Water Water Everywhere…And Plenty To Drink

[Zachary]

Companion forum thread to: Water Water Everywhere…And Plenty To Drink

It seems like one of the most important parts of backpacking – hydration – is limited to not much more than a discussion of various water filters…

[Zachary]

In the recent weekly newsletter, Ryan Jordan discusses two techniques to pre-filter cloudy water by using either a high qualityu cotton coffee filter or a bandana.  Both of these techniques are effective for water that have suspended particulates (mud, glacial, etc.).  I have found that the most effective pre-filter particle seperation is the use of Polyaluminum Chloride (PACL) which can take the suspended particulates and casue them to “bond” together making them heavier than the water.  I show the use of this in my video “Water Water Everywhere…And Plenty to Drink”.

I use this specifically when I am hiking at Mount Saint Helens due to the ash in the glacial runoff.

[Bill Budney]

Great vid, as usual. Some excellent choices of tools for specific jobs that are rarely mentioned elsewhere. Thanks for posting.

[Martin Van Laarhoven]

Thank u for the info, I’ll start using PACL for pre-filtering water.

[PaulW]

Where does one purchase PACL in small amounts? I’ve used alum as a floculant for several years now, but I have mixed results. Any idea how alum compares with PACL?

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