My Steripen Adventure: Concerns and Vindication

Yeah, I went to put in batteries so I could take a picture for this thread and when I screwed the top back on it ripped. I suppose I tightened it ever so slightly too much. Hasn't been a problem for the first 6 months though.

Now I'm gonna hopefully test out this freedom which has a built in rechargeable that I can power from my portable battery pack.

Having suffered from Giardia for over three years, that physicians obstinately refused to diagnose and treat, and having had to trick them into doing so, I feel OK making a comment.

"What I hate is that with water treatment there's no way to know if it's working."

Unfortunately that's true of other methods also.
And with a filter, there is also the danger of cross-contamination between the input and the output.
As for tablets, I went for years without knowing that chlorine treatments would not address some cooties that iodine would. And what if you don't wait long enough after use, or let the tabs go too long without replacing?

There is some bias for me against those of you traveling in the third world, as I was forced to witness exactly how we 'westerners' have treated people in that world -in the most graphic detail for a prolonged period of time; but if i were you, i would use the steripen, but only as a redundant precaution after others were taken.

Limiting my treks to North America, I am OK with a Sweetwater Walk-About, with the inputs and outputs carefully kept separated, and using iodine and/or boiling also whenever in any doubt. Thankfully, no more Giardia for over a decade. My system is not broke, and I'm not going to fix it with a steripen that may or may not work.

In the Steripen faqs they mention that a dim light can signify a device that is not working properly and should be returned.

Perfect, so all bases are covered. If the light is dim, it doesn't work, if you get the red light doesn't work, no light doesn't work. So really you should be able to tell if it's working or not in ALL situations.

I've only had one (Classic) and it's so spotty that I'm likely moving to another purifier. It was perfect for three weeks and then would only work once every couple days, despite new batteries and always being cared for well. Red light 90% of the time.

The older steripens had problems working in water that was too pure. You use to have to add a pinch of salt to get it to work. I had a friend use a classic for a PCT thru-hike. It stopped working in the High Sierra and then started working again when he moved into lower altitude further north. He couldn't figure out what the problem was until reading a product comment on REI's website.

I got my new Steripen in the mail today, with a letter explaining my old one had a "faulty ballast circuit."

Eager to compare my new pen, I took a few photos with the same camera, the same glass, and the same lighting conditions. With the vast difference in visible light output between this new pen and my faulty old one, I can conclude with some certainty that there is a direct correlation between the UV output and visible light. Please note that this is only ONE case of direct comparison and that my conclusion may not be 100% correct. (But most likely it is).

Hopefully this can help people stay healthy in their travels.

Update: According to Steripen, there may not be a correlation between UV and visible light. Mine was kind of a special case.

Yo, Travis, cool Steripen lighting effects.

Dang it, though, I wish there were some drops or something that would verify the water’s good. Add two drops and the water turns green if it’s good and red if it’s bad. In a perfect world.

I guess I’d better look at the level of light output on my Steri the next time I go out.

Now, stove geek that I (admittedly) am, I will say that boiling is the most reliable method for biological contaminants that I’ve heard about. So everybody run out and get a stove. (kidding) :) Seriously though, boiling is easy to determine: “big bubbles, no troubles” is the old adage.

Now, even though I’m a stove freak, do I want to carry more fuel? No. But in circumstances where boiling is feasible, it is really reliable for biological contaminants. Pesticides, industrial run off, etc? No.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

I thought that you don't even have to get all the way boiling to kill bugs

Most of the water I drink is heated – soup, oatmeal, coffee, tea,… so for this I don't bother to purify, boiling is better like you say

Earlier in this thread, I wrote:

I just pulled out my (never used on a trip) Steripen Opti, and the lamp looks dim like the photos Travis posted rather than bright like the photo Phillip posted. :(

I just figured it was supposed to be that bright until I read this thread.

I had sent in my Steripen to be tested. Today, I received a brand new one in the mail and an enclosed note stating that my old one had a defective lamp.

Andy, I'm glad this thread helped!

Yes Travis, thanks for posting this! I did take it on a trip (to the Porcupine Mtns) before sending it in, but I doubled the treatment time.

I am really thankful for this thread because I am now in the same boat, although I just used mine for a week. Compared to three others in my group, my new Opti had a noticeably dimmer bulb. We changed out batteries to no avail. I have sent a note out to Steripen. Hope to hear back shortly.

We have a 'Tutorial and Survey on Water Treatment METHODS' coming in a little while. Yes, it has been completed and submitted. It does discuss the UV process along with all(?) the others. It won't appear immediately as there is a queue.

Cheers

Looking forward to it!

Hurry up…; )

Great news, Thanks, Roger!