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lightest way to purify water?


danmcph

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get an in-line ceramic filter. a buddy of mine uses it and it seems like a great device. me personally i get by fine with aqua mira and wait 20-30 minutes no taste (that i notice). but the inline filter is instant and immediately available--no digging for it. my friends is glass filaments or something?? probably can find a ceramic one which has less freeze worry.

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i drink right out of the streams in wallowas and much of oregon, adams, and even new england (greens, whites, mahoosuc, baxter st park) never had a problem.

 

treat if standing or aquatic body below high alpine tarn status, if area above is suspect to human/heavy animal contamination. can bypass the 'above' status in large part if it is coming out of the ground immediately in front of me.

 

 

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get an in-line ceramic filter. a buddy of mine uses it and it seems like a great device. me personally i get by fine with aqua mira and wait 20-30 minutes no taste (that i notice). but the inline filter is instant and immediately available--no digging for it. my friends is glass filaments or something?? probably can find a ceramic one which has less freeze worry.

 

 

Yea I used to have one of those and it was great. It froze one night and split open. My new filter is huge and heavy. I may have to look for a new ceramic filter or the pen. The pen won't freeze but may just break.

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Had a good experience with the Sawyer inline filter bottle in the Sierras this year. My buddy brought one and we shared it to drink out of streams and didn't have to carry much water with us. We pulled the filter out and used it as a gravity filter to fill our water bladders for our summit day. Worked really well, I'm going to get one as my trusty sweetwater finally died this weekend.

 

I also use Aqua Mira but I've developed the ability to taste it pretty easily and I kind of like to taste the "pure" mountain water instead. I use it for backup or for situations where I will only need a liter or two for a day trip or something.

 

I used a steri-pen once, worked fine but I have yet to get over the batteries needed thing.

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I think the answer to your question really depends on the application. The level of treatment needed really depends on the trip you are taking, I don't think there is necessarily a one-size-fits-all answer.

 

For example, define "purify" -- most filters will do nothing against viruses, which isn't really a problem in North America but can be elsewhere. So maybe sometimes you care about that, and maybe you dont. Maybe some trips you might bring iodine for this reason. Or a heavier filter (such as the first need) which claims to be small enough for common viruses.

 

On other trips, maybe you need nothing. I very rarely use filtration, especially if my trip is in the alpine. However, I have an MSR Sweetwater which I use backpacking, and I would not call it heavy (it's about 300 grams). It's helpful when you know you will only have access to lakes and stagnant water, as it also filters out muck. But I would not bring it to India, where water-borne viruses might be more common. I'd bring something a bit heavier, or supplement with iodine or UV. Or not.

 

Chemicals, as you note, are time-consuming. Additionally, they don't work as well in cold water. But, sometimes I will bring only chemicals, as a backup, when I'm expecting lots of clean water I can drink untreated.

 

Have you considered a steri-pen or other UV type system? They're fast and work well in cold water but of course do not filter out muck. If your trip takes you somewhere this is acceptable, then that might be the best option.

 

my $0.02

 

 

 

Edited by rob
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