Lighter weight tubing for Gravity filter

Also note that chlorine (from bleach) and chlorine dioxide work on the baddies by completely different methods. In other words, it is not the same stuff.

–B.G.–

@Bog Gross

My bad, misread. Thanks for that clarification on bleach vs chlorine dioxide. Which in your opinion is more effective-probably need a lab for that question though..

@Ben

Right, so that goes back to my origional question, if the micropur says 4 hours, and im drinking it after 30-45 min, am i drinking all that chlorine dioxide or does the frontier pro remove some of it? Would bleach be out of the water sooner? (i hope im not being pesky by asking so much! Expecting you to know all the answers!) =)

How many drops of bleach do you use per liter ben?

Bleach is also way cheaper than buying micropur! =P

Why are you using expensive chlorine dioxide if you are also using the Frontier Pro??? Use chlorine (unscented household bleach) instead and save your money for something else.

Some people like the taste of water after CLO2 treatment. Others don't mind it. Still others can't even taste it. But for me, I am extremely sensitive to that taste and absolutely hate it. Ditto with chlorine! However, sucking water through the FP filter, I cannot detect any trace of chorine taste at all. The reason is that the FP's carbon core adsorbs chlorine and chlorine dioxide — so you won't be drinking any of it.

As for the number of chlorine drops I use and the waiting period — please read my earlier post.

what the wait time on typical household bleach, 30min?

Yes, 30 minutes for household bleach.

BTW, you can buy a whole gallon of the stuff at 99-cent type stores — even though all you need are 6 drops per liter. Compare that to Aquamira chlorine dioxide droplets or tablets!

Thanks Ben, you are the guru of water filtering. You have answered everything i needed to ask, hopefully this thread will also benefit someone else. Very informative.

You're welcome. No guarantees of anything though. :)

I'm not sure about the weight questions, the Sawyer is 1.8 ounces. It also doesn't require carrying chemical treatment, because it filters out everything but viruses. By comparison, the Frontier Pro basically only gets out big huge protozoa.

If you carry the Frontier, you need chemicals… you don't need the 4 hours. The 4-hr time is based on using chemicals only; if using just the chem, takes longer for some of the harder-shelled micro-orgs. A 1/2 hr treatment time will kill the small stuff, running it thru the filter gets rid of the big stuff that's still alive.

In CONUS, you very rarely have to be concerned about viruses. Straight filtration is perfectly fine and healthy. That's all I've done since the mid-80s, and I've never had a problem.

I like the fact that the sawyer simplifies everything considerably. You could futz w/chemical treatments, waiting times, then filtering… or you could just splice a filter into your hose and be done with it. (No clean/dirty, either… fill the bladder, screw on the hydration hose, you're done.)

We all develop different system preferences, these are just my observations/preferences.

"I like the fact that the sawyer simplifies everything considerably. You could futz w/chemical treatments, waiting times, then filtering… or you could just splice a filter into your hose and be done with it. (No clean/dirty, either… fill the bladder, screw on the hydration hose, you're done.)"

True that… except when:

1. You're a princess like me who want a system that's good against all baddies — including viruses — which can be an issue at water sources near trailheads and along popular trails.

2. You're a princess like me who want a system that will improve water taste.

I've felt compelled to treat raw water for viral problems only in a few countries where I was downstream from villages or from cattle ranching.

Nepal, South Korea, Philippines, Argentina, Kenya, and Tanzania.

I treat water for bacterial problems when I am downstream from people in general.

I treat water for Giardia when I am almost anyplace in the Sierra Nevada Range, except for directly at the snow field.

I do not like to just arbitrarily dump chemicals into the raw water. I've seen some strange and interesting chemical reactions occur in raw water that was treated with stuff.

When in doubt, I boil it on a woodburner stove. That will kill just about everything.

But that is just me.

–B.G.–

My core setup is a 3L Big Zip Platypus with a Sawyer filter inline. I just drink out of the bladder and as I drink the water it gets filtered. I also carry a 1L Push/Pull for around camp.

http://i39.tinypic.com/huhnro.jpg

Adrien