Steripen Fits All Prefilter

Michael:

I am not following…

If you use a 4-micron mesh with chlorine dioxide tablets, then you don't need a Steripen.

And if you use Steripen with a pre-filter, then you don't need chlorine tablets (unless for backup in case the Steripen fails).

Separately, if you like the Frontier Pro / chlorine combo — and the only problem is water leakage out the side where it screws onto the water bottle, then it's probably a worn-out or defective Frontier Pro — so why not just get a new one?

And finally, if you opt for Frontier Pro (which blocks protozoa) — then all you need is inexpensive chlorine (like Clorox) to treat bacteria and viruses. Chlorine dioxide tablets are very expensive — and unnecessary.

Hi Ben,

I would only be using the Steripen Brand 'Fits all prefilter' not an actual Steripen itself. I was wondering if anybody has had any particular experience with this prefilter.

Also I would be using normal chlorine tablets 'e.g. Aquatabs' sodium dichloroisocyanurate which are cheap not chlorine dioxide (Aquamira). I didn't actually say anything about chlorine dioxide, only chlorine…

Have many people had experience of a defective Frontier Pro? Was it an early batch issue or are some just randomly not so great?

Thanks,
Michael

Ah, my bad (about both Steripen and the chlorine dioxide).

I normally just suck water through my Frontier Pro, but have tested it a few times as an "in line" gravity filter. There was no issue with water leakage at the end — which leads me to think that maybe yours is damaged from use or just defective. If you like your setup, maybe it's worth buying a second Frontier Pro.

As for the 4.0 micron size Steripen "Fits All" prefilter — no firsthand experience whatsoever, but you got me curious…

According to the REI write up, cryptos range in size from 2 to 5 microns. REI recommends filters with an absolute size of 0.2 – 0.3 micron to filter out crypto. Not a pathology expert, but I'm sure there are reasons why MSR and Katadyn filters are sized down to 0.2 and 0.3 micron respectively. I don't know if I would rely on the 4-micron prefilter alone to block protozoa.

Also, Roleigh Martin (fifth post down) wrote about a 1-micron prefilter.

Thanks Ben,

I wasn't aware that cysts could be that small. It would be great if BPL did a state of the market report on water treatment techniques as I think the ongoing discussion in the forums shows that it is still an area of uncertainty. Will check that thread.

Thanks,
Michael