriPen with bladder systems, or is it better with just water bottle usage?? I like to hike with bladders, cause then i drink more and stay hydrated better.....wondering how the pre-filter would do on a camelbak bladder or something similar, and if the Steripen would be able to treat larger quantities of water at once then just a quart....

I have a bladder that I sometimes use. With the steripen, I treat the water in a gatorade bottle and then pour it into the bladder. Of course I need to do this multiple times in order to treat more than a single bottles worth. IIRC the steripen can only be used for up to 1L at a time.

[Bob S]

One thing to think about is that filters along with filtering also improve the taste of water. A Steripen does not improve the taste of the water. All the bad things that were in the water before you used the Steripen are still there, they are just dead. The filter actually removes them from the water so you are only drinking water.

[earlylight]

the thing you need to understand about aqua mira is that it doesn't filter out pestisides, tanins, industrial pollution etc like the first need. I'm also looking at the MSR hyperflow, which is half the weight of the first need, but the sawyer inline filter looks good to. Just bought it to try out. platypus also has a new inline system coming out that's gravity based.

[GGS2]

The latest water alert up here was about residual nitrates in a small town water supply, ie., fertilizer runoff. Since many of the water courses along our South West Ontario trails are drainage ditches for agricultural land, this is of some concern to me. The danger is not so great for nitrates in adults, but where there is fertilizer, there is generally pesticide and herbicide also. Add to that the usual culprits and e coli, and I prefer to filter or boil, or both. As the municipal system problem shows, even filtering doesn't get everything.

I dunno, maybe a portable reverse osmosis system? Or a still? Decide your own comfort level, I guess.

[astrogirl]

I have a Steripen, but I've only tested it out. I'm using it with a Nalgene Canteen (like a platy, but has a huge lid like a Nalgene, so the pre-filter fits perfectly.

My Steripen would not fit into a Gatorade bottle enough to cover the sensors, so it would not work at all. Try it at home first!

[Wags]

filtering alone won't kill viruses though will it? thought the general rule was filter takes care of bacteria, but you need to either boil or chemically treat to kill everything???

[Johnny Swank]

Viruses are a way, way overblown concern on the AT. You'd be better off being concerned about using hand sanitizer before eating and after going to the woods than worrying about the .001% chance of coming across some random virus, crypto, or giardia.

[Hotrod]

Wak,
I was just looking up the SteriPen and you may want to factor in the battery element if you are think about the SteriPen. It appears that some models use the CR123 which could be a pain to find on the trail while some can use AA.

Just normal alkaline batteries will only treat 10-20 liters of water (or 2-6 days). While Lithium might last you around 3-4 weeks.

I was always happy with my Aqua Mira after switching from a filter.

HotRod

SteriPEN Classic Batteries
Number of Expected Uses
AA Battery Type	16 oz. of water
Lithium Disposables (Photo-type)	200
*NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride)	200
**Alkaline	20-40
**NiCad (Nickel Cadmium)	10-20
*Recommended choice for cold weather use **Not recommended for use in the SteriPEN™

Journey/Adventurer/Traveler Batteries
Number of Expected Uses
CR123 Batteries	0.5 L (16 oz.) of water
Disposable *	100
Rechargeable	40-50
*Recommended brands: Panasonic, Sanyo, Kodak, Energizer, Surefire

Adventurer/Traveler Battery Test Results
Disposable CR123 Batteries for the Adventurer and Traveler Temp > 50
Battery Brand	16 oz Doses	Liters of Water	Gallons of Water
Energizer	116	58.00	15.32
Kodak	116	58.00	15.32
Sure Fire	115	57.50	15.19
Panasonic	107	53.33	14.09
Radio Shack	107	53.50	14.13
Duracell	104	52.00	13.74
Sanyo	102	51.00	13.47
Interstate	83	41.50	10.96
Tenergy	81	40.50	10.70
Powerizer	77	38.50	10.17

[tripp]

I use the Amigo from ULA. No problems with it and half the weight of a pump filter. And I don't have to pump, just hang it and set up my tarptent while i'm waiting...

http://www.ula-equipment.com/amigo.htm

[wakapak]

Wak,
I was just looking up the SteriPen and you may want to factor in the battery element if you are think about the SteriPen. It appears that some models use the CR123 which could be a pain to find on the trail while some can use AA.

Just normal alkaline batteries will only treat 10-20 liters of water (or 2-6 days). While Lithium might last you around 3-4 weeks.

I was always happy with my Aqua Mira after switching from a filter.

HotRod

SteriPEN Classic Batteries
Number of Expected Uses
AA Battery Type	16 oz. of water
Lithium Disposables (Photo-type)	200
*NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride)	200
**Alkaline	20-40
**NiCad (Nickel Cadmium)	10-20
*Recommended choice for cold weather use **Not recommended for use in the SteriPEN™

Journey/Adventurer/Traveler Batteries
Number of Expected Uses
CR123 Batteries	0.5 L (16 oz.) of water
Disposable *	100
Rechargeable	40-50
*Recommended brands: Panasonic, Sanyo, Kodak, Energizer, Surefire

Adventurer/Traveler Battery Test Results
Disposable CR123 Batteries for the Adventurer and Traveler Temp > 50
Battery Brand	16 oz Doses	Liters of Water	Gallons of Water
Energizer	116	58.00	15.32
Kodak	116	58.00	15.32
Sure Fire	115	57.50	15.19
Panasonic	107	53.33	14.09
Radio Shack	107	53.50	14.13
Duracell	104	52.00	13.74
Sanyo	102	51.00	13.47
Interstate	83	41.50	10.96
Tenergy	81	40.50	10.70
Powerizer	77	38.50	10.17

Hey HotRod!

Thanks for all that info, that was really helpful! I was wondering about battery life and all!

I have recently resurrected my old filter (amazingly enough, it still works!) so i think i'm gonna start with that, seeing as though I also found 2 unopened replacement cartridges for it! I'm also gonna get some AquaMira to have in case the filter bites it, or if I decide to ditch it altogether! Seems as though many people like the AquaMira!

[earlylight]

It's written by a Katadyn sales rep, but it is actually very technically detailed. Give it a read.

What's in the Water?

[mark.k.watson]

How long does Aqua Mira take to treat the water?
I've used tabs before and it took 15 minutes to treat for the first dose, and then another 15 for the "take the iodine taste away treatment."
The thing I love about my filter is pump now, drink now.

[Bob S]

NIMH Batteries for Steripen????





For the most part MIMH batteries are the most disappointing thing to ever hit the battery market. I have several sets (6-sets of 4), from inexpensive Harbor Tools ones to Energizer (1800, 2300 and 2500 Ma ) and they all loose a charge in under a week. The 2300 Energizers will hold the charge the longest (like a week at most) and the 2500 Energizers are the worst, they are useful for no more then a few days before they drop below useful levels. I have 8 2500 Ma Energizers and of the 8 cells, not one will hold a charge. My digital camera will fire up and then shut down right away if I leave a freshly charged set in it more then 3-days. They are JUNK.

Sanyo makes some that are suppose to hold a charge (Enloop sp?) but after the shaft Energizers have given me I don’t have any like for NIMH batteries so I have not bought a set. I can’t say for sure they do what they are supposed to do.

I use Alkaline as I can fully expect the device I put them in to work a week or 2 down the road.


I would like to get a few sets of NiCad’s to use, but I can’t find anybody that has them any more (other then Harbor Tools, and I don’t like buying low quality stuff) everyone has only NIMH batteries now.

[Wags]

pretty soon you'll be able to get satellite batteries. wouldn't that be pimp?