banos Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Week or so long trek (non-winter)... Do you filter/pump your water or use iodine tabs to save wt/room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 (edited) If speed is crucial and you're taking are steps to go lite, then go with tabs. Otherwise take the filter and enjoy the clean clear water. If you go with the filter, make sure it's in top working order before you leave and take the little repair/lub kit with you. I always have a few tabs in my kit just in case. Edited January 19, 2009 by Mikester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I used to filter but found it is usually a pain in the ass, especially in areas where the filter gets clogged easily, like Alaska. I use the tabs and bring the ones that have the "anti-iodine" follow up tabs to get rid of the iodine taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mythosgrl Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Neither! I use Aquamira drops. You have to carry 2 small bottles but the drops clean your water in 5 mins and there is no bad aftertaste. Hooray! Â in-depth article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsroll Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 tabs when I have access to silt free water, 99% of the time. Depending on where I am I skip the tabs as well. No problems yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndavidjr Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I feel guilt and even shame about this, but almost never treat water. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimZam Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I feel guilt and even shame about this, but almost never treat water. That's because your system is used to water from the Passaic River. Â I second the AquaMira. Don't have the weight to carry, the worry of failure or constant maint. For murky water (which isn't often) I use a coffee filter to screen out the shiz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobinc Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 (edited) I still use iodine tabs. Note you can save some $ by getting ascorbic acid in bulk at the nat. food store; this is what is in the second little bottle often sold along with the iodine tabs. Only need to add a little bit to preciptate out the iodide ions. Edited January 19, 2009 by bobinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR_Guy Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I'll third Aqua Mira. Used it for my entire PCT hike in '06. Nothing to break, unlike a pump filter. Â For real nasty water, use a double dose. As mentioned, a coffee filter or two isn't bad to have for silty or water with lots of floaties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I feel guilt and even shame about this, but almost never treat water. eh... week long trek. You could chance it and just drink it straight. Giardia symptoms typically take a week to start showing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genepires Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If it is oversees or in a really bad area,(swampy area or a desert slot canyon) then filters are the way to go. If a GI problem is a big issue (like on the way up aconcagua) then you need the real deal filter. If you are poking around the states, chemical treatment is fine. I have used the aquamira for many years now. No issues. Where are thinking of heading for your week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndavidjr Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) Wise and informed people are familiar with this medical article:  http://www.wemjournal.org/pdfserv/i1080-6032-015-04-0235.pdf And this one http://www.wemjournal.org/pdfserv/i1080-6032-006-02-0162.pdf  and at minimum this one  http://www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/Giardia.htm  Lots of uninformed people have never read this stuff...One simply doesn't know how they formed their opinions.  Probably the same way they decided it's better to pay $300 than $19 for a cheap, coated puptent with a sewn-in floor. Edited January 20, 2009 by johndavidjr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genepires Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 no wonder you got banned from other sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banos Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 Where are thinking of heading for your week?  Bailey Traverse & Olympus loop..  btw.. I've had giardia before.. ain't fun  ... and thanks to all for your responses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fern Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Whatever water treatment you choose, you should also throw in some antiseptic handwash gel. Â I have used the 2 part chlorine based stuff before on South America and it is OK. I brought a mini-syringe to do the mixing. Overall though my preference was to use regular tincture of iodine since it is dual purpose as a first aid kit item and water treatment, plus it is easily scalable for varying quality/clarity of water and it leaves less aftertaste than the tabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Â Lots of uninformed people have never read this stuff...One simply doesn't know how they formed their opinions. Â Probably the same way they decided it's better to pay $300 than $19 for a cheap, coated puptent with a sewn-in floor. Â I suppose that's like driving on the freeway without wearing a seat belt and using the rationale that you've been doing it for years and never got in a wreck. For me, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I've never had the pleasure of getting giardiasis but know enough people who have that I certainly don't want to risk it. Most of the folks I know who have gotten it, did so here in the US and some of them suffered from it for many years after the fact. I'd much rather be "un-informed" if it keeps me from getting a nasty bug like giardiasis. Â BTW, I have a cheap WalMart car camping tent and it is a total piece of crap. I knew that when I bought it for $50 but wanted a tent for stuff like concerts and such so I would not have to worry about it getting stolen. The zippers suck, the poles suck, it it a pain to set up (compared to some of my nice, expensive tents) and it leaks a bit too. Ya get what-cha pay for, at least most of the time. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndavidjr Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Ten percent of Americans are asymptomatic Giardia carriers. So lots of people do get sick from it, but not from backcountry water. Plenty of science explaining this in links provided above. Read and learn. Â Treating water if you like is fine, though it might distract from hygiene, which is the relevant concern while grubbing around with friends. Â BTW I can see that a cheap car-camping tent, given its relative complexity, might be more problematic than a small and simple shelter, especially if seams aren't carefully sealed. I've no experience, and no problem with your word on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky_joe Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I know a large handful of people who HAVE gotten SICK from drinking unfiltered back country water...giardia. I prefer to remain ignorant to all this "science" you talk about and keep throwing a few tabs of iodine in every time i fill up in the BC. Â And enough with the goddamn tents, we know all the corporations are trying to fluck us out of our money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsroll Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Bla, Bla, Bla science...Bla, bla, bla  I have read it all, hence my willingness to not treat all the water I drink. I may or may not have gotten get sick from those sources I treat, but it sure makes me feel better. Then again I like my poop to be on a regular schedual and not exploding out my butt.  Bla, bla, bla tents, bla bla bla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndavidjr Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 There are millions of cases annually. If you go out in the wilderness, drink untreated water and get sick, it's highly probable you got it like anybody else, from contaminated food, or shaking the wrong person's hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky_joe Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Except food poisoning and giardiasis are completely different. Giardiasis can last for years, whereas food poisoning or a flu lasts a matter of days. JDJ, do you even spend time in the cascades? I think if you did you would have very different opinions/information about everything from H2O purification to tents. Quit trolling cc.com and go back to Jersey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsroll Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 new slang for the forums  troll = johndavid  usage  quit johndaviding this thread sucka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denalidave Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 new slang for the forums troll = johndavid  usage  quit johndaviding this thread sucka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannible Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Having had the pleasure both of Giardia (Baker) and Salmonella (Peru) over the last few years, I consider myself an expert on the subject of GI problems. In Washington I hardly ever treat my water; only in popular areas, or when the water is in or came from a questionable source (lakes or ponds mostly). I have even drank untreated water running alongside logging roads a few times when I was really thirsty (descent from Slesse comes to mind). I figure it's good to let your ammune system stretch it's legs from time to time. When I do treat it I use iodine because it's light and I don't mind the taste. If you do use a filter remember to replace the O rings and filter sometimes. In Peru this last summer I spent a lot of time sick, in part because I forgot to do this on my old filter which I was using to treat tap water for the first couple of weeks. Â Another option is to take a shot of bleach after you drink water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndavidjr Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Dannible, with all due respect for your experience, you haven't done your reading assignments. Â Giardiasis can take two weeks or more to develop. If you were on Baker continuously for more than two weeks, then you can be somewhat confident you got it there and not at Denny's the week before, where the risk is not inconsiderable. Â But if so, you probably didn't get it from contaminated water. If during those two weeks you didn't shared food with anyone, and never let anyone drink from your water bottles, (remember, 10% of people carry Giardia) or use your hands to pass objects to anyone, etc., etc., only then can you say that you know you got Giardiasis from drinking untreated water. Â COMMONLY how people get Giardiasis in the U.S. is from contaminated food and from hand-to-mouth contact, and remember there are millions of cases annually and the disease is studied intensively. Â Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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