What contaminates do you treat your water for? And what do you use to filter/purify?

"I dont know if i would like the idea of having to wait for camp to refill water."

I filter on the go all the time. It doesn't take that long. A few minutes tops, and there's usually something I want to do like check my map or put away the clothes that were drying on my pad roll.

"I also have concerns of a .2 micron gravity filter clogging easily?"

I've always filtered water that's pretty clear. The filter does slow down a little after a few days, but it's easy to backflush in the field if you filter from a dirty bag to a clean bag. You just wait until the dirty bag is empty, then give the clean bag a squeeze to force some clean water back through the filter to clear it. That restores the flow.

Chlorine Dioxide tabs while hiking. I use a Camelback with a charcoal filter along with the tablets for drink as I go. As for the time in camp, I use my Steripen and go from there. I hate the taste of chlorine dioxide and this is the way I deal with it. I hate waiting around on the trail to get my water and this works for me.

OK, looks like I will be setting up something with an inline fiter.

Any input on which to get? Looks like MSR, platy, and Sawyer all make something that looks pretty similar.

I use the Sawyer with a Platy Big Zip. . I also just found some 1/32" wall tubing at usplastics that I'm going to try. I ordered some so i'll report back when it arrives, but 1/16" is the thinnest wall I've seen previously.

Does it work ok to just "suck" the water through the filter?

The MSR and Platy are the same thing (Cascade Designs is the parent company of both). Sawyer is a unique brand. They all have similar hollow fiber technology with similar flow rates and effective filtration levels (0.1 OR 0.2 microns). Go with whichever one you can find cheapest. Note that MSR/Platy just switched to a new design on the casing in the last couple months. You might be able to find the 2007-2010 model pretty cheap.

Sorry, I haven't hooked it up as a simple in-line (suck it) system, so I have no idea how long that takes.

I live in SoCal. Most of the places I go to the water is flowing fast and I've just filtered with a Hiker Pro and started drinking immediately. I really want to lighten up my load and so have been looking around at all these water-related threads and hoping to find a good solution or solutions. Until recently, I had pretty much decided to go with a SteriPen Opti (3.6 oz) and some tabs as backup. Now, SteriPen has the Freedom as shown at the recently passed Outdoor Retailer event that several BPL staffers attended and reported on. Anyway, this newer model is 1.0 ounce lighter at 2.6 ounces and is shorter as well. See this link and look at the seventh photo down for this newer model. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/orwm_2011_day_2_new_interesting_gear.html

SteriPen also have a cool filter that is coming out. Its called the FitsAll Filter, (meaning it fits many differnt bottles) see it here on the third photo down. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/orwm_2011_day_3_awesome_gear.html

Even though Will didn't like the "heavier" weight of this filter, a Freedom and a FitsAll Filter are still less than 5 ounces total. That's pretty good. Throw in a few drops or tabs and you've got a decent water strategy and probably under 6 ounces total. I don't pretend to know more than many that have posted here, but I feel this is one way to skin that cat. Keep us posted on what you wind up going with and good hunting.

Bummer about new lighter model

I've been using Adventurer Opti the last couple months and now it's obsolete

Warren, I have the Steripen fits all filter. It is ok but maybe needs tweaking. It does not fit bottles as well as the advertizing suggests. They are available at REI right now.

Scott thanks for this link! I also have been intrigued by that youtube video and have been looking into this type of solution. All the bags I could find on ebay/elsewhere were more expensive. Under $5 and now I can try this out. Thanks!

Any other input on sucking water straight through an inline filter?

I think i like this method the best because I could eliminate the 2nd bladder and not have to wait for the water to gravity feed when im on the run.

I will probably rig up some kind of prefilter on whatever I use to gather and pour the water into the bladder as an extra measure without too much weight.

platy hoser 2L – 3.5
inline filter – 2 oz.
gatorade bottle w/ prefitler – 1.5 oz.

7 ounces gets me water storage and collection, plus a microfilter and prefilter. I dont think i will be able to get much lighter than this with a similar system.

"Anyway, I think we are way off topic."

Just a little :)

That experience is probably one of the reasons that I'm now becoming a conservationist; it made a significant impression on me when I was in my early teens, and he pointed out a crystal clear lake, and told me it was basically dead due to acid rain (probably oversimplified, but it was sufficient to get the point across). That stuck with me, because even though I'm on the opposite coast now, I still love the Adirondacks.

And now back to our regularly scheduled chatter :)

I have one also. It's fine on the bottles I use, my frustration is that it doesn't fit the newer Steripens because of their oblong shape. That makes using a Steripen with a Nalgene Cantene somewhat more awkward than it should be, since you can't flip the bottle over with the Steripin in it, like you could with the cylindrical-shaped Sterpens.

Ken, thanks. I'll have look next time I'm by there.

Jerry, ya, that's what I thought too. We'll see if they release this before I need it. May continue on with my buddies Hiker and wait till the Freedom hits.

The new filter I mentioned above is supposed to allow the SteriPen to be used in conjunction and upside down for easier use. I think it showed a picture of that on the packaging label. I'd assume both items will be reviewed around here fairly soon. I know I hope so on that score.

I hope so too, because I like the fits-all idea, just not the fact that it doesn't fit all Steripens.

Basically, in summary of the various treatments, these are the big ones.

Boiling: old standby, kills most anything, but leaves hot water and uses fuel.

Chemicals: Good for a lot of bacteria, virus stuff, less effective against cycsts and macrobiotics. These take time to work, 15 minutes to 4 hours (longer if it is cold.)

Filtering: Good for macrobiotics, cycsts, misses viruses, some bacteria. These are heavier than chemicals, good for tapeworms and other macrobiotics, misses some bacteria and most viruses.

UV: Kills bacteria,cycts, viruses, not effective against macrobiotics. Heavier than chemicals, newer gadgets are as light as the lightest filters (about 2.6oz.) No or little effect on macrobiotics, though.

Hope this helps!