Lightest Water System so far...

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Hi All,

After trying a number of different things, I was very happy with my water purifying setup this year for saving weight, space and effectiveness.

During archery I use a bladder but would carry a nalgene for using to purify water with the steripen. The nalgene seemed like redundant weight just for purifying, so I decided to carry a slightly larger titanium pot for making lunch and dinner, which I could use for purifying water. It would get to boiling anyways, to kill off any germs so worked great and a miniscule weight increase over the smaller pot. Also it could boil water for two guys.

With the super long days and coming back after dark I found I prefered to eat my cooked meal in later afternoon or even two cooked meals a day, rather than when I return after dark. When hunting with a buddy, we can split up who carries the stove/pot and who carries game bags etc..

In case anyone else uses a steripen and a bladder, thought it might be something you could try.

Happy New Year!

S

 

[Wrench]

I had a steripen bulb puke on me rendering it useless. I will rock the sawyer squeeze with aqua mira drops as a backup....hiking out with crap running down my leg to save 3 grams isn't worth it.

 

[justinspicher]

I’ve never used a steripen, mostly used a sawyer, then switched to a platypus gravity system. Now I am using a hydrapak bladder and filter and it’s pretty rad.

 

[R boar]

I just drink the water

 

[mtwarden]

I have two steripens, they were great when they worked

Now I carry only tabs (Potable Aqua)—the ultimate lightweight and hassle free use purification— no electronics to fail and nothing to clog

 

[Wrench]

I have two steripens, they were great when they worked

Now I carry only tabs (Potable Aqua)—the ultimate lightweight and hassle free use purification— no electronics to fail and nothing to clog

Have you ever tried the drops? I don't care for iodine tabs but actually like the bit of acid flavor the drops add to water.

 

[Scoutfan]

The aqua tabs are nothing like the old school iodine tabs. I second them as all you really need. Only down side is the ones I use take 2 hours before they are ready to drink. Never been an issue though.

 

[mtwarden]

Have you ever tried the drops? I don't care for iodine tabs but actually like the bit of acid flavor the drops add to water.

Yeah not the old iodine pills, Chlorine Dioxide—effective on bacteria, viruses, cysts—including Crypto which many other tabs aren't

 

[S.Clancy]

Yeah not the old iodine pills, Chlorine Dioxide—effective on bacteria, viruses, cysts—including Crypto which many other tabs aren't

I doubt they are effective on crypto or giardia cysts. They can deal with extremely high concentrations of chlorine, iodine, etc. Higher than anyone would be able to drink.

There are 2 effective treatments for giardia/crypto cysts; filtration at a pore size smaller than the cyst size and UV treatment.

Iodine/chlorine are for viruses and bacteria.

 

[mtwarden]

CL is not overly effective with cysts, CL O2 is

 

[Macintosh]

I got a befree a year or so ago and loved it. BUT I went to use it on a HOT day in early summer and it had crapped out. I replaced it with another, but Im scared to rely on it. I tried the aqua mira drops this fall, fine so far., that could become my go-to. But that little filter sure is nice when it works. What do you guys with the mini filters do with them in cold wx? Most of my use is below freezing temps.

 

[BBob]

What do you guys with the mini filters do with them in cold wx?

Put it in the inside chest pocket of jacket or mid layer chest pocket and in my sleep kit DCF pouch for phone, charge battery, filter, etc… that goes inside my bag when I go to sleep.

 

[S.Clancy]

CL is not overly effective with cysts, CL O2 is

About Water Treatment Options When Hiking, Camping, or Traveling

If you are not sure if water is safe to drink, boil it or use another method to remove germs.

www.cdc.gov

The infectious dose of crypto is 10 cysts. Something to keep in mind.

I deal with disinfecting public water for work and have personally gotten giardia from "treated" water so I may be more neurotic than most.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

I have two steripens, they were great when they worked

Now I carry only tabs (Potable Aqua)—the ultimate lightweight and hassle free use purification— no electronics to fail and nothing to clog

I have some of the old tabs as backups, but haven't used the two part ones. I do like the simplicity of them.

 

[CMF]

I have two steripens, they were great when they worked

Now I carry only tabs (Potable Aqua)—the ultimate lightweight and hassle free use purification— no electronics to fail and nothing to clog

Bladder or nalgene? What's your process like using them?

 

[mtwarden]

Bladder or nalgene? What's your process like using them?

For hunting season I have a 32 oz Nalgene that is easily reachable that’s ready to drink. I have another 32 oz Nalgene in my pack, a bottle usually lasts 3-4 hours. When it’s done I have another in my pack that replaces it. I’ll tab the first bottle (water sources tend to be plentiful where I hunt), when bottle 2 is dry, bottle 1 is ready—rinse and repeat.

In the summer backpacking I’ll often use the same routine, but with 16 oz Nagenes (and a half of a tablet).

 

[Yaremkiv]

Sawyer Micro Squeeze with a Cnoc vecto bag has been a reliable and lightweight setup for me.

 

[TaperPin]

After the Boise public pools were over run a decade and a half ago with crypto and they all had to be drained and refilled I gained a new respect for how tough those little buggers are. lol

I tried to be happy with pills, but sensitive taste buds really sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of it. If someone can like the taste it’s definitely the light weight way to go but water has to sit to have long enough to work.

About half my water is pumped and half is also boiled. In some places drinking “pure” spring water downstream from the source is actually getting the runoff from domestic sheep hangouts full of flukes, sheep dip, crypto, whatever else they like to pack around.

I did meet a landscaper that drinks out of garden hoses all day and one year he got sick and tests didn’t turn up anything and it kept getting worse. 6 months of hell until they found a parasite and treated him. I wish I could remember which one, but it lives in the dirt and that little lip on garden hose ends can hold things and not get flushed out easily with running water. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I’ll bet domestic sheep that spend half the year down low are full of them. No thanks.

Even our local water supply is full of chemicals half the time, so I have to wonder what water tests prompt them to add higher doses of chemicals.

 

[Wrench]

I had a 6 month run of giardia. I was getting it from a coolant tank on one of the lathes.....but I didn't think to test that before I moved, switched to bottled water, spent a fortune on flagyl and probably destroyed my kidneys as well as anything you could sit on.

One day I thought the mill coolant smelled bad, tested the tanks and it was off the charts for coliform count.

I get pretty serious about never going there again.

 

[eamyrick]

I have two steripens, they were great when they worked

Now I carry only tabs (Potable Aqua)—the ultimate lightweight and hassle free use purification— no electronics to fail and nothing to clog

This is where I landed. Drops and tabs for me.