Water Filter

[Gooseterrorist]

Hey guys. We head up with artic air out of kotzebue on the 1st of september. Wondering if a guy needs to use a filter for water up there or just drink it out of the streams. I have a Katadyn Hiker filter and a life straw water bottle wondering if i need to bring it. Thanks

 

[Jackal7]

We are flying out with Arctic Air on August 31st. I learned the hard way living in BC that folks can tell you that you don't need to filter water because the area is remote. And then you get sick. Real sick. I bring my Platypus system everywhere. We bring two clean bags with caps so we can make and store 8 liters of clean water quickly. I would bring it. I've never been in the Brooks Range before but my filter was one of the first things on my packing list 2 years ago.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Beavers have emigrated farther into the Noatak country than ever before. Filter or boil without a doubt. You dont have to filter because the rivers north of the Kobuk are clear, but boil regardless.

 

[carter33]

Definitely bring a filter. Even if the water is clean, which is a gamble, it’s nice to get particles out if you are closer to say a lake/pond than a river.

 

[Rich M]

I would not even consider going without a filter. The water borne illnesses do not play nice.

Have a great trip! Should be an excellent experience.

 

[KHntr]

I’m always surprised when this question comes up.

Few years ago hunting stone sheep my partner was filling his water bottle below a rock ledge with what was basically liquid ice as it flowed over the lip. Was a bit of algae in the tiny puddles where it was hitting the rocks and soaking in.

After I finished filtering a few liters of water we ended up climbing up the side of the rocks where the water was coming from. Turns out the water came out of the rocks, flowed over the shelf for about 12” and then fell to the rocks below.

In that 12” of contact it had with the rock shelf it filtered itself through about 400 years worth of ptarmigan shit.
You just never know what that “clean pure water” has come into contact with before you drink it.

 

[Kevin Dill]

And just because some of us have to be a bit different:

I haven't filtered my water the last 5 years in various camps I've occupied. I'll be the first to say it's my choice and I don't try to EVER convince anyone to not filter. I search out the sources of my water and don't get it from main creeks or rivers. I typically find a rocky seep or rivulet of water coming from steep ground. None of the areas have beaver, muskrat, etc populations. I've seen plenty of guys casually dip water out of a fast-moving creek or stream and never have an issue. My Mom taught me to drink water out of a cow track when I got thirsty picking blackberries as a kid.

I well remember one year when my partner and I were filtering water every day. Unbeknownst to us, the filter cartridge had ruptured and was completely ineffective. We didn't discover it until after the trip.

And to say it one more time: I am not recommending or encouraging anyone to avoid filtering their water. Do what you think is safe and necessary.

 

[Nick Muche]

Filters freeze when in real world hunting conditions, maybe not so much on those summer hikes you see pictured on their fancy advertisements. I treat very little of the water I drink, but when I do treat it I use aqua mira drops. No taste, lightweight, and if cold you can leave in your pockets. Filtering water with a pump takes too long for my liking. Certainly, there is a time and place for a traditional pump style filter, but I don't find myself in that situation very often.

 

[mcseal2]

I don't have the experience of these other guys, but I will be filtering water when I go next year. I have a Katadyn base camp filter that we use when we don't boil. If I get water while out during the day I use a Steripen. I don't ever see myself not taking at least the Steripen for drinking water, the cooking water gets boiled.

Aaron Snyder had a podcast a while back about filters and freezing. He tested his and some friends filters with water he knew had giardia. Long story short he now uses a Steripen.

On our moose hunt I took a 10L folding bucket that weighs just a few ounces. We set it up to catch rain coming off our cook tarp and had good clean water for the majority of our hunt instead of filtering swamp water. We had a big bottle of propane so we still boiled it, but it sure tasted better than the swamp water we filtered after it quit raining. I will have a couple of those buckets on future trips unless it's a really small weight limit. They work great for carrying water to the filter also, we poured the swamp water through a cheap filter sock I got off Ebay later in the trip into the Katadyn to help keep the filter element fairly clean and flowing well.

 

[Northwestalaska]

Hey guys. We head up with artic air out of kotzebue on the 1st of september. Wondering if a guy needs to use a filter for water up there or just drink it out of the streams. I have a Katadyn Hiker filter and a life straw water bottle wondering if i need to bring it. Thanks

Yes 100% yes! I personally use the Platypus base camp gravity feed model and it is great and about 80$. When your pilot is approaching your drop site ask him to make a quick loop so you can see the lay of the land and identify your water source as well as see any migration....


Yes always filter....Always!


Walt

 

[Northwestalaska]

We are flying out with Arctic Air on August 31st. I learned the hard way living in BC that folks can tell you that you don't need to filter water because the area is remote. And then you get sick. Real sick. I bring my Platypus system everywhere. We bring two clean bags with caps so we can make and store 8 liters of clean water quickly. I would bring it. I've never been in the Brooks Range before but my filter was one of the first things on my packing list 2 years ago.

Your going out on the 31st??? Where are they dropping you....That is very early for unit 23....VERY EARLY. Send me a PM because there is only 2 areas up near Gates of the Arctic we ever take early hunters...Find out where your going!!

 

[LivinGood]

I used the MSR Trailshot this past year and it worked great. Pumps about a liter per minute and weighs nothing. Just drain the water when you're done and shouldn't have any freeze issues.

 

[Mike Islander]

Bring a filter unless you know the water sources. Springs = good. Streams = bad. Except where the streams are free of bugs, and you have to know the area to know that.

Sawyer mini is 2 oz, can gravity filter 100,000 gallons of water at over a liter a minute. You can also just attach it to your dirty water bag or a water bottle and drink directly from it. If you shake it out after each use it won't freeze. If you are paranoid about freezing, just keep it in your pocket. Oh yeah, it's $20.

 

[Crang]

I've managed to get sick on water in Alaska we were told didnt need filtering. After that experience I leave nothing to chance. Its cheap insurance your trip isnt ruined.