Help me lighten/refine my approach to water treatment (FirstNeed vs. filter+tabs vs. steripen vs. ??)

Bryan:

From everything that I've read thus far, the First Need is an effective "do it all" solution. The only complaint (for some) is the suboptimal bulk and weight. But if you want something that can truly "do it all", most all of the UL alternatives fall short.

It's an art more than a science — esp. since few of us have labs to actually test results scientifically. But rather than just asking for options out there — methinks you'll get better answers by letting us know YOUR preferences — what do you want your filter/purifier to do? One or some or all below?

a. treat protozoa (crypto, etc.)
b. treat bacteria
c. treat viruses
d. clarify water
e. improve water taste

Based on your answers above, folks can then recommend the smallest/lightest options that will meet your needs.

I used a Katadyn Pro Hiker for years and it worked great. Never had a malfunction and never a "stomach" problem as well. Last year I switch to the Tabs. I enjoy them and they weigh so much lighter that the filter. I'm in the NE and water isn't always that reliable during the late Summer. Quick, easy, and idiot proof.

The "4 hr" wait limit has been used as a suggestion for the last year. I usually wait about an hour. Haven't always waited that long and I have been lucky I guess. Think the wait limit was a lawyer descision but please please don't quote me on that. The only issue I have is the chlorine taste. Thirst is thirst so I deal. I started to carry E'mergen'C lite packs or Gatorade packs. Nice boost and masks the taste.

To keep out the creepies or debris I use a bandanna or something like that. This is not always but can be helpful.

Other suggestion- Pack with people who use filters and borrow their's. Problem solved!!

Have fun-

Mark

After having tried just about everything on the market, I've more or less settled on Chlorine Dioxide tablets with a small mesh prefilter that fits over the mouth of my water bottles. I generally ignore the posted "4-hour" treatment time and drink as soon as 30 minutes after treatment. This practice is safe in the areas that I hike and draw water from. I have not found anything more simple or lightweight for the hiking that I do.

WARNING: Old Guy Reminiscence: For years I carried a leather-wrapped 1-ounce glass bottle that contained about 8 grams of resublimated iodine crystals for water treatment. I would fill the bottle with water, give it a shake for a few seconds, and then add that solution (keeping the crystals in the bottle) to one liter of untreated water for a 30-minute treatment. The advantage of these crystals was that I did not have to wait an additional 30 minutes for the solution itself to come up to speed (as with Polar Pur for example). It was good to go with only about a half-minute in the bottle. This meant that I could treat multiple liters quickly, only having to wait for the treatment to take effect in the water bottles themselves. Sadly, one cannot easily purchase resublimated iodine crystals any longer, as they are apparently a controlled substance these days.

If one carries any sort of mechanical or electronic device for water treatment, I highly recommend adding some sort of back-up treatment in case of failure. I once dropped my new-fangled water filter on a rock on the very first trip I had brought it along. The filter housing broke wide open, leaving me with a useless piece of junk. My bottle of iodine crystals saved the trip, treating all my water as they always did so reliably on so many trips.

These days I think the Chlorine Dioxide works well and tastes better than iodine water.

Michael

I've used Katadyn Pro for years, but it's so heavy.

When I'm in alpine areas I don't treat, but you don't want to hear that : )

Recently I've been using a Steripen Adventurer Opti which has worked good.

You have to have a container that's big enough – try it out at home. Big mouthed Nalgene works, but they're so heavy. Medium mouthed juice bottle doesn't work very well, not big enough. 0.9 liter Ti pot isn't really deep enough. I took a 2 liter soda bottle, cut top off, marked 1 liter level, weighs 0.75 ounce.

There are a few specs of stuff in the water since there's no filter, but that's just cosmetic.

The UV works best against viruses and bacteria but these are very very rare in U.S. Doesn't work as good, but still is supposed to work against Giardia which is the main bug we have to worry about. This is fairly rare so there's really no way to no that it's effective – you're probably never going to get sick regardless. And if you do get sick it could be food poisoning or human fecal poisining.

I bought some rechargeable batteries on amazon for about $20 with charger – good for maybe 24 liters which is 6 nights for me, as long as I ever go.

There's another thread on where to get one for $50.

I really appreciate all the responses so far.

@Benjamin: I appreciate the push back to refine my position. My priority is for the first three options in your list (treat protozoa, treat bacteria, treat viruses). Improving the taste and clarity of the water is nice, but not really important to me. Beyond treatment I'm primarily just interested in something that's as light and fast as possible.

@Michael: I totally hear what you're saying about relying on electronic device. If I were to go with something like the SteriPen I'd totally be carrying around some sort of backup for emergency.

@Jerry: I actually hadn't even thought about the shape of the container with regards to using the SteriPen so I really appreciate your thoughts here. I normally just use a regular old water bottle from a 7-11 or whatever, so I'd have to make a switch there as well I suppose.

Do most folks using the SteriPen just dip the bottle in the stream and then zap it with the pen or is there some sort of "dirty container" "clean container" type of process.

I always hear people say that they don't wait the 4 hours for Aquamira, but I have to say doing this would worry me a bit. Yeah, I'm the guy that overcooks my chicken too, just to be sure.

If you dip the container, then UV treat it, it becomes clean

If there are a few drops of water on the outside it's not that important. They say the filter is 99.9% effective (or whatever). A few drops are less than 0.1% of the volume of the treated water.

One Giardia will not infect you. You need to be infected by some critical number before you get sick.

I do now what Michael did in the past. I was able to buy pure iodine crystals on ebay. I then obtained a 50 ml (about 2oz) screw-cap bottle made of FEP (a fluoropolymer). A small pinch of the iodine crystals, in my little bottle, will purify thousands of gallons of water. You could easily carry enough for a thru-hike. It costs fractions of a penny per gallon, requires relatively little contact time, and is reliable (not compromised by turbid water, etc.). I just have to keep the bottle in a pocket (not the pack) if it's cold. I use a handkerchief prefilter.

For smallest/lightest I use micropur tabs (chlorine dioxide). However, most of the time, I bring a steripen opti and a few micropur tabs as backup. The lack of wait time after treatment is nice.

I think many of us used the saturated solution of Iodine for water treatment (20 years ago?). Then some of my friends developed Iodine hypersensitivity from one reason or another. I think it is alright to use for short periods of time, especially for most of us.

–B.G.–

Bryan responded, "@Benjamin: I appreciate the push back to refine my position. My priority is for the first three options in your list (treat protozoa, treat bacteria, treat viruses). Improving the taste and clarity of the water is nice, but not really important to me. Beyond treatment I'm primarily just interested in something that's as light and fast as possible."

For quick, light, fast and easy treatment of all biological baddies (from relatively big protozoa to tiniest viruses) — go for UV. I have the Steripen Adventurer and have used it extensively over a 7-month trip 2 years ago and a 2-month trip late last year. And I never got sick, even after drinking treated water from the faucets of filthy, filthy 3rd world bus station bathrooms. Also, unlike tablets that can take hours to treat cold water — the UV works effectively across water temps.

UV won't do anything to clarify water or improve its taste… but that's lower on your list of priorities — so assuming your water sources are fairly clear and OK tasting, then the above is hard to beat. If you are squeamish about relying on batteries while out in the wilds, just bring along some chlorine dioxide tablets for backup.

Like Mark said above about the tabs. Super light, but a chlorine taste. But when you're thirsty then you drink it and very satisfied. I used tabs for over 2 weeks on the PCT last year.

Personnaly, I can recommend Aqua Mira drops. The ones I had said 15 minutes for most, up to 4 hours for complete kills. Here in the USA, I interpret that as 15 minutes if I need water, otherwise I wait. MUCH lighter than any gadgets.
(Yes, I have used a couple different filters and have a couple different UV sterilizers, too.) I detect no real taste from it, though, my daughter can.
A packet of lemonaide or the like covers the tast for her.

I never cared too much for Iodine…it just tasted poor. But AM is not quite as light, weight wise.

I have used clorine bleach, but due to the variability in concentrations, I would not recommend this.

Some people have recommended putting your water bottle out in the sun (UV,) but, I would not trust that 100%.

I believe there are 2 tablets in the emergency kit.

For backup, you can plan on boiling water. This is expensive in terms of fuel, though. My wife still insists on it.

We used to use chlorine bleach, but because you were never quite sure, ou always used a little more than you probably needed. So the water always tasted of chlorine.

Iodine was more exact, but I could never stand the taste and it was supposed to not be too healthy for a thru-hike.

Filters reduced the nasty tasting gunk, but often plugged up and were heavy and could break.

UV sounds like a great way to go, but I'd back it up with chemical just in case something went wrong with the device.

Aqua Mira is light, reliable, tastes great, but it dosn't remove any gunk in the water. Prefilter can reduce it, but not totally.
When I hike mountains and there isn't a drought going on, I just use Aqua Mira.

I bring a Frontier Pro if I'm going to have to deal with drier climates, with gunky or stagnant water. Even a Frontier Pro can make a major improvement in stagnant water, but you still need to treat with chemical and I prefer Aqua Mira.

Bryan,
I too need to filter my water. I have a stomach that if I got the 1 part in a billion bug it makes me sick. I have been using a very light weight and effective system for years now. I bought a sawyer inline filter. 1.2 oz. You can still get them and they come in various levels of filtration. I believe at the time the one I got was a log 6 filter which means 99.99999 effective against all nasties except viruses ( you will have to check the spec sheet. But as long as you are not hiking in a 3rd world country you don't have too many worries for that. I simply use a 2 liter collapsible bag as a dirty bag and a one liter clean bag. I connect the bags with simple hydration hose to the filter in the middle and I push the water out of the dirty bag into the clean bag. It is the same principle as the frontier pro except I don't like the way the hose attaches to the frontier pro, IMHO it is too easy to pop off in use. The sawyer is rated at a million gallons and can be cleaned by back washing. It has worked great and cleans up and clears up all the water I have ever needed and I have had to use some pretty nasty stuff at times. the whole set up is weighs around 4.5 oz total. I believe you can find a video about this type of filter set up on you tube by Jason Klass

if I was going to a third world country I'd certainly delve into this subject matter a lot more closely, but as my hiking is primarily in the Rockies I've settled on micropur tablets- 24 tabs (equates to 24 liters) weighs under 1/2 oz. I might have desensitized taste buds, but I don't notice any degrade in taste. Like many of the other posters, my time wait has been more like an hour (don't think I've ever waited 4 hours).

it's simple, it's light, it thus far seems to be effective :) but they aren't overly cheap, but for the first three reasons, I've justified the cost in my mind

Mike

Aqua Mira Drops repackaged in smaller drop bottles for regular stops.

+

4 tabs Aqua Mira tablets as a back up in case you squish or loose the drops- Stow it in the emergency/backup/repair/med kit.

+Maybe

If you are moving very fast and miles and speed count Plus it is Summer Hot- you could add the smallest SteriPen to treat 8-10 oz to drink right away at refill stops while the Aqua Mira part A and B premix for 5min. I use my cut-in-half plastic soda bottle cup for this. Cup is also good if needed to scoop water from tough spots/seeps/holes a full size bottle won't fit.

I think this set up is extremely safe and could save you over 40min of time over a long day and potentially add 2miles in distance covered in a day vs some other systems/techniques.

Xinix is upping production of Klear Water and supposedly will have product available for the civilian world this spring.

I used this for all of 2009. Very fast. Easy. I repackaged into a plastic dispenser bottle. 22 drops into a liter and I was on my way. Fifteen minutes later I was drinking. I took a bunch of tablets for backup, but never had to use them. (I did give 40 to a guy who lost Part A of his AquaMira, so pay attention to your “process”.)

Check out this thread.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?

A trimmed hiker -pro combined with a cuben bag ought to weigh @ 3.5 oz. and pack about the size of a beer can. One note! I made a mistake on that first filter by placing the hang cord (Which really isn't necessary) through the dry-bag roll top. Can't get a perfect seal with the rolled drop with the string or grommet holes in the rolled part; but in practice hasn't mattered unless the bag is on it's side or there's pressure pushing out the water.

Pros?

– Doubles as an on-the-go hydration bag/filter so the weight of the filter/bag/hose is the weight for filtration/hydration and water bags
– proven hiker-pro filter
– no waiting or chemicals. Fill the bag. roll the top shut, put it in your pack and stroll off down the trail drinking filtered water if you want.
– fill the bag, hang it up and do something else in camp or even on a trail break. no pumping
– no worries about contamination. the filtered water comes out of the bag through the filter.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=8994&startat=20

I was using chlorine dioxide tabs (ie. Aquamira Tabs) as they can kill protozoa, but I found I rarely felt like waiting 4 hours, so this ability was of little use. I switched back to AquaTabs which are sodium dichloroisocyanurate. Compared to the chlorine dioxide tabs, the AquaTabs are much smaller, lighter and cheaper. I buy a pack of 50 for $8 compared to $15 for 24 Aquamira Tablets. Taste is about the same, noticeable but minor.

same as dan … i use

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442625447&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302696751

it also helps that they are the cheapest tablets at MEC

if its good enough for NATO, WHO, Unicef, International Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam, British army, French army, German army, Russian army, American Special forces, Indonesian army, Singaporean army, Finnish army, Polish army, Canadian mounted police … its good enough for me …

it being given out by UNICEF to help stop the cholera in Haiti … i think it can handle most conditions most backpackers will ever see … surprisingly a google search doesnt turn up any big US retailers that i can see … no fancy marketing i guess unlike some products that are twice the price

link to unicef vid …

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/d/16650.html

HYDRATION BLADDER> Katadyn chlorine dioxide tabs when I refill it at evening mealtime. Then it's ready for the next day & the tabs have LOTS of time to work.

BIKE BOTTLE> SteriPen Adventurer UV treatment. I use the bike bottle only for sport drinks (CytoMax powder in the morning and PROPEL powder the rest of the day)

P.S. SteriPens are great for Fast water treatment and chlorine dioxide is a backup in case the SteriPen craps out.

Yeah, I use the steripen Adventurer quite a bit. This was painfull at first, till I figured out that I needed to flip one battery over. The "off" drain was quite high. But, I cannot say it is the primary water treatment.

AquaMira repackaged is my primary, but, make sure to use 5 drops with it. The extra drop compensates roughly for the smaller size of the drops comming from small bottles. I can get a 6 week supply in the little micro dropper bottles. After 6 weeks on the trail, there weeere no knowwwn eeefects.

The steripen is great for High Peaks trips. The water is usually pretty clear. In summer and fall, this works well. Often, the extra weight is made up in fuel, since I do not have to boil water. In the morning, I will have 3-4 cups of coffee/oatmeal. After a few days, it saves fuel simply by warming it up rather than boiling. Then refill my water bottle at the first watering hole. It does NOT work against macrobiotics. Flukes, planaria, etc simply shrug it off. So, be a bit carefull if you have the potential for exposure to these. Tape worms at Isle Royal, for instance. Filtering will remove these, though. The steripen *just* fits in a 20oz gatoraid bottle.

Filtering does not remove viruses. (Well, it is possible to make super fine filters, I guess.) But, they do a good job generally. Most filters use random layups of material while making them. Soo, it *is* possible some will not be as effective as others. Absolute filters are usually rigidly controlled during layup. Quite expensive and not really needed for filtering water.

The MuV UV is a better option for weight. The first versions had some problems with the battery circuits. The new versions work fine and fit into a standard soda bottle. A smaller battery can be tasked to recharge it. I think I get about 10 liters+ per charge out of one.

With either, a standard squeeze will wash off any threads with clean water, followed by a couple drips into the top to do the same. Continual agitation is needed while irradiating the water.

Generally, chemicals, filters, irradiation are all statistically based. For a normal person (whatever normal is) all the water treatment methodes are safe.

Boiling is the only 100% methode. Everything else is a statistical game. One bacteria *can* infect you. Likely? Not very. There are bacteria than can live in boiling water. But, they will NOT infect you. Gardia is about the same. Crypto, too.
If you have a bad cut, I would recommend boiled water as the cleaning agent. But, most people do not need 100%. Trust your immune system. Chances are you will be healthier. (There is increasing evidence that using your immune system more may be better. Evidence: the last Swine Flue outbreak. People over 55 could ignore it. We were exposed to something very similar as kids when it was NOT serious.)

The Journey weighs 1 oz more than the Adventurer, but it fits the mouth of a standard "throwaway" water bottle so you get that ounce back with change by not carrying a Nalgene. It also has a simple LCD display that's visible in bright sunlight, has a countdown timer for how much longer you have to treat, and clearly indicates whether it thinks the treatment was successful (no trying to see LEDs and remember what they mean).

As others have noted, a backup is essential. I carry ClO2 tablets; having read the warning sheet and considered how I would implement it in the backcountry I prefer being able to cut the foil wrapping and drop in the tablet without ever risking contact.

James wrote, " The "off" drain was quite high."

Methinks your Adventurer was defective perhaps. I say this because I never take the batteries out of my Steripen Adventurer in-between uses. The batteries have stayed for months and months in between my travels and they retain their charges. There was no "off" drain noticeable.