How do you carry/filter/store water?

“Well, at least the Steripen will never block up or leak.
I have tried many different filters, and they mostly all blocked up.

Cheers”

Exactemente.

as for Chris’ steripen failure while stored in a side pocket in a torrential rain storm: You wouldn’t leave your phone in a side pocket in those conditions…as he no doubt recognizes, but too late! I’ve taken reasonable precautions, understanding that the Steripen involves electronic components, and never had a failure.

like Roger, and many others, I’ve had multiple filter systems block up and essentially fail, or become agonizing to work with.

I used to carry iodine tablets as a back up (that dates me.) These days, a be free filter or a Sawyer are so light, it’s reasonable to bring one of those as a back up instead. I’d choose Aquamira instead.

Arthur…thx for the chuckle. 😊

I have just recently acquired Aquamira tablets & plan on carrying some as backups. As noted, I have had wonderful success with our 2 SteriPens…almost flawless. (More in moment.) Still unsure of the Sawyer Micro that I recently purchased, although I’ve seen several successfully use the normal Squeeze as well as the K-BeFree. (I would still like something that does bulk in a drip method for group camp use.)

That all said, I said my SteriPens have been almost flawless over the last 4-5 years. (Not cheap though) What I have found is that their vulnerability lies in the batteries. So…

Like anything, remove the batteries, when not in use…they can go bad, corrode & ruin your SteriPen. (Happened to my son’s…I was able to salvage it…but it concerns me long term.)  Check the battery life before you go, carry spares. I make sure my light uses the same batteries…dual use. (probably should go to rechargeable light sometime soon) If really cold, I’ve started to sleep with the batteries…along with my gas at high altitude. Reason being, this last trip both didn’t want to initially work the first morning. (High Uintahs, 11,000-12,000′, poured down rain most of the first afternoon, evening & night…but was in a waterproof bag…frosty in the morning… 28-30F degrees. Put spare batteries, that were warm, worked perfectly. Later, when original batteries were warm, no issues. Next 3 nights, we slept with them, no issues.

YMMV etc.

Warm batteries => Happiness.

But the lithium AAs will work down to nearly -40 C. Alkalines don’t like anything below 0 C (they contain water, which freezes).

Cheers

Thank you Roger…good to know! I’m guessing the lithium are also not prone to leaking/corrosion either.

Presumably you get reduced performance at low temperatures, or is that just rechargeables?

In my defense the Steripen was in a zippered pocket and it was the kind of downpour that would have made Noah hurry up with building the ark. Didn’t even have time to pull on a rain jacket before we were soaked.

Sorry if I sounded judgmental Chris! I’m the guy who once forgot to take the rocks out of a counerbalance food bag and carried them fifteen miles…and have committed other similar follies. No defense necessary; stuff happens.

I’m guessing the lithium are also not prone to leaking/corrosion either.
I cannot say absolutely that lithium batteries will never leak or corrode, but a) they do not contain water and b) I have never seen them leak or corrode.

Presumably you get reduced performance at low temperatures, or is that just rechargeables?
Yes, you do get reduced performance from lithiums at very low temperatures, but it is not as bad as with alkalines.

FYI: while a lithium AA is more expensive to buy than an alkaline, it is actually significantly cheaper to use. The reason is that the energy stored in a lithium is vastly greater than that stored in an alkaline. I do not buy alkaline batteries these days.

I do not buy rechargeable 1.5 V lithium batteries either, as they have proven to be rather short-lived, especially the Chinese ones. This does not apply to the rechargeable lithium batteries found in mobile phones and portable drills: they use a different chemistry which is far more reliable.

Cheers

Roger, fantastic post…very informative & helpful. Thank you. I believe I will be picking up some lithium AA’s & AAA’s…problems solved.

Btw, when I mentioned switching to a rechargeable, I was not referring to the SteriPens. I was referring to the excellent rechargeable headlamps like BD etc…than being able to recharge them via an Ankar etc.

I have a number of rechargeable headlights. The batteries in all of them were unreliable over time, running out of charge far earlier than claimed. I will not buy such headlights any more. Instead I use ones which take lithium AAs and AAAs. These batteries last MUCH longer, are light in weight, and can be replaced in the field.

I will add that while I always carry one or two spare batteries on our longer trips, I have never had to replace any of the ones in use. They just last.

Cheers

Roger, great input; thank you again. I think that I will just keep running the same headlamps & carrying an extra set of spare batteries…but lithium instead.

Btw, regarding SteriPens, there was a gentleman on this last trip that had a newer one (2018?) with a digital read out that showed any error messages. (I.e. battery life & cold etc.) I liked it. Mine just has a red & green blinking light & is a different color.

While I would love to have a new one, with the price I paid for my 2, there just doesn’t seem to be any functional changes to justify it as the stir times & volumes are identical.

Biased opinion re Steripens:
These days we use the Classic3, as reviewed here:
https://backpackinglight.com/steripen-classic-3-review-caffin/

I do have most other models, but they are now on the shelf.

Mind you, most of the time I do not treat our water anyhow. I make sure we get it from what looks like a clean source. We don’t frequent farming or urban areas, so that is not very difficult. But downstream of touristy areas … NO WAY!

Cheers

Just got some Li batteries. I will let you know how they go. Thx!

Most of the time I carry a 3/4 liter smartwater bottle and a collapsible large mouth nalgene.  As far as treatment, it is either AquaMira or my Steripen.  I have used Sawyer Squeeze filters but I just don’t like the squeezing process and don’t want to wait for gravity feed.

But here is a product that looks very promising but I can’t find it anywhere to buy…

Love it! 😊

Can you post pictures & info on your collapsible nalgene?

Thank you!

https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Wide-Mouth-Cantene-32-Ounce/dp/B001J4NDXW/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=large+mouth+collapsible+nalgene&qid=1568927584&s=sporting-goods&sr=1-4

FYI: After using hundreds of Energizer Lithium AAs and AAAs over the past 10 years or so – last week I found a lithium AA battery corroded and possibly leaking, in the bottom of my day pack, wrapped in plastic wrap, placed there who knows how long ago as a spare for my pocket recorder. Possibly got wet in a rainstorm – but that’s why it was wrapped in plastic!

That’s still a far lower failure rate than any alkaline battery I’ve used.

YMMV.

— Rex

IF the battery was wet from rainwater, it is possible that the corrosion was from the outside in: the rainwater plus the battery voltage.
Did you measure the voltage on it?

Cheers

I don’t mess with corroded or possibly leaking batteries – into the battery recycling bin it went.

— Rex

I use a Steripen, Opti. I DO NOT carry extra water, only 0.5-1L (<1-2lbs.) The Steripen CAN treat larger volumes of water. Simply turn it on again. I have had a couple filters plug while using them (Saywer Mini, MSR pump, and, a gravity filter I made.) With the rubber ring on, the Steripen has survived being immersed in water. A drop of superglue holds it in place. You might want a prefilter (a small nylon bag I sewed up out of no-see-um mesh that slips over the water bottle mouth and pokes down into the mouth.) But, I quit carrying it. They last about 2-3 weeks on the trail before you need new batts. Good life, but not real great. The only place it becomes a problem is where you find trichinosis worms. They weigh about the same as a Sawyer, all told and save a LOT of carrying, unless you are in a desert.

They last about 2-3 weeks on the trail before you need new batts. Good life, but not real great.
That is why I switched to the Classic3: it uses 4 off AA Lithium batteries. Longer life and much cheaper. But we do not use it all the time; only when we can see a problem. Well, that works in the mountains, although probably not in farming and near-urban areas.

Cheers