Lightest Water System so far...

[Macintosh]

For warmer wx use Im still very happy using my befree as primary, with tabs as backup. I did have a befree fail though, so I definitely think harder about a backup. I just started using aquamira drops and that may be my cold weather primary. may switch that into the mix for warmer wx as well, TBD.

 

[Team4LongGun]

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.

So do you recommend a combo treatment? Please advise.

I have the sawyer bladder system, seems like I need to add a tab as well to cover viruses?

 

[35WhelenAI]

Everything I've read, even though you aren't addressing me specifically with your question, says the tablets are necessary with the types of filters we are talking about in order to get complete relief from bad things in the water.

 

[BBob]

So do you recommend a combo treatment? Please advise.

I have the sawyer bladder system, seems like I need to add a tab as well to cover viruses?

You typically don’t find viruses in backcountry water. It would take an infected person to infect a water source and then you take water from that source. Highly unlikely to happen. Now if you were to take water coming in from Mexico say from that Tijuana cesspool of a river then absolutely chemically treat it

Research your destination water source and decide from there how to deal with it. Many states have published info for that.

 

[Rizzy]

I carry the sawyer, the steripen, and the aqua mira tabs. Water filtration is critical for me, I like to have redundancy and flexibility. I use the steripen the most.

The Deer and Elk that spend the summer in the "pristine high country" spend the winter in the human and cattle polluted low country. The Bucks and Bulls like to use the highest water source too, its not uncommon to find a nasty mud puddle that smells like a corral where it bubbles out of the ground.

 

[mtnbound]

So do you recommend a combo treatment? Please advise.

I have the sawyer bladder system, seems like I need to add a tab as well to cover viruses?

Read what the filter manufacturer states about its removal effectiveness.

For example the Hydra Pak filter cap. *Effectively removes common waterborne bacteria, such as E.coli (99.999%) and parasitic cysts (99.9999%) per HSF 42.

There’s no need to double up on disinfection process. Having a backup is always a good idea.

 

[S.Clancy]

So do you recommend a combo treatment? Please advise.

I have the sawyer bladder system, seems like I need to add a tab as well to cover viruses?

A filter/UV + tabs (iodine, etc) will kill/remove everything. The tabs are more important for killing bacteria than viruses for backcountry applications. Filter/UV is for parasites (giardia, crypto).

 

[rogerdoger]

I do the befree on a 1 litre bladder and carry a 4 litre for dirty. Have two Nalgene’s I carry, one I use to mix. Backup is tablets, if I am worried I boil.

Since I have had kids and seen how much they swallow and get up their nose when swimming in rivers/lakes and not get sick I don’t worry as much.