SteriPEN Opti Review

[Roger Caffin]

> UV treatment cons-
> 1. must carry backup
Beware of the dogmatic 'must'. I don't carry any backup.

> 3. must protect the product from damage
I also protect the rest of my gear from damage.

> 5. must use heavier water container with wide mouth opening
I don't. I use my cooking pot. Zero extra weight.

> 6. must use described procedure (agitation/stirring) to properly treat water
So??? Every other method also has rules for use.

> 7. best used only above 32 degrees F
I am not aware of a filter or a chemical which works when the water is below 32 F. And some of them are not real good just above 32 F, while UV does work fine.

> 9. must use extra treatment in murky water
Beware of the dogmatic 'must'.

> 10. contains mercury
True, but I believe the company will take a dead unit back for proper disposal.

Cheers

[Roger Caffin]

> I can't emphasize enough to only use top-quality batteries. Many cheap
> generics don't seem to provide enough current for the demands of running that UV tube.

Absolutely. Blaming the unit when the batteries are sub-standard is not helpful. But good batteries work very well.

Cheers

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Tim

> Did the thumbscrew battery cap arrangement change?
No. But the reduction in static current drain made the need for the thumbscrew much less. I store my Opti between trips with the plastic insulator in place, but during the trip i leave it out so I don't need to remove the cap.

> Is it any easier to see whether or not the unit is working when in bright light?
Well, I have to say I have never had any problem with seeing the blue light in my cooking pot (per the photo). It may be more difficult with other containers – I don't know. But I don't think there has been any change, anyhow.

Cheers

[Anonymous]

"This is my primary complaint with the Adventurer. In bright light, eg over 11,000' on a sunny, clear day, I cannot see if the bulb is lit or not. Even the wee LED is hard to see."

Tim – I just returned from trip in the southern Sierra where conditions were sunny and bright. My solution is simply to shade the pot of water with my hat to see if the unit is working, same for viewing the status indicator LED when the light goes off. Works like a charm.

[Jack H.]

I have been using mine for the past two months for all of my water . Batteries were a dollar on Amazon and last over two weeks. Thumbs up.

[Anonymous]

"That said, I've been dying for an excuse to try a UV treatment system. I guess I'm holding out for UV LEDs."

It may be a year or two…or three. In the interim, the Opti is not a bad place to start. 3.6 ounces, compact, easy to use.

[Michael Davis]

Although I complained earlier in this thread about my unreliable Steripen, I fully admit that all forms of water treatment have their significant drawbacks.

UV lights don't work well in swamp water (the light doesn't distribute well), nor do they improve taste or remove solids.

Filters will freeze up and many will be ruined forever. So, that's not an option below freezing.

I have a Sawyer filter capable of removing viruses, which sounds like a good thing, and it is if you are not on a week long trek in really turbid water. That is because the pore sizes are so small, you can only backwash it attached to a presurized faucet. So, no field maintenance. OK for a long weekend, though.

Pills take a long time to work, even longer when it's cold and leave a bad taste in the water. But they sure are light.

Boiling works but takes a long time and consumes fuel. Also, it has the same shortcomings as UV treatment, doesn't remove tastes nor solids.

Of all the "options" to decide on when I go backpacking, water treatment is always the one that is the toughest.

[John Mc]

I walked to the Seattle REI during lunch yesterday and bought the Opti. I read the directions and pushed the button like a mad-man and nothing happened. I finally PUSHED the button with about 20 lbs of pressure and it activated. I hope this is not normal. Anyway I'm going to exchange it at lunch today. I'll still carry some Aquamira in tiny bottles as a backup.

[Rick Dreher]

Hi Michael,

Your post sums the dilemma well—there's little hope for a one-size-fits-all resolution to water treatment since source water and conditions varies so hugely.

I'll add that some filters don't appear to be susceptible to freeze damage (pleated media types) and those that are (ceramic and folded tubes) can often be kept warm in a pocket or sleeping bag for protection.

I suspect some folks overestimate the effect of tubidity on UV. Unless the water is too murky to see through, good agitation and perhaps a double cycle can overcome the problem. Really turbid water (e.g., from glacial flour or muddy desert rivers) calls for flocculation and settling, regardless of the treatment method. Time-consuming, but necessary.

Cheers,

Rick

[sheila o]

I've had the Adventurer for several years with no malfunct. Ditto on good batteries. Surefire Lithium last me a whole season. I take them out between trips.
Love this thing!

[Arthur Forbes]

Both the Classic and Journey models allow you to treat water directly in small-mouth bottles like the platty – why does everyone seem to recomend the Aventurer which is only an ounce lighter but requires you bring along a wide-mouth container or use your pot to treat the water before transfering it to your drinking container?

I just returned my Journey to REI yesterday, I purchased it a year ago but used it for the first time on a 8 day trip in the Wind River range last month. It worked great but there was a leak and water got into the bulb housing, the LCD display and the battery compartment. I pulled the batteries out each night to let it dry out and it worked fine for the 16 gallons of water we used it on.

[Keith Selbo]

There are some misstatements here both good and bad about the Sawyer that I, a long time user, would like to set straight.

Filters will freeze up and many will be ruined forever. So, that's not an option below freezing.

Not a problem. I carry my setup in a ziplock inside my jacket when it's below freezing. At night it's in my sleeping bag.

I have a Sawyer filter capable of removing viruses …

The high-end Sawyer removes almost all viruses, but some rota viruses are small enough to get through. For that reason, I bought the less expensive version. I treat with chlorine before I filter. The chlorine is removed along with other chemicals by my charcoal filter.

you can only backwash it attached to a presurized faucet …

It's possible that might be true for the "viral" filter, but the bacterial filter is field back washable. I reverse the flow at the end of the filtering process by raising the clean bag for a few seconds to let about a half cup of water flow back into the clean filter. It keeps my filter clean and I always have a high flow rate.

Why does Sawyer get no love?

Same reason I don't. Not sexy.

But on my last trip, pumping "optically clear" water, the Hiker Pro gave it up. There was no forewarning.

Get a Sawyer. It's back flushable in the field, you never have to pump or stir and it's guaranteed for life.

I also protect the rest of my gear from damage.

Yes, we all must protect our gear, but gear with glass parts requires extra care.

finally:

I think there is a quadruple trade off between a setup like my 8 oz. Sawyer/Katadyn gravity/charcoal filter (see photo of my setup in my first post to this thread) and the Steripen.

1. On weight, the Steripen wins.

2. On reliability, the Sawyer wins. There are enough reports of Steripen failures both here at BPL and all over the web to convince me that you can divide pen owners into two groups. Those who've had a failure and those who will.

3. On ease of use, the Sawyer wins. You put water in, you hang it up, you take a nap or eat a sandwich or pitch your tent and when you come back, your water is filtered. I know that pumping or stirring for a few minutes to get two liters of water seems like a very small waste of time, but whenever I hike with partner(s) they're all using my filter by the end of the hike because they'd rather spend that small amount of time doing something else, even if it's just sitting on a rock waiting for the filter to do its work.

4. On chemicals, the sawyer/katadyn combination wins. The Steripen does not remove any chemicals. The filter removes a broad spectrum of contaminants.

[Frederick W. Willes]

Isn't the bottle surface inside and above the SteriPen as well as the threads and outside top of the bottle remain contaminated?

[Roger Caffin]

> Isn't the bottle surface inside and above the SteriPen as well as the threads
> and outside top of the bottle remain contaminated?

Water treatment is all about reducing the payload to a level your body can handle safely, NOT about total kill. That's why they talk about 99.99% efficiency etc.
Small drops of possibly contaminated water are so diluted by the treated water they have no effect overall. yes, this does comply with the CDC and EPA rules.

cheers

[Mary D]

John wrote:
"I walked to the Seattle REI during lunch yesterday and bought the Opti. I read the directions and pushed the button like a mad-man and nothing happened. I finally PUSHED the button with about 20 lbs of pressure and it activated."

I had exactly the same experience with the Adventurer. I could not work the switch, especially with cold fingers. I had to get my grown son to turn it on every time, and even he had problems. Plus the cycle kept aborting so I had to run 2-3 cycles for each quart of water (this was with fresh standard brand batteries, the directions in front of me and my electrical engineer son helping me). Needless to say, I got tired of this nonsense really fast, used Micropur tablets (taken along as backup) for the rest of the trip and returned the SteriPen to REI.

[Roger Caffin]

> I finally PUSHED the button with about 20 lbs of pressure and it activated.

I have found that Steripen are very good about exchanges where there is this sort of problem.

Cheers

[George Matthews]

Interesting to think about how the light disinfects water. Does not kill the badies – just spays and neuters…

SteriPEN Adventurer Opti uses shortwave germicidal UV light to disinfect water. This range of UV light disrupts the DNA within bacteria, viruses and protozoa, rendering them unable to reproduce and therefore, harmless.

[John Mc]

Yesterday I returned the Opti for another one. This second one is much easier to push and activate, but still harder than I'd expect. The REI employee, who've I've seen there for many years, says they have lots of problems with Steripens. I wonder why they don't make a 'click' type switch?
OH….I can't get the flashlight to work. I hold it down for 3 seconds plus…and no light.

[Adam Kramer]

push vs click is good so it doesnt turn on by accident in your pack.

[Dean F.]

I was also going to comment on this, re Sawyer filters:

"you can only backwash it attached to a presurized faucet …"

…but Keith beat me to it. I have the same experience as Keith, and have a hard time beleiving that even the 0.02 micron filter can't be back-flushed in the field. Does the Sawyer literature say that? IIRC the manual for my 0.1 micron filter say to back-flush using a faucet, too, but I found that it obviously can be done in the field as Keith described. Heck, I've back-flushed it by blowing a mouthful of water through the device when I was using it directly from the bottle!

Seriously, I just don't get why everyone isn't using Sawyer filters- assuming that you are interested in filters. I suspect that the reason is that they really don't seem to advertise very aggressively, especially when compared to MSR, Katadyn, etc. But they absolutely beat the pants off of any other filter in my book, and there are VERY few things in life about which I will be that emphatic.

[Bob Gross]

Dean, if the Sawyer filters are so good, then tell us what the Army uses.

Back in a different era, I was stationed at Fort Polk, and the only time in my life that I ever contracted a water-borne illness was when I was on field maneuvers there.

–B.G.–

[Keith Selbo]

"Dean, if the Sawyer filters are so good, then tell us what the Army uses.

Back in a different era, I was stationed at Fort Polk, and the only time in my life that I ever contracted a water-borne illness was when I was on field maneuvers there"

I think it's pretty clear they weren't using Sawyers.

[Jerry Adams]

At least not in alpine areas of U.S.

I've been using no filter for maybe 50 trips with no noticeable problems.

Especially, you don't need a backup – if the unit quits working, don't worry about it – try finding a snowmelt stream, or a lake is good because UV light from sun kills nasties.

Next time I'll probably get sick : )

[Chris Benson]

It's probably a good idea to consider boiling or purifying water in alpine areas with mines. Some of the high elevation old silver mine locations in Colorado come to mind.

[Bob Gross]

"You don't need any filter in alpine areas of U.S."

This is awful advice.

I will agree that most of the time, alpine water is quite pure and safe. However, exceptions exist, and I would not want to have my trip go bad because I drank the wrong water.

In Yosemite National Park, we were climbing up toward Mount Conness maybe 1000 feet below the summit, and there was a nice stream flowing. We were far above where anybody camped and far above most animals.

Another hiker asked me if it was safe to drink that water, and I commented that it might be halfway safe, but that I didn't know. The other hiker scooped up a Sierra cup of it, and then stared down into it. There were three little wigglers, each about a tenth of an inch long. We decided to treat all of the water with iodine crystals.

–B.G.–

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