Water Treatmen/Filtration

I am very interested in the idea of using the combo of the Frontier Pro and bleach for my CO Trail thru. However, I've rumors that bleach can produce hazardous byproducts(trihalomethanes, etc.) when used to treat water. Would the Frontier Pro remove these?

Anyone else heard about this bleach thing?

Normally, there is no problem with bleach. If the raw water has a lot of decomposing leaf matter and pine needles, then there are more nitrogen compounds in it, and the free chlorine can't do such a perfect job. So, if you are heading for the blackwater bayous, good luck!

–B.G.–

1. The Red Cross and a myriad of "disaster preparedness" sites all recommend the use of chlorine (household bleach) in treating drinking water.

2. Frontier Pro incorporates a carbon core so it will remove (adsorb) chemicals including chlorine. Thus, you will NOT taste any chlorine in your water at all when drinking through the Frontier Pro filter.

Found this after a quick search on the internet.

"Coconut shell carbon is…is particularly good at trihalomethane removal." http://www.pwgazette.com/carbon.html

I think the Frontier Pro will take care of this problem.

Has anyone rigged their Frontier Pro (+ Micropur tablets) to work for two people?

Too much trouble?

Are you trying to avoid swapping spit with your camping companion?

I just set mine up as a gravity filter, so the clean water fills a platypus.

–B.G.–

It works for my wife and I without any problem.

I decided on the FP and bleach route as my strategy as well. As it turns out, I carry (2) 1 L bottles and there was only one time during 11 days that I went to the next bottle before 4 hours were up, which SHOULD kill everything. Thus, I have yet to use the FP while hiking, but this was in the Smokies where water is readily available.

I to have the FP and am still looking for the ideal platy/FP connection to drink directly from. Does anyone else have issues with this and how did you solve?

I haven't tested this in the field yet, but I have attached the FP to my backpacking strap with two rubber bands. I then have a hose that attaches to my Platy in my backpack and another short hose on the other end with my drink valve.

I used an MSR tube for the drinking end of the FP unit, because it fits more snuggly than the platy tube. I did trim the tubes to more manageable lengths, and I actually saved a little weight than using the full tube/platy combo that I had (less tubing).

After spending a lot of time thinking about it, this is the setup that I figured would work the best for me.

Sorry if I hijacked this thread a bit ;) I guess what I'm asking is, is it practical/easy to

– Just use the Frontier Pro as an INLINE filter when I am hiking alone, and

– Use it as a GRAVITY filter when hiking as 2 people. I'm picturing it this way: I gravity-filter the dirty water into one of our clean Platypus bags, then switch over and gravity-filter into the other person's clean Platypus, and that's it.

Is it complicated to set it up as a gravity filter? (I started reading some descriptions of how to do that, but my eyes glazed over.)

Is it a pain to have to gravity-filter at every stop? Or is it nice and simple.

I like that some people are apparently getting one liter per minute on the gravity filter setup! Sounds fantastic.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth:

Gravity setup is pretty straightforward — although it obviously isn't as easy as simply screwing the filter onto your Platypus (or equivalent) bottle and drinking straight out through the filter's built-in bite valve.

Steps to gravity set up (assume using Platypus):

1. C-A-R-E-F-U-L-L-Y remove the bite valve by gently pulling and twisting.

2. Screw FP onto dirty Platy (I added two grommets to my Platy and tied with a cord to allow Platy to hang off a tree, etc.).

3. Connect tubing to FP output

4. Insert the other end of tubing to receiving "clean" Platy. (You can also buy Platy connectors to secure tubing to Platy to minimize spilling — just don't tighten too much to let air escape as water flows in).

After going through this with Jason Klass — he produced a video on this. Do a search and you should find it easily.

I faithfully read reviews of as many water purification devices as possible before choosing this one for my adventures trekking in the Himalayan mountains. From the very start it leaked at the filter housing. After passing no more than 10 liters of water, it completely stopped passing liquid. When I returned the product, Giles Butler initially agreed that it was a "faulty product" and offered to replace or refund it. However after weeks went by without a refund or replacement, I contacted him twice more. Finally he told me that it was "poor customer application." He said that there was too much sediment, however I used this system to filter mountain spring water from a hose! And when this broke I used chlorine drops and did not consume any sediment! This was a faulty product- quite possibly just the one I received, however after Giles Butler instructed me to return it, then said that he wouldn't replace or refund, I am now left without a filter (broken or not) or a refund. Initially, Giles was VERY courteous, helpful, and prompt, so I hate to leave a poor review but I don't want others to be ripped off the way I was.

I faithfully read reviews of as many water purification devices as possible before choosing this one for my adventures trekking in the Himalayan mountains. From the very start it leaked at the filter housing. After passing no more than 10 liters of water, it completely stopped passing liquid. When I returned the product, the manager Giles Butler initially agreed that it was a "faulty product" and offered to replace or refund it. However after weeks went by without a refund or replacement, I contacted him twice more. Finally he told me that it was "poor customer application." He said that there was too much sediment, however I used this system to filter mountain spring water from a hose! And when this broke I used chlorine drops and did not consume any sediment! Now I'm left without a filter (broken or not) or a refund.

The published weights of the Platy and Sawyer cartridges is less than the Frontier Pro, so what advantage (other than price) justifies the FP setup where you have to deal with waiting for chlorine tabs to do their trick? Seems the added cost would outweigh hassle of waiting 30 minutes before using water.