Lightest Water System so far...

[JoeK]

@Wrench dare I ask how it was getting in your GI system from the lathe/mill coolant?

 

[Wrench]

@Wrench dare I ask how it was getting in your GI system from the lathe/mill coolant?

Just the random splashes is my guess. Once we replaced the coolant and added skimmers I never had it again.

 

[txtransplant]

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).

@mtwarden are you pre-filtering sediment out at all? How?

I was forced to try the old pour-through-a-handkerchief method this year when my filter wasn’t working. It was okay, I guess. Still a good amount of sediment in it after.

 

[Maverick1]

Lightest water system? Surprised no one has suggested dehydrated water or freeze dried water yet.

 

[Maverick1]

@mtwarden - have you ever weighed your Nalgene bottles?

 

[mtwarden]

@mtwarden are you pre-filtering sediment out at all? How?

I was forced to try the old pour-through-a-handkerchief method this year when my filter wasn’t working. It was okay, I guess. Still a good amount of sediment in it after.

Occasionally; most of the water here is pretty sediment free. Paper coffee filters do a pretty good job and obviously don’t weigh much.

@mtwarden - have you ever weighed your Nalgene bottles?

Yup—I only use the lighter HDPE ones, which are more rugged as well. 16 oz is 2.4 oz, 32 oz is 3.7 oz, the 48 oz is 5.2 oz

 

[Scoutfan]

I just carry 2 or 3 smart water bottles instead of nalgene bottles. A little piece of panty hose weighs nothing for the rare time pre-filtering is needed.

 

[mtnbound]

Using Chlorine Dioxide tablet products is probably the lightest option, but remember it takes 4 hours of contact time to kill Cryptosporidium and Giardia, so you need to plan accordingly; that's the biggest reason I prefer the Hydrapack or similar filter system.

 

[sargent]

My system is two thin Poland Spring 1 liter bottles (0.7 oz/each), one cheap 5 liter bladder off Amazon (2.2 oz), and Aquatabs (0.4 oz). Total weight is 4 ounces.

The tabs do make the water taste a little like pool water, but I usually add flavor to drinking water and don't add tabs to my cooking water. I try to save a few ounces of water for when I fill up. It stinks when you fill both liter bottles and are really thirsty, but have to wait for the tabs to work. I generally only wait one hour and have never gotten sick.

 

[fmyth]

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.

Damn. I've only had giardia once and it was brutal. The flagyl killed the giardia but also screwed up my digestive system. 25 years later I still have issues with digesting certain foods that never bothered me prior to the flagyl.

 

[BBob]

Damn. I've only had giardia once and it was brutal. The flagyl killed the giardia but also screwed up my ability to digestive system. 25 years later I still have issues with digesting certain foods that never bothered me prior to the flagyl.

The Flagyl is as bad or worse for you than the bugs. I’ve had them twice. First time I was young and recovered fairly well. Second time I was much older. I did three rounds of Flagyl and it took years to get my gut back to somewhat normal. I lost 20lbs over 6 months off my already thin frame during that bout. No fun.

 

[txtransplant]

Lots of good ideas here. Hadn’t considered coffee filters before.

I use those tiny compressed towels, they’re also good for tinder or cleaning your hands, and weigh next to nothing. I rubber band one over the container I am using to collect dirty water and sweep it through the water.

I’m not sure what towels you’re talking about?

 

[35WhelenAI]

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.

Iodine in the correct dosage and with proper contact time will kill giardia. It's been a go to for a half century or more. That's from experience and from medical professionals, long before google.

 

[S.Clancy]

Iodine in the correct dosage and with proper contact time will kill giardia. It's been a go to for decades and decades.

The long contact times only work in warm water. Anything below 10-15C, or if the water has any turbidity, iodine becomes unreliable.

The only accepted "treatment" for giardia or crypto in any drinking water regulation is filtration and/or UV.

 

[35WhelenAI]

We're going to agree to disagree based on my experience.

Edit: regardless of the method, tablets of any kind must be dissolved and the lid loosened and the bottle shaken to allow treated water to cover the threads. Then allowed to sit again for the proper amount of time. If the bacteria or virus is in the water source and the bottle dipped in the water then it's in the cap and on threads when the lid is put on. As well, iodine has a downside if someone has a shellfish allergy, they are most likely allergic to iodine and iodine is not usable in that case.

 

[S.Clancy]

We're going to agree to disagree based on my experience.

Edit: regardless of the method, tablets of any kind must be dissolved and the lid loosened and the bottle shaken to allow treated water to cover the threads. Then allowed to sit again for the proper amount of time. If the bacteria or virus is in the water source and the bottle dipped in the water then it's in the cap and on threads when the lid is put on. As well, iodine has a downside if someone has a shellfish allergy, they are most likely allergic to iodine and iodine is not usable in that case.

You can do whatever you want, I'm just trying to inform people because, from direct experience, having giardia sucks. And the medication you have to take is not good for you.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Yeah, I had Giardia too. When I was a kid 40 years ago on my first trip backpacking in Colorado. Adults in charge used no purification. With that, I know Giardia is real and it exists. Lived in the state now for 35 years.

For sure, not disagreeing there are others that work well, I'm saying from personal experience iodine has not let me down.

What purification did you use when you got giardia? Just curious from the learning and information perspective. Appreciate what your contributing to the thread.

 

[Macintosh]

Im also curious. Ive used iodine for many years for an entire summer at a time, and never had an issue. That doesnt mean it is perfect, Im just curious if this is yet another “health dept” regulation where drinking anything other than municipal supply is considered unsafe. At some point we have to accept very good odds as “good enough”. Im just not clear where that point is, reasonably speaking.

Fwiw I lived for years full time living on an untreated surface water spring that flowed through 50+ year old pipes into my stone basement where it filled an uncovered concrete cistern that was approximately 100 years old. Every once in a while when we’d check on the spring house we’d find a dead mouse or something in it, and we’d test and find something or other in the water. I never once got sick though. Which also means nothing except maybe I got lucky. Every day. for several years. Which is possible. But just an example to point out the measures taken backpacking may actually be a lot more rigorous than what I lived with every day.

 

[35WhelenAI]

You've nailed that one. Most things today are are made out to be black and white. Either it has to be 100% good or it's not good at all. There is no in between, everyone wants a guarantee. The lack of critical thinking and void of common sense that typically was carried down through the years is pervasive in today's internet society. Back to the original topic, yes there are many effective ways to treat water in the backcountry. Some are better than others in some conditions. When it has worked for someone in conditions that are contrary to what is expected, doesn't mean you throw that baby out with the bathwater and say it should never work for anybody else.

 

[S.Clancy]

Yeah, I had Giardia too. When I was a kid 40 years ago on my first trip backpacking in Colorado. Adults in charge used no purification. With that, I know Giardia is real and it exists. Lived in the state now for 35 years.

For sure, not disagreeing there are others that work well, I'm saying from personal experience iodine has not let me down.

What purification did you use when you got giardia? Just curious from the learning and information perspective. Appreciate what your contributing to the thread.

Mine was from using a filter with a pore size too large to effectively filter out giardia.

Giardia and crypto are difficult because the infectious dose is so low. Bacteria are generally higher, like 1000's to millions of bacteria, but some, like Salmonella, the infectious dose is low as well.

There are also people that have "non-acute" cases of giardia. I diagnosed my brother with giardia by running his fecal samples in a eukaryotic pathogens lab in college, he had no symptoms. When I had it I lost 20 lbs and was constantly exhausted.

It's all about probability and risk. I read a paper that took samples of "Western waters" and found over 70% were infected with crypto or giardia. Almost all the positive samples were closely associated with cattle. If I was camping/hunting in areas that saw heavy seasonal grazing or the water sources you were using were also utilized by cattle, I would bring filtration/UV and disinfection (iodine etc.). If you are in areas higher in the basins, the areas are more remote and/or the water is a groundwater source, I think using only a disinfectant could make sense. If using only a disinfectant you have to realize there is still a risk of acquiring a parasite. It's all based on the perceived risk for you individually.

Another pathogen I would be conscious of in cattle country is E. Coli H 0157. It can be waterborne and people can die relatively quickly. Why I suggest always using a disinfection like iodine.