Steripen Classic 3: Spotlite Review

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We have reviewed the original Steripen Adventurer - not bad although very early models drew too much current when off (since fixed), and the very successful Steripen Adventurer Opti, which replaced the water sensing pads with a white LED sensor. Now the company has gone back to the original design, reviewed all that they have learned, and upgraded it to the Classic 3, which seems better than ever. It kills viruses, bacteria and protozoa in very short order (90 seconds for 1 liter), never blocks up, has a better water sensor than before and a better battery case for AA lithium batteries.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

Introduction
What are the Hazards?
New Features
Field Testing
Details

# WORDS: 2600
# PHOTOS: 8

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This topic has 43 replies, 20 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 2 months ago by Roger Caffin.

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Feb 10, 2015 at 8:41 pm #1325628

Stephanie Jordan
Spectator

@maia
Locale: Rocky Mountains

Companion forum thread to:

Steripen Classic 3: Spotlite Review

Feb 11, 2015 at 7:16 am #2173388

Ian
BPL Member

@10-7

"The Classic 3 weighs 141 g with four lithium AA batteries inside it, and the batteries are good for about 150 L treatment."

Wow I had no idea it could treat that much water with lithium batteries. That's impressive!

Feb 11, 2015 at 7:24 am #2173394

Ken Thompson
BPL Member

@here
Locale: Right there

Weighs almost twice as much as their Freedom model.

Feb 11, 2015 at 8:07 am #2173414

Ben C
BPL Member

@alexdrewreed
Locale: Kentucky

Thanks for the review. It really seems like a good option. My old classic was so inconsistent, though, that its hard for me to return to Steripen.

Feb 11, 2015 at 1:34 pm #2173525

Steven McAllister
BPL Member

@brooklynkayak
Locale: Arizona, US

I have been using the Classic 2 since shortly after it's release.
I have never had a problem with it and have sometimes treated water for several people in a group.

It is heavier than some other models, but it treats a lot more water and uses more common batteries.
I don't have to carry spares and when I do need to replace them I can find them in small town convenience stores or gas stations.

I don't see a need to replace it, but if I did, I'd get the the new version.

Feb 11, 2015 at 1:48 pm #2173528

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> it could treat that much water with lithium batteries. That's impressive!
I thought so too. And no chemicals and no pumping and …

Cheers

Feb 11, 2015 at 2:52 pm #2173540

Mitchell Ebbott
Spectator

@mebbott-2
Locale: SoCal

Only $70 too!. Not bad, I was expecting something closer to $100.

And wow… 150 liters!

Feb 11, 2015 at 3:57 pm #2173550

Russell Hann
BPL Member

@thegoobertross
Locale: Yorkshire Dales & Lake District

I've had a steripen classic for about 5 years now. It has served me well on a year spent in New Zealand as well as many trips long and short in the UK and US. I have never had any issues with reliability, durability or purification. Even drinking from rivers on farmland in the UK i have not once had the slightest hint of a stomach bug. I like the fact that i have can have a 3 min break whilst i purify some water on the trail and although I sometimes worry that it will break it never has done- and a few Micropur tablets act as a backup with (essentially) no weight penalty. Love it and will only upgrade when it breaks or they devise an LED uv light which would presumably be the holy grail in terms of battery life and durability!

Feb 11, 2015 at 4:47 pm #2173567

Adam Kilpatrick
BPL Member

@oysters
Locale: South Australia

…and with all the incremental improvements that all sound great, it might be time I got me a steripen to add to the options.

Feb 11, 2015 at 6:28 pm #2173584

James Marco
BPL Member

@jamesdmarco
Locale: Finger Lakes

Thanks, Roger. Maybe after the current Opti burns out I'll give it a try. I really like the idea of using the more common batteries.

Feb 11, 2015 at 7:16 pm #2173588

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> I really like the idea of using the more common batteries.
Yup indeed.

Cheers

Feb 11, 2015 at 7:46 pm #2173599

Ian
BPL Member

@10-7

One of my largest concerns with my recently purchased Ultra is that it's likely the lamp will outlive the rechargeable battery. An issue I don't have to worry about with my Adventurer or this Classic.

Feb 11, 2015 at 8:27 pm #2173609

BlackHatGuy
Spectator

@sleeping
Locale: The Cascades

Who wants an Opti?

Feb 12, 2015 at 5:32 pm #2173843

Jeffrey List
BPL Member

@jlist
Locale: Pacific Northwest

"Skipping over the details, there's a complex AC waveform across the electrodes which should make sensing the water far more reliable."

Maybe it should, but DOES it?

Feb 12, 2015 at 9:30 pm #2173907

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> > which should make sensing the water far more reliable."
> Maybe it should, but DOES it?
Cultural/grammar differences here I think.
Details about the algorithm behind the sensing are company confidential.
Let's just say 'Yes, it does', and leave it at that.

Cheers

Feb 13, 2015 at 3:54 pm #2174104

Sam Farrington
BPL Member

@scfhome
Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

Re: "…while getting rid of some of the bugs…"
Hmmm, does it kill big bugs? And how can they be deemed gotten rid of if their little bug bodies are still there? Yuck.
There you go, trying to make me do things differently again.

Feb 13, 2015 at 4:42 pm #2174116

Steven McAllister
BPL Member

@brooklynkayak
Locale: Arizona, US

Re: "And how can they be deemed gotten rid of if their little bug bodies are still there? Yuck."

They are microscopic organisms, and they don't actually get killed, just genetically modified, unable to reproduce.

Thats all that matters. You can't taste them, feel them, ….
Microscopic organisms are everywhere, you can't escape them.

Feb 13, 2015 at 4:52 pm #2174120

BlackHatGuy
Spectator

@sleeping
Locale: The Cascades

"they don't actually get killed, just genetically modified, unable to reproduce."

AHA! It all makes sense now. My mother encouraged me to sleep with my Steripen, she told me it would keep me warm. Now I know the real reason…..

Feb 13, 2015 at 4:56 pm #2174122

Steven McAllister
BPL Member

@brooklynkayak
Locale: Arizona, US

"My mother encouraged me to sleep with my Steripen…"

Hmmm, I wonder …. :-)

Feb 13, 2015 at 9:24 pm #2174192

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> how can they be deemed gotten rid of if their little bug bodies are still there?
Well, the original idea was that they could no longer breed and make steadily increasing amounts of toxins to affect you, or drink increasing amounts of your blood …

But what's the matter with protein-enriched water? More food!

Cheers

Feb 14, 2015 at 4:55 pm #2174370

Sam Farrington
BPL Member

@scfhome
Locale: Chocorua NH, USA

Yes, resistance is futile. Slowly getting weaker … and weaker. Must have Steripen … must have it … choke … gasp … ka-thump.

Feb 14, 2015 at 6:04 pm #2174383

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

Thank you Sam. When is the funeral?

Cheers

Feb 15, 2015 at 6:40 am #2174446

BlackHatGuy
Spectator

@sleeping
Locale: The Cascades

Roger,

A comment and a question.

"Use of AA lithium batteries: … The Classic 3 weighs 141 g with four lithium AA batteries inside it, and the batteries are good for about 150 L treatment. The unit is supplied with four of them, by the way."

Perhaps not in USA, at least not the package I looked at in REI. It stated on the package that batteries were not included (the prefilter is included).

"Note that while the Lithium batteries will cope with sub-freezing temperatures, alkaline and NiMH won't."

Not doubting you, but the insert to the Steripen recommends rechargeable NiMH instead of lithium for cold weather use. Any reason why they'd recommend those?

Feb 15, 2015 at 1:24 pm #2174534

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

Hi Doug

> the insert to the Steripen recommends rechargeable NiMH instead of lithium for cold weather
Um – can you help me here? I can't find that recommendation, but perhaps I didn't look in the right place. All I could find was the following, in the User's Guide:
"Rechargeable, NiMH batteries may give a premature low
battery signal. See specifications for the number of liters
you should expect to treat with high quality, fully charged
NiMH batteries."

The big advantage of NiMH batteries is that they are rechargeable, and will last for hundreds of cycles. For a heavy user, that could be significant.

The disadvantages are that they are significantly heavier (adding 50 g to the Steripen over lithiums), have a shorter life of 5 years (Li: 15 yrs), and they have an output voltage of only 1.25 V (Li: 1.5 V). In some cases NiMH batteries won't work in something because the battery voltage sensing circuit thinks they are already discharged. Their cold weather performance is better than for alkalines, but not as good as for lithiums.

As to whether 'batteries are not included' – all I can say is that my unit turned up with batteries.

EDIT: reviewers get lithium AA batteries, but they are not normally included.

Cheers

Feb 15, 2015 at 1:31 pm #2174535

BlackHatGuy
Spectator

@sleeping
Locale: The Cascades

Hi Roger,

Sure, here's a pic of a piece of paper that was in the battery compartment of the Classic 3 I bought yesterday. Under "Battery Information:"

.

"As to whether 'batteries are not included' – all I can say is that my unit turned up with batteries. I did get the feeling that batteries were normally included – perhaps someone had removed the batteries from yours before you bought it?"

Nope, like I said, it says no batteries included on the box. Perhaps it's simply a difference between what they sell in AUS and USA.

.
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