Steri-Pen?

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WKR
Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
1,298
Location
Montana
Does anyone have experience with steri-pens and clear water? I read a couple reviews that said the water needed to have a little color or sediment to it or else the pens didn't work. Since most of my water is totally clear I was wondering if I'd have issues. Thanks!

Oh, and what models do you use?

Thanks everyone.
 
I've never heard anything about it not working on clear water and don't see scientifically how it would be a requirement. In fact, any cloudiness in the water reduces the range of UV light transmission, so that is why Steripen has you stir the water in the instructions.

The model I bought was the Adventurer that takes CR123. The reason I chose it was for the ability for both rechargeable and alkaline battery support.
 
SteriPEN adventurer opti. Used it many times on clear mountain creeks and it has always "worked". By that I mean the unit has functioned. No idea if it actually would have protected against nasties in the water. I have never personally known anyone who actually got sick from drinking water in the backcountry. Did it my entire childhood until we "learned" about filters and such. With that being said, I do either filter or use the steripen just to be safe.
 
zeroforhire said:
I do. I just sprinkle a bit of salt in there and it works fine. That issue seems to affect mostly older models. More info here.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/52621/
Click to expand...

Interesting; the problem has nothing to do with the filter itself, but the conductivity of the water and the steripen's ability to sense when it is placed in water. That makes a little more sense. I would assume that this has been fixed in newer models. My buddy had problems with his original the last time we were out and I wonder if this was the cause.
 
I'm planning on picking up a steripen here shortly. I've never owned a pump and planning around and waiting four hours for the chlorine dioxide tabs to work can be a pain at times. Especially when sweating a lot and you hike right by the perfect little creek spilling off the hillside. I like the idea of an instant full Nalgene bottle with Nuun tab ready to drink.
 
Love steripens. Tried the sawyer thing and pumps and went back. Carry a pen and backup tablets. Almost always use it on clear water. Never had a problem.
 
gmajor said:
Love steripens. Tried the sawyer thing and pumps and went back. Carry a pen and backup tablets. Almost always use it on clear water. Never had a problem.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing. Pen with a nalgene for drinking while hiking. Drops for a big msr drom bag once I get to camp.
 
Thanks everyone for the help. I will be buying one with my cabelas bucks this summer.
 
I have been looking at one as well. The area I will be hunting has a lot of mountain lakes and streams. I drank out of the streams my entire childhood and never got sick but I'm not chancing it being 4 miles from my vehicle.
 
camelcluch said:
What model are you all using?
Click to expand...

I went with the Adventurer for the option of both rechargable(RCR123/16340) and non-rechargable(CR123) batteries. The downside is that if you have a non-transparent bottle (I was trying to use a EcoVessel) there is no indication that it is working and/or fully completed the cycle without losing conductivity. On my most recent trip I also had the problem others mentioned in that I couldn't get it to sense that it was in the water, but adding a little salt made it work. The lake I was filling out of was at the top of the chain at 11,400ft, so there was most likely very few minerals in it.
 
Do they all need a non transparent bottle? I like bottles over bladders so no big deal but would need a new bottle for it to work.
 
camelcluch said:
Do they all need a non transparent bottle? I like bottles over bladders so no big deal but would need a new bottle for it to work.
Click to expand...

They don't need it, AFAIK the bottle doesn't matter at all. Plenty of people use them in transparent Nalgene's I just prefer the EcoVessel so that my water stays cold. It's just hard to tell if it's working with a non-transparent bottle with the Adventurer. It's not a huge deal, but had I not been specifically looking down into the bottle it would've been hard to tell that it wasn't getting continuity and could've ended up drinking untreated water.

There are other models that have some feedback on the side. The ultra has a screen on the side that shows progress, which would be nice. It has an integrated rechargeable battery.
 
Got my steri-pen adventurer around Christmas time for $45 on amazon, normally $90. Used it for the first time this week. It worked fine according to the light indications and I sterilized probably 15 nalgenes between myself and the guys I was with in some very clear mountain streams just north of Yellowstone. Only complaint is it can be very difficult to see what the light in bright daylight and the button is not very tactile, so sometimes you're not sure if you pushed it enough to activate it. The thing I like about it more then my pump filter is I just fill my nalgenes at the river and use my steri-pen back at my camp chair around the fire. No more squating down by a stream for 15 minutes while you try to pump all your bottles full. So far I recommend one.
 
My nephew says the steripen works well. I myself use the Camelback All Clear since it includes a camelback container and works on others. Have to watch out for beaver fever.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
 
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