How to best use a SteriPen for getting 2 days water supply for 2 people fast ??

…

The Steripen will treat only one liter at a time (or a half liter, but that won't help you much). Each liter will take a minute and a half to treat. Multiply that by however many liters you plan to take with you, and that's the minimal amount of time you'll spend actively treating your water.

As a Steripen user, in your situation I might decide to go with a gravity filter enhanced by a chemical treatment. I'd probably use some sort of hydration bladder (likely Platypus) to carry the water in.

Whatever you decide, be prepared for the weight – "A pint (half liter) is a pound, the world around." Two pounds per quart/liter, eight pounds per gallon. Be sure to have a pack that can deal with the weight.

Any chance you can cache a water supply half way through?

Hey Mike –

That's pretty much what I had come down to and was going to strain it through a coffee strainer or the 0.1 micron filter into two bladders and water bottles.

I found your post with this picture and think that's a good way to go.

Anyone have a better idea?

Thanks for that Stephan,

The SteriPen is new for me.

Maybe I should do a combo of getting what I need for the day with the SteriPen and using chemicals on the next days water and just straining the day two water through the 0.1 micron filter and treating, since it will have plenty of time to work before I need it.

I don't know … I start thinking too much about it and wonder if I should just switch to a sawyer gravity filter.

Osprey Aether will likely be what I take instead of my jam.

Carry untreated water and treat it as you need it

If you need 16 liters it would take about 30 minutes to treat it

If you treat it as needed you can spread it out

Also, water that you heat for cooking doesn't have to be treated

If you're dead set on using the steripen, then I would either:
a. collect your necessary water supply in a dirty water container. Pour out what you need into a separate container and zap it with the steripen as you need it. this would require you to have a seperate "clean" water container that is compatible with the steripen; or
b. use the steripen to treat just immediate water needs and chemicals for the long-term "stored" water that you're carrying for the next day, etc.

Or just switch out to some other treatment method for this trip… pump, gravity, chemicals, etc.

Jerry & Nicholas, the more I think about your comments the more that makes sense to me.

I can get what we need at the stream, throw in chemicals (why not) and go and then just SteriPen what we need to drink as we need it.

If anyone has more ideas please share them.