Light water filtration/treatment options ?

[BlackHatGuy]

"I thought this as well until I realized that I was always having to carry extra water because of the treatment time."

If you have to have water within a half hour of treating, then I'd agree with you. But I can wait a half an hour before having to drink again, and unless it's really nasty water that's all I wait with Aqua Mira.

[David Ure]

Gosh – I understand the wait time 'issue' for some, but using Micropur Tabs means 30 tablets for 0.7 oz. Can't get lighter than that!

One trick used by Steve Evans is to carry two 1L bottles and always have one bottle 'treating.'

[David Passey]

"I thought this as well until I realized that I was always having to carry extra water because of the treatment time."

Maybe, but everybody carries water. It's not like you break out the pump everytime you want a drink and pump directly into your mouth or flash UV in your bottle everytime you want a drink.

I treat a bag of water overnight, and carry a liter or two of water, depending on trail conditions. If I need to draw water on the trail, I usually can "time" my thirst so I'm not packing lots of untreated water. It's no different than pumping an extra bottle for convenience purposes. At worst, which rarely happens, it's a 30 minute wait.

It's true that drops require a tiny bit more planning, but believe me, treating a 6 liter bag is A LOT easier than pumping six liters.

[Steven McAllister]

My point was that you save weight with UV because you don't have to carry as much water.
If you use drops, you have to carry that water while you wait the 30 minutes and that is each time you get water.

So there is a tendency to carry a liter or two more for the next 30 minutes after each treatment.

When you use UV, you tend to treat a liter and drink it on the spot. You can treat a second liter to get you by until the next water source.
When I used chemicals, I had a tendency to carry two liters initially from each water source and only after 30 minutes did I get to start drinking the first liter.

Things may be different for different people, but I think the consensus for UV users is that they tend to carry less water than chemical users and so carry less weight.

In areas with many water sources, I only carry a half liter for safety reasons as I know I can camel up at each water source when I come to one. Again, if I used chemicals, I'd carry a liter or more waiting for treatment.

Many will say that drank water weighs as much as carried water, but there is proof that this is only somewhat true.

[BlackHatGuy]

I guess my point is that I don't carry extra water when I use chems (I also carry a Steripen on some trips and love it as well). I carry what I need to drink, which is either 2L or, more recently, about a liter and a half. When I start getting low, I stop for more water, top off myself with what's left in the bottles, refill and treat, and move. I won't need any more water for at least a half an hour.

But, as you said, we're all different. I tend not to carry extra for safety reasons, since most of my backpacking is weekend/long weekend trips and I could get an awful long way without water if I had to.

[James Marco]

Yes and no. You always carry 2 liters to start with. This is about 1k more than you have to, unless you are at a long run between water sources. This isn't usually a problem in the ADK's, it can be in Arizona.

Generally, the chemicals are about the lightest. About 30gallons can be treated for about 2.25oz with AquaMira liquid. .7oz for 30 liters is not real bad either. BUT, both require a "wait" time. Soo, you carry an extra litre, or, about 2 pounds.
Over the long haul (4 weeks and longer, it is the clear winner for weight.)

With a Opti or Adventurer, you carry 1 liter and ~5.5oz for the gadget.

The downside is it does not last. You need extra batteries. You need water sources.
You need to be carefull with it.

Overall, there is a time and place for things. I worry more about bacteria in the water from unseen dead things in/near the water source. You may worry more about Crypto or Gardia. Somebody else might worry about another contaminant. There is a time and place for all types, regardless of a couple ounces of weight, because, a filter works at Isle Royal, for example. Chemicals or UV do not.

Whatever you use, the first order of business is making sure it is effective for the area you will be hiking. Sort'a like taking a tent that is known to leak. If it rains, you get wet. The craps is the LEAST of your problems. If it don't work, then it is excess weight.

[Chris S]

I prefer Steve's method on this one. If there's only a 4oz weight penalty for carrying a Steripen, then that's only about 1/8th of a liter less you have to carry to offset the difference. Using Doug's example, I'd top off myself at the source and only carry 1L instead of 1.5 or 2L. This assumes water sources are relatively frequent though.

[roberto nahue]

i like mine a lot…

i've used it so far for probably 10 liters and still pretty good… i am going out this weekend for an overnighter and replaced the prefilter… it was dirty… so i guess you have to make sure you replace it so it won't clog…

the fp came with like three prefilters… i turned them into 6 but slicing it with my knife…

i use the fp as a gravity filter setup…

[Ken Thompson]

"but everybody carries water."
Not everybody. With a Steripen living up here there is no need to. Maybe 8oz. Gladly will use the pen every time I want a half liter.

[Tim Zen]

There is a table on the Wiki under Gear Water which is at start at the comparison of methods.

[Hobbes W]

>>"but everybody carries water."
>Not everybody. With a Steripen living up here there is no need to. Maybe 8oz. Gladly will use the pen every time I want a half liter.

With all the snow/water in the Sierra this summer, it finally dawned on me that I may not need to carry water. That is, I was going through weight calculations for an upcoming trip, and thinking about my trip from last weekend.

As many people know, with a minimum wait time of around 1/2 hour for most chemicals, you end up carrying water the entire time until your next rest stop. You then drink your (treated) water, re-fill the container, drop in some tablets/drops, and off you go carrying another 1-2 lbs of water.

But what if this process were reversed? Why not carry no water, get to your rest stop, quickly filter some water, drink it, and then continue along your merry way with only the weight of your container/filter?

Would this technique work anywhere else without guaranteed water, or in any other year in the high Sierra? Probably not. IOW, at least through Sept, any trail you might find yourself this summer is going to probably be next to flowing water.

So, with this amazing insight (self snark), I headed off to my garage to pull out my old MSR sweetwater. (Stored inside my older Osprey pack.) Now, I had no idea what it weighed because this was from my days of pre-UL thinking.

And there is was: 11oz. Sure, the mofu is bulky, but it fit in my pack, no problema. If you haven't ever tried the MSR S/W, let me assure you that it (a) pumps fast; and (b) the carbon filter works great.

The risk, of course, is that you get stuck/injured, and have no water in which to survive for a day or so. However, considering my upcoming trip and what I saw last week, I'd have to basically already be dead to not be able to crawl 50 feet or so to a running stream.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll chicken out and stick with the tried & true process of carrying water/drops sans filter, but for some reason this revolutionary thought struck a cord with me.

[Aaron Benson]

Skip all that and camel-up at the source! Aquamira Frontier Straw? http://aquamira.com/consumer/aquamira-frontier-filter

In all seriousness – I know what you mean and have enjoyed carrying less water this season. The water really is abundant in much of the Sierra's right now. So ,why not meet yourself half-way? Tank up at the source and carry 1/2 liter for your peace of mind.

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