Aquamira drops

I think the package addresses this, wanting you to double the wait-time for "very cold, cloudy, or tinted" water (not the time you let the drops sit, but rather the time between when you add the mixture to the water and when the water is safe to drink). Also, be advised that the microbe-killing continues to occur as long as 4 hours after you add the drops – so waiting longer than the official time is always a good thing; I recall this from a published study of the efficacy of various water treatment methods against various pathogens. Despite all this, I rarely let my water sit that long, and I've been using AquaMira for well over 10 years, albeit mostly in the Grand Canyon, and I've never once gotten ill.

Thanks John. I haven't recieved my shipment yet as I had to order it from Amazon so don't have a clue what the directions say.

You'll love it. I'm a huge fan. Instead of needing two folks crouching over a stream, with the pumping person cursing the intake holding person for not keeping it under the water, you simply fill your bottles as though in the Garden of Eden, and then retreat to a pleasant location, where you leisurely go through the treatment ritual. You do need to be careful to keep track of which bottles you've treated, and that you always add part A AND part B (I always add A first, to avoid confusion). And, though the instruction don't say (I think), once the mixture is in the container and shaken up good, loosen the cap a little and let it run out over the threads.

you can repackage them into smaller bottles as needed. That's widely practiced — keeping the two different solutions *separate.*

what warrants more caution: some people do "pre-mix" *combining the solutions so they don't have to wait each time. (e.g. they'll mix a small amount together at the start of each day.) I'm not sure what the parameters are on that.

You're asking about the first, but I just wanted to point out the second, in case some vague memory about that had you confused.

I also really like aquamira for groups. I know some will do gravity setups but that's only good for in camp. Not that helpful for a quick break to get water.

Aquamira is just as fast (about) to treat 1 L of water as it is to treat 6 1 L bottles. (and its fairly fast for 1 bottle already).

In fact, the slowest part of treating water with aquamira is filling the water bottles most the time…we always look for springs/streams that sometimes don't have good flow which can make filling more time consuming.

"I know some will do gravity setups but that's only good for in camp. Not that helpful for a quick break to get water. "

I disagree, completely.

I have a gravity setup and use it frequently, without having to fiddle with all the parts and pumping and putting it back in pieces in the bag – leaves the pumping people in the dust. No fuss, no moving parts to break. Sure, I use it in camp. And everywhere else.

Not sure why there is this persistent idea that it's somehow "slow" – if you use a Sawyer Squeeze, sure, it's slower than mud on a frozen morning. Use a Cleanstream and you're fine.

Waiting for hours to get rid of crypto sounds slow with a capital slow, on the other hand.

John. I am hoping I will like it. I used a mini sawyer on the JMT last year during the day and aquamira tablets at night before I went to bed. The sawyer was ok, but took alot of muscle work to sqeeze.
Katherine. I saw someone on the trail using a contact lens case to pre-mix solutins. I thought you are suppose to mix a and b together, let them sit, then add them to the water bags? I could be wrong….

"Katherine. I saw someone on the trail using a contact lens case to pre-mix solutins. I thought you are suppose to mix a and b together, let them sit, then add them to the water bags? I could be wrong…."

Yeah, you have to let it sit for at least 5 mins — or about when it turns yellow before you add it to the water. With premixing you don't have to wait for that step each time you stop for water. But you can't premix it too far ahead or it looses efficacy. Follow?

I'm more of a filter person, but have used AM in groups in which a guides did that.

Watch Mike Clelland’s Videos #7 and 8 for Aquamira tips on use.

Forty years ago, I would head out with nothing. Drinking from springs as needed, but often going thirsty between watering holes. Boiling water for coffee/tea/cocoa worked. But it was always time consuming. My girl friend (later my wife) got a pump style emergency filter and we loved it. But we didn't mind carrying 6 pounds in water or the additional bulk of a filter.

Later on, we used AM drops (for well over 15 years.) At first, I used them as the primary. The wait time was always annoying and required me to keep several bottles in my pack as they "treated." In The ADK's, this was by far not ideal. But we had reduced the bulk a lot and the weight to about 4 pounds. Neither was filtering ideal, since these were larger than required at the time(around 2000 or so,) or, slow, despite purchasing a couple different ones. Overall, I wasn't saving anything between the filters(less water carried but a heavier, bulkier item)or the AM drops (more water to compensate for the wait time) when all was said and done. I tried to cut back on the wait time and got sick on some swamp water, rushing the wait time with AM drops, closer than an hour, is not a good idea…it will catch up with you.

Around 2003, Steripen released the first Adventurer series. These went through batteries at a phenomenal rate. After the first couple sets died, I figured out two things: rechargeable batteries did not work well and it was draining through the electronic switch…you could treat them like a flashlight flipping one battery over to prevent current flow. I dropped from about two liters of water to one and never looked back. On many trips (canoe trips, NPT, Oswagatchie, etc.) I switched to a two liter platty bottle for camp and a single 500ml bottle for drinking. I simply drank it, refilled it and zapped it and was off again…about 5 minutes total time. My carry weight was down about 2lbs. I am a happy hiker. I carry about 13-15oz of water treatment and water at any one time (with a full 500ml water bottle.) This includes about 1oz of repackaged AM drops as backup. This is where I am at today.

With the newer filters approaching the weight of a spare set of batteries, I am deciding whether to get a small high volume, small pore filter for at camp and reserving the Steripen for hiking. This will extend battery life about three to four times, filter all the water for camp (saving fuel for boiling,) add minimal bulk (since I work on small items for my pack anyway) and save the filter about 20-30% since it will only be needed once per day. It will also enable me to drop the AM drops backup, since I will have three methods of obtaining drinking water (boiling, filtering, and, zapping.) Total weight cost for the filter and the Steripen is around 9oz since I will also need a second platy for water (one to fill dirty, one to fill clean.)

Generally, the lightest weight water treatment for hiking the ADK's is the Steripen Adventurer. For trips where you need to carry large amounts of water, it might not matter. But it is wise to carry a spare set of batteries. The AM drops might be the lightest since you need to carry a few liters anyway. But, you always need to wait for them to work. Filters allow you to pretty much duplicate the effectiveness of the Steripen, except for viruses, and they can plug up on two/three week trips.

Basically, all types have advantages and disadvantages, even boiling (you use a LOT of fuel.) No one treatment is "best." You use the one that suits conditions. If you don't know, take extra. Extra water bottles, extra treatment options (you should have at least two in any case,) and extra storage capacity even if you don't immediately need it.

James. Sounds like you have run through just about all the options. I myself am always looking to get lighter in my pack weight. I watched people with Steripens and wasn't impressed. I think I will give the drops, on my first hiking trip this season, on the SHT, a try. I also have an emergency straw type device that weights nothing which I will use to camel up at streams. I am impressed with all the people who have responded to my questions. I will watch that video tonight.

>> Overall, I wasn't saving anything between the filters(less water carried but a heavier, bulkier item)or the AM drops (more water to compensate for the wait time) when all was said and done …

This doesn't really make sense to me. The main times I'm concerned about my water weight is when I'm getting ready for a long waterless day to the next camp (or even to a dry camp). So I'm treating a gallon (or two) of water, and doing it before I start out from last night's wet camp. I don't see how using AM makes this take longer (less time than a filter really, assuming you carry extra mixing vessels) or makes you carry more water.

The only place I can see this applying is if you have access to water throughout that day. But even so, I'm not likely to be so thirsty that I mind waiting the 15min for it to be ready to drink.

>> With premixing you don't have to wait for that step each time you stop for water. But you can't premix it too far ahead or it looses efficacy. Follow?

I wonder what the spec is (on max time between premix and treatment) ? I don't think I've seen it. Could be worth asking McNett, as they seem pretty responsive to contact. It's not really an issue AFAIK though, I don't usually mind resting for 5 minutes occasionally during the day.

This (and my previous post) may represent a desert-centric mindset though, as water is scarce, usually at camps.

2 years ago I did in fact contact McNett about this very thing.

Their polite response was this: "We don't recommend pre-mixing a day's worth of AM."

So we're on our own.