What water purification/filtration are you using for mountain hunting?

[HighHunter1232]

Steripen. It's awesome, I'm surprised there is not more people using this little guy. I don't like carrying the nalgene that it came with, but It works great in a small Gatorade bottle. I can then fill my water bladder. It's quick. It uses AA batteries like my GPS and Headlamp; the lithium batteries are very light. I carry iodine pills as a backup. This system has worked great for me over the last four years of backcountry hunts. Am I missing something here?

 

[rodney482]

Hiker pro

i also carry tablets in case I have to draw water out of less than ideal sources.

 

[greyghostnw]

Steripen. It's awesome, I'm surprised there is not more people using this little guy. I don't like carrying the nalgene that it came with, but It works great in a small Gatorade bottle. I can then fill my water bladder. It's quick. It uses AA batteries like my GPS and Headlamp; the lithium batteries are very light. I carry iodine pills as a backup. This system has worked great for me over the last four years of backcountry hunts. Am I missing something here?

never used one but have had folks from rei that have used them and sell them say nothing good about them. have been pursuaded against them by all employees. i have no experience with them..... seems a pump/filter is fool proof and reliable. those who choose not to pump thats fine. i am over kill with it so i pump and use tablets. getting sick sucks and its not worth the hassle of what happens in the event of it happening.

 

[Matt Cashell]

greyghostnw,

Did the REI employees give you an idea of why they don't like Steripens?

I don't think HighHunter1232 is missing anything, I have used one for a couple years and the Katadyn just stays in the cabinet. Works for me.

 

[Aron Snyder]

I can tell you why the people at my local REI don't like it.

1)If you're getting water from something less than a decent flowing creek, it's a PITA.

2) If you run out of batteries (not an issue in the pump), you're screwed.

3) You're pretty much locked in to 32 oz at a time. That's great if water is a plentaful, but at 11,500+ IT'S NOT.

Other than that they love it

 

[Aron Snyder]

All depends on how the water sources are in your area. If they are decent, then I bet you'd like it, but my experience with them was not good.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Those are the downsides, Aron.

I have had to build a little waterfall to fill the bottle, but it is pretty rare where I hunt. Worked OK anyway.

I have the CR123 version and haven't had a battery problem. My headlamp also takes CR123s. I take one extra. And you're not screwed if you have potable aqua ... just in case. I was glad I had a backup when my old filter broke on me on a goat hunt a few years ago.

With decent water it takes about 2 minutes to fill a bottle and treat, so about 8 minutes a gallon. This year I used one above treeline and filled a 3 liter Platy and the nalgene and had a gallon on me. I do prefer the Sawyer Inline for those conditions though.

It is pretty nice when water is plentiful and you don't have to carry so much on you.

 

[Matt Cashell]

BTW, the bearded guy at the Missoula REI was raving about them last summer, so maybe its a regional thing.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Well Matt, there's 3 votes for the STP and 52 for a pump

BTW, the bearded guy at the Missoula REI was raving about them last summer, so maybe its a regional thing.

 

[dotman]

Personally I didn't like the one I had, no problems but I just couldn't get myself to trust it.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Well Matt, there's 3 votes for the STP and 52 for a pump

And yet ... I still like it. Weird.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Obama made it second term, so there's nothing saying that a poll is perfect!

 

[Darren Best]

I have and have used almost every form of water filtration you can.

When I first started hunting I didn't use any, I didn't even carry a water bottle, just cupped my hands and drank my fill of water when I found it. So yeah that didn't work out so great because you can get pretty darn thirsty when you can't find water on a hot day and I got pretty sick a few times from bad water.

I still have one of the old MSR ceramic pump filters, remember the blue ones, talk about slow. Not much use when the temps drop below freezing because the filter element can freeze and crack and cost a $50 replacement, done that, once was enough, plus it weighs about a pound.

Used Iodine, yuck.

Used tablets, slow.

Used drops, slow.

Chlorine doesn't kill crypto, chlorine dioxide takes something like four hours to kill crypto. If there is horse or cow manure near your water source, count on it having crypto. Diarrhea on a back country trip just flat sucks, no way around it.

Have a Sawyer gravity filter, can plug up from silt and it's also prone to breaking when it freezes. Is Idaho the only place that gets cold?

In warm weather when I am with a large group and I am the only one that brought water filtration, the Sawyer gets the nod, hands down.

I even got the Sawyer water bottle with the little filter inside, neat idea, but noisy when it's empty, not so great for hunting up close.

The Steripen rocks, it's quick and easy, light and small. I got the Freedom which has the internal battery and can be recharged from a battery pack or solar panel.

Boiling is my backup, since I carry a pot and stove anyway, don't all of us.

I use the pot to get water from slow running streams and a bandana to pre filter out sediment.

One HDPE Nalgene bottle, the Freedom and some light weight water bags to carry extra when I need it. Total weight is less than my old MSR all by itself.

Give the Steripen an honest try, you will probably like it.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Come to Colorado at 12k and give it an honest try

Or even better yet, come to some of the areas that we hunt that have nothing more than elk wallows for a miles in any direction. Let me know how that STP works

Again, it works great when you have ample water sources, but not so good when water is far a few between.

I have and have used almost every form of water filtration you can.

When I first started hunting I didn't use any, I didn't even carry a water bottle, just cupped my hands and drank my fill of water when I found it. So yeah that didn't work out so great because you can get pretty darn thirsty when you can't find water on a hot day and I got pretty sick a few times from bad water.

I still have one of the old MSR ceramic pump filters, remember the blue ones, talk about slow. Not much use when the temps drop below freezing because the filter element can freeze and crack and cost a $50 replacement, done that, once was enough, plus it weighs about a pound.

Used Iodine, yuck.

Used tablets, slow.

Used drops, slow.

Chlorine doesn't kill crypto, chlorine dioxide takes something like four hours to kill crypto. If there is horse or cow manure near your water source, count on it having crypto. Diarrhea on a back country trip just flat sucks, no way around it.

Have a Sawyer gravity filter, can plug up from silt and it's also prone to breaking when it freezes. Is Idaho the only place that gets cold?

In warm weather when I am with a large group and I am the only one that brought water filtration, the Sawyer gets the nod, hands down.

I even got the Sawyer water bottle with the little filter inside, neat idea, but noisy when it's empty, not so great for hunting up close.

The Steripen rocks, it's quick and easy, light and small. I got the Freedom which has the internal battery and can be recharged from a battery pack or solar panel.

Boiling is my backup, since I carry a pot and stove anyway, don't all of us.

I use the pot to get water from slow running streams and a bandana to pre filter out sediment.

One HDPE Nalgene bottle, the Freedom and some light weight water bags to carry extra when I need it. Total weight is less than my old MSR all by itself.

Give the Steripen an honest try, you will probably like it.

 

[Darren Best]

I give you props for drinking out of the nasty elk wallow, I would of gone back to the last clean source or on to the next one, even with a pump or gravity filter, nasty. I know I probably would of gotten dehydrated, but I still would of refused to drink it.

Sometimes you have to dig a little and make a small dam to get a spot big enough to scoop out of, but it's doable. I know it can be slow waiting for the pen to run each cycle, but boiling and cooling and the four hour wait on chlorine dioxide is much slower. Filters run the risk of freezing and cracking when it's cold, even the Sawyer can be ruined from freezing.

 

[elkmtngear]

I give you props for drinking out of the nasty elk wallow, I would of gone back to the last clean source or on to the next one, even with a pump or gravity filter, nasty. I know I probably would of gotten dehydrated, but I still would of refused to drink it.

Sometimes you have to dig a little and make a small dam to get a spot big enough to scoop out of, but it's doable. I know it can be slow waiting for the pen to run each cycle, but boiling and cooling and the four hour wait on chlorine dioxide is much slower. Filters run the risk of freezing and cracking when it's cold, even the Sawyer can be ruined from freezing.

I ran the Steripen for the last 3 Seasons and I loved it...however, it gave up the ghost in the middle of my Backcountry hunt this Season. It just wouldn't run properly no matter what I tried.

So, it was a good reminder to me that electrical or mechanical devices can fail (did I say broadheads, LOL ).

I may replace the Steripen, but I will have a Sawyer Squeeze as a backup next Season.

 

[Hunt'nFish]

I usually hunt high alpine mountainous area's, so water quality is usually never much of an issue. But like most I still filter mainly to screen for the "bugs". Normally that consists of a gravity filter system at base to fill water bottles, bladders, etc. and a Bota or Safe Water filter bottle on my waist belt. I use an UL bike water bottle holder mounted to waist belt for it. (snaps in/out w/ ease, no fumbling w/ pockets or pouches.) I try to keep this full at all times and drink sparingly until I cut across water, at which time I piss, tank up, and leave w/ a full bottle again. I never have been one to feel I need to carry around a huge bladder of water but mainly this is a function of where I hunt and all the plentiful water sources. I also like the fact that I can re-fill it quickly w/o needing to stop and take my pack off. And I also like that I can place it under a dripping seep w/o need to dig & dip.

I do however usually carry a 1/2Liter soda bottle of reserve water in my day pack as back up, which I never intend to drink unless necessary.
All this being said, I do like to spike my water with single serve powders like Kool-Aid, Crystal Light Tea, Power-Aid, etc. This is where that 1/2L soda bottle I carry as reserve comes into the picture. I use it as a safe, clean water drinking bottle that I can add powder to.

As far as which gravity filter I think is best...... the Sawyer Squeeze Filter as posted above by Steve is hands down the clear winner. It's the most universal, covering all bases from: squeeze, gravity, inline, & straw.
And you can hook it up to facet for high pressure back flushing as well!
Not many filters can claim that.

Sawyer Squeeze get the thumbs up.
Hunt'nFish

 

[Matt Cashell]

I ran the Steripen for the last 3 Seasons and I loved it...however, it gave up the ghost in the middle of my Backcountry hunt this Season. It just wouldn't run properly no matter what I tried.

So, it was a good reminder to me that electrical or mechanical devices can fail (did I say broadheads, LOL ).

I may replace the Steripen, but I will have a Sawyer Squeeze as a backup next Season.

Interesting. What water source were you using?

I thought my Steripen wasn't working once also.

I was filling my bottle straight out of a glacier. I pushed the button and put the UV bulb in the water, but it just blinked faintly a few times, and wouldn't turn on. I tried over and over. I even replaced the battery with my extra, but still no luck.

I cursed Steripens as junk and boiled water for the rest of the trip. When I got home I poured through the manual and found out that the UV Lamp won't work if it isn't submerged, as a safety feature. The sensor that tells the Steripen if it is submerged works by sensing the minerals in the water. IF the water you are trying to purify is too pure (like straight from a glacier) then there aren't any minerals to sense, and the Steripen thinks it isn't submerged, so it won't activate.

Of course, if the water is so pure the Steripen won't activate, it begs the question: Why purify at all?

However, just because the water is free of minerals doesn't mean some Pika didn't crap on the glacier, so I like to be sure.

Now I carry a little gas station packet of salt to mix in a pinch if the Steripen won't activate, but it hasn't happened again since.

 

[elkmtngear]

Interesting. What water source were you using?

I thought my Steripen wasn't working once also.

I was filling my bottle straight out of a glacier. I pushed the button and put the UV bulb in the water, but it just blinked faintly a few times, and wouldn't turn on. I tried over and over. I even replaced the battery with my extra, but still no luck.

I cursed Steripens as junk and boiled water for the rest of the trip. When I got home I poured through the manual and found out that the UV Lamp won't work if it isn't submerged, as a safety feature. The sensor that tells the Steripen if it is submerged works by sensing the minerals in the water. IF the water you are trying to purify is too pure (like straight from a glacier) then there aren't any minerals to sense, and the Steripen thinks it isn't submerged, so it won't activate.

Of course, if the water is so pure the Steripen won't activate, it begs the question: Why purify at all?

However, just because the water is free of minerals doesn't mean some Pika didn't crap on the glacier, so I like to be sure.

Now I carry a little gas station packet of salt to mix in a pinch if the Steripen won't activate, but it hasn't happened again since.

I became well aware of the submersion thing early on. Like I said, I've been using it for 3 years, and I tried every trick I know to get that bulb to light.

There was plenty of cow poo in that water to make the sensors work (it was a stream outlet from a big park occupied by groups of "Wilderness Moo Cows"). It just stopped working (I changed the batteries out twice trying to get it to work).

 

[Kevin_t]

I have a hard time with chemicals in sparkling clean mountain water, although I have used them a fair amount in the past. I don't care for the Steripen, it's a battery operated device that can fail, and it requires a large mouth nalgene stye bottle. Pump filters are good, but time consuming. I really , really like the Sawyer bottle, but it requires adaptation to a gravity system for camp or group water. This works, but could be error prone. The Sawyer squeeze is good , but small at times to get water in, though that can be resolved with a homemade funnel. I really like the Platy gravity for any large amount of water. Most of the time, it's a sawyer squeeze or sawyer bottle that goes with me.