Roving Blue O-Pen (Ozone Water Treatment)

[J-L]

Came across this water treatment method that uses ozone. Seems interesting, but maybe not quite there yet for backpackers. The low weight is nice. And the narrow pen shape would be a plus over Steripens.

http://www.rovingblue.com/products/detail.php?p=5

• Listed weight is 1.2 oz
• Uses ozone to treat water
• Website shows some independent lab test results, although I don’t see specific test results for crypto or giardia. Am I missing something? Would this be an effective water treatment method for backpackers?
• Very expensive at $199 (although Campsaver has it in black for $149)
• Can treat approx 15 L per charge
• Takes 80 seconds to treat 500 mL, so a little slow. The instructions manual says this requires two separate 40 second treatments, as each treatment is only meant for 250 mL. It then says: “Once the cycle is complete, wait at least 5 minutes. This will give the ozone time to disinfect the water. As the ozone is used up, it begins reverting back to oxygen and the smell is diminished. Once you can no longer smell the ozone, it is safe to drink.”

If the price comes down and they add some options to treat 500mL – 1L at a time (instead of having to do multiple 250mL treatments), this seems like it could be a pretty good option. I could wait 5 minutes after treating for clean water at this weight and form-factor. Battery life could be better, of course.

[Rex Sanders]

A few observations, “quotes” are from Roving Blue materials.

Ozone is an excellent water treatment, and can make water taste better. Practical portable ozone generators are rare.

While they appear to have good test results for E. Coli (99.9999% disinfection rate), I want to see independent test results for Giardia and Crypto. Both are much harder to kill than E. Coli.

Charging takes “up to 3 hours”

“Purifies approximately 15 liters per charge (about 30 uses).” Yet elsewhere each use purifies 1 cup (237 ml), so 30 uses would be 7.1 liters. Something doesn’t add up, and recharging daily might be required.

“Do not immerse the unit in water.
Protect the unit from rain as not all components are sealed against water intrusion.
Protect the unit from freezing.””

“DO NOT USE WITH CLOUDY WATER.”
“Water that is visibly clouded with dirt, silt or algae should be allowed to settle and/or should be pre-filtered.””

“The amount of O3 generated by the O-PenTM will vary depending on water temperature, chemistry, conductivity and pH.”
No specifications provided, so how will we know if the water we have isn’t good enough?

One marketing video appears to show someone purifying ocean water! That’s not responsible, they should clarify that scene was (probably) on Lake Michigan 5 miles from their office.

If you routinely use the device in very hard water (like many backcountry water sources), the device will clog with calcium deposits, and you must soak it in a vinegar solution.

Bottom line for me: It’s not practical for backpacking, yet.

— Rex

[J-L]

Yea, maybe not ready for backpacking yet. It still seems like an interesting concept. I haven’t seen much innovation coming from Steripen in the past several years (aside from constantly rebranding their rechargeable unit), so some competition would be nice.

Do you really think the device would quickly clog from calcium deposits?

With my Steripen, I use chemical tabs to treat water overnight. That way I get the full long treatment, and wake up to 1-2L of water ready to go for breakfast and starting the day’s hike. This lets me only use the Steripen during the day for immediate water use. Saves batteries this way. So 15L capability could last me almost a week.

[David Thomas]

Good idea to use chemical treatment overnight, when timing doesn’t matter and you won’t be tempted to drink it too soon while saving the SteriPen battery for daytime use.  I usually bring iodine with the SteriPen anyway, just as backup.

[Author]

Posts