Help with Water Purification (PCT Thru-Hike)

If the Steripen works well for you, but you are concerned about low water levels, then why not make your own water scooper and pre-filter? Weighs about an ounce, and takes up very little pack space.

I have used my Steripen on long trips (hosteling at various third and fourth world countries) with duration from 2 to 7 months. One set of batteries lasts about 2 months. You can easily bring a few extra sets of batteries and still save pack space and weight over any pump filter. And if you carry a few Chlorine Dioxide tablets (Aquamira, Micropur, etc.) for backup, then so much the better.

Sorry to derail the thread a bit, but which batteries are you using, Ben? I got the Adventurer Opti this past summer and burned through a set of batteries in about 10 days when treating water for 2 people and now I'm wondering if the batteries I purchased aren't so great.

I used Aqua Mira for the entire PCT and would absolutely do so again. It's light, there's zero chance of failure (unlike with a filter or steripen), and you should be able to buy it on the trail now. http://news.yahoo.com/aquamira-water-treatment-drops-now-registered-sale-california-102426113.html

You don't need a dedicated pre-filter–just use your thru-hiker banadana if the floaties are bad. Most water sources on the PCT are good (I had to filter floaties exactly once on my entire thru).

The better the batteries you buy, the longer they will last. Yes, there are cheap batteries on the web, but they won't last any time at all in a Steripen, BECAUSE the current load is rather high. Brand name ones like Panasonic, Kodak etc can handle the high current.
You Get What You Pay For.

Cheers

Chris:

I used Energizer Lithium CR123 batteries for my Steripen Adventurer.

Thank you both. I used the Panasonic Lithium CR123A 3V Photo Lithium Batteries, which were recommend on the Steripen website.

I dont think you can compare "weeks", just treatments.

10 days for two people in the back country seems pretty good.

There were times where I was filling my platy half an ounce at a time from a small seep. Luckily I brought a tiny cup from some sort of food packaging to scoop up water. Aquamira worked great. One of my water stops in Cuyamaca was a nasty horse trough. The drops worked fine.

"I used Aqua Mira for the entire PCT and would absolutely do so again."

Me too.

I brought a gravity filter for the first 700 miles, thinking that water sources in dryer areas would be more sketchy. There were a couple that weren't great, but on the whole the filter was more of a PITA than a help. Indeed, what you do want infrequently is something to help gather water when it's a very flat stream, little depth. But even that's rare.

A lot of people started with filters but then ditched the filters for Aqua Mira. There are plenty of times you probably won't even treat your water so the Aqua Mira will last a long time out there. Just keep in mind you usually can't find Aqua Mira in stores so you might pick up a couple packs of aqua mira and keep an extra set in your bounce box.