Best water purification method for solo hiking?

OP, are you planning on any international travel soon where you're worried about waterborne viruses? If not, you don't need a purifier--e.g. the First Need or Steripen. Steripen is cool to kill bacteria and cysts though. If you are planning such travel, then you need more than a filter.

I have a Pur Hiker (filter) that's like 12 years old. Works.

If I was buying now, I'd probably get a Steripen, and carry some iodine tabs for backup. Not because I need it to kill everything, but because it's convenient. My understanding is that they've solved most of the issues they've had in the past. I also drink straight from the source above certain elevations and in certain areas.

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Originally Posted by krp8128

Ok, anyone have info on WHAT Aquamira kills off? Looks great on paper, no taste, to buildup concerns in the body, long term stability. But does it kill everything?

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From the Advance Chemicals website, they make the stuff: Pristine works by activating chlorine dioxide, which releases oxygen in a highly active form into the water. When the oxygen is released it kills viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium.

Water treated with chlorine and iodine is known to be harmful to our health, while often creating foul tastes and odours. Pristine's unique process can actually improve the taste of drinking water. Although using a water filter might seem like a quick fix for purifying water, water filters do not remove all bacteria and viruses. Even the most expensive water filter cannot accomplish what Pristine will do in a short period of time.

The FAQ page is here. I have more detailed info on this somewhere at work, I had to provide backup to a client that needed to placate the health inspector.

And it really does make water taste better. And no, I'm not on their payroll, I just think it is a great product.

Well the GF bought me a Steripen last night, so I'm good to go.


Will report back from the john if this method doesn't work.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Multiglisse

From the Advance Chemicals website, they make the stuff: Pristine works by activating chlorine dioxide, which releases oxygen in a highly active form into the water. When the oxygen is released it kills viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium.

Water treated with chlorine and iodine is known to be harmful to our health, while often creating foul tastes and odours. Pristine's unique process can actually improve the taste of drinking water. Although using a water filter might seem like a quick fix for purifying water, water filters do not remove all bacteria and viruses. Even the most expensive water filter cannot accomplish what Pristine will do in a short period of time.

The FAQ page is here. I have more detailed info on this somewhere at work, I had to provide backup to a client that needed to placate the health inspector.

And it really does make water taste better. And no, I'm not on their payroll, I just think it is a great product.

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As I said in an earlier post, while it kills everything, it takes much longer to kill the protozoa. However, the protozoa are much bigger and will be trapped by a prefilter with pores big enough to allow water to flow through easily, without a pump. The bacteria and viruses pass through the prefilter but are killed quickly by the chemical.

I have used Iodine (mostly in Polar Pure form) for hundreds and hundreds of days. Wife and I used it to treat all of our water for 5 months in SE Asia a few years ago. I've also used various filters and other methods.

Frankly I can't see why everyone doesn't just use Iodine. It's easy, cheap, fast, portable, reliable, has a long shelf life, and kills everything. What's the downside, aside from the taste, which I get used to quickly? What am I missing?

doesn't iodine make you impotent?

Waiting for 20 minutes isn't actually fast? Tastes like ass?

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Originally Posted by krp8128

Ok, anyone have info on WHAT Aquamira kills off? Looks great on paper, no taste, to buildup concerns in the body, long term stability. But does it kill everything?

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The stuff's no good. Republicans can drink it with no effect.

Iodine taste can be neutralized with vitamin C, to be added after the iodine has sufficient time to kill bugs. Works quite well, i.e., tastes like untreated water. The two-part neutralizing pills are a ripoff. Much cheaper to whittle off a bit of a vitamin C pill.

Note on steripens- This is my go-to treatment method for the Sierra Nevada. However, my buddies and I have found the optical version (with an LED sensor) to be more reliable than the dielectric version (metal sensors). It can be a bit finicky at times, but I've never had major issues with it. Much prefer it to any filter system I have ever used, although some of the newer squeeze type ones look pretty nice. I usually carry a few chemical pills as a back-up. Chemicals suck for mountain water because it's usually cold, which means effective treatment times are especially long. Also, drinking cold mountain stream water on a hot summer day is super refreshing.

As far as poop-sanitation- whenever anyone goes to take a crap, hit them up with a shot of hand sanitizer when they get done, before they touch anything else. Works even better if you can convince people to wipe naturally and not haul around bags of bacterial paper.

So glad I live in Alaska.

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Originally Posted by Chugachjed

So glad I don't live in Interior Alaska.

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Fixed. Giardia is fairly common there.

I have had to drink water straight out of the Innoko an Iditarod rivers, like when the boat ran out of gas I had cruised past literally over 100 beaver lodges tons of moose and bears. No ill effects. Maybe I've got an immunity, either way that incident changed my way of thinking.

^Or lucky. I've seen people drink the water between tussocks on fires in the Interior with no ill effects so I wouldn't say that it's widespread, but OTOH I've known a couple people that got giardia from drinking out of creeks. <shrug> I didn't like drinking water in the bush that I wasn't sure of.

True, and come to think of it there's no villages to speak of upstream from where I was drinking.

Water purification methods are very much situation dependent. I would choose different methods for, say, hiking in the Grand Canyon; hiking in California or Colorado mountains in/below a valley that sees a lot of backpacker camping; and hiking above campsites or in little traveled areas in winter/spring with mostly snow above you.

Also, group size matters, I have carried a First Need filter for myself which is silly because it's heavy, but for a group of four it's the bomb because the weight averages out and it pumps fast and reliable.

I doubt you really need to worry about virus filtering in the BC in most US or generally 1st world countries. Some people use a virus-capable filter (like the First Need) to filter any water, including/especially city water, in developing countries.

Bad water is one of those low-probability, high consequence risks that is difficult to evaluate. You never know if the purification was necessary or if the water was safe anyway. I kind of believe the claim that bad water in the BC is rare and poor hygiene is more often a cause of backpackers who get sick. However, I wouldn't want to roll the dice on, say, a 1 in 100 chance per trip in well used areas that humans or livestock have been pooping too close to water above me.

:):)

Iodine crystals.Easy to use.Small non-liquid bottle.Cheap.Lasts many years.Kills all bugs/viruses/parasites.Can be used to clean cuts too

Surprised that no one as mentioned this, but if your going for a day why don't you just take enough water? Hydrate before you go, take a liter or two, more if it's hot, have a bottle waiting in the car when you get back.

If it gets to an emergency situation just drink up, bugs and all.

http://www.buylifestraw.com/images/p...roducts_v1.png

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Originally Posted by splat

http://www.buylifestraw.com/images/p...roducts_v1.png

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I keep one of these with my first aid/ emergency kit. Saved me once mountain biking. Simple, lightweight, and it works.

This question is actually location, climate, and task dependent. This is my favorite subject and through extension, my job. If you guys haven't read about SODIS, look it up. It isn't perfected for high latitude use yet but advancements to cut timing down were made and I am preparing to do some PhD work on altitude and climate studies in addition to some social justice applications.

I use a platypus gravity works. its not particularly heavy though you can puncture it if you not careful. best part is that it requires no hands (pumps are for chumps afterall) and you can set it up to just drink through the filter if you want.

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Originally Posted by jcolingham

This question is actually location, climate, and task dependent. This is my favorite subject and through extension, my job. If you guys haven't read about SODIS, look it up. It isn't perfected for high latitude use yet but advancements to cut timing down were made and I am preparing to do some PhD work on altitude and climate studies in addition to some social justice applications.

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I don't really understand how it purifies water, but this is the first google return on SODIS:

http://www.reddit.com/r/bravefrontie...n_chief_sodis/

There's a reason they gave us lifestraws in the military

Ha, I was gonna say "surprised nobody has said lifestraws"

small, lightweight, easy to use, inexpensive. checks all the boxes

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Originally Posted by splat

I don't really understand how it purifies water, but this is the first google return on SODIS:

http://www.reddit.com/r/bravefrontie...n_chief_sodis/

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Splat for the win!

Sodis is solar disinfection. Should show up on pubmed and maybe a few public publishing sites.

Basically, it depends on a few variables but in simplest form oxygenation and solar UV plus IR can clean water in a couple hours between the meridians. Faster in specialized containers. I intend to work out contributions to this in high altitude (more UV and IR) and non tropical applications. I also hope to use some novel design models for containers to decrease time in tropical locations.

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Originally Posted by Diamond Joe

Ha, I was gonna say "surprised nobody has said lifestraws"

small, lightweight, easy to use, inexpensive. checks all the boxes

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Good for drinking. Adaptable for gravity and force flow purification too.

I use a Steripen when hiking near 'clearer' bodies of water such as creeks or lakes. If the rivers are muddy or silty, use a pump filter.

A flask of well aged alcohol. And if the situation is dire, a set of good kidneys.
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i've used a steripen in ground water in nepal, bhutan, congo . . . never a problem. do carry an extra set of batteries. it's the best.
please be very careful about using iodine anything more than sporadically, it's just not good for your health.

Only weighs 3 oz and I don't have to worry about it freezing.

Sawyer mini ftmfw!
Treat large amounts or use as a straw(lifestraw eq. but lighter)...

Yup, Sawyer Squeeze or Sawyer Mini, but note that those are filters, not purifiers.

We seldom filter in the high country in the WA Cascades and Olympics

One more Steripen vote, with qualifiers. I try to plan hikes so that I don't need to get water from silty sources. For longer hikes, I bring an extra set of batteries. Steripens are just so fast and effective, it is hard to beat. But I understand there are circumstances where they aren't the best choice.

Also,

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Originally Posted by rob stokes

If it gets to an emergency situation just drink up, bugs and all.

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I actually love the Survival Straws. You can get them for around 15$ online. Or at any gun show really.

Another vote for the steripen.

Always carry a bit of iodine. Cheap and effective for emergency.

I personally use the Platypus Gravity works which is amazing for most applications. It's fast, easy, and filters a lot of water at once. However, for solo filtering aquamira or a life straw is probably most cost effective.

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Originally Posted by jcolingham

Always carry a bit of iodine. Cheap and effective for emergency.

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Have done much backpacking for a long time, but iodine was always what I used. Cheap and effective.