Water Purification

[wildernesswanderer]

Looking at the Steripens to kill any nasties in the water we may need on hikes and wondering which one do people have and is there any other brands I should look at.

[Mark F]

I suspect most use the Adventurer Opti. These use CR123A batteries but if you have a rechargeable system or want to standardise on AA batteries because of their use in other gizmos then you may want to consider the Classic. Many of the newer ones only do 0.5 litre batches rather than the option of 0.5 or 1 litre.

[Strider]

Many of the newer ones only do 0.5 litre batches rather than the option of 0.5 or 1 litre.

Pretty sure with the newer ones you just give it two treatments for 1L.

[Kinsayder]

I use an MSR Hyperflow. It's light and does the job perfectly for me. Years ago I used to pretty much drink anything but then I got campylobacter and have since filtered everything.

[quicky]

I have the Steripen Adventurer (previous to Opti), and love it.

The Adventurer model has 0.5 and 1 litre options. I just checked the User Guide for the new Adventurer Opti, and it still instructs the user to either press once for 1 litre, or twice for 0.5 litres, so I presume that choice between volumes is still a feature of the newer model.

I cut the top off an old Nalgene Cantene Soft Bottle. The Steripen is wrapped within. If I want to sterilise water, I simply fill the Nalgene up, sterilise, then pour the water into my water containers...which are 600ml Gatorade bottles. This system works very well for me. The soft Nalgene is very durable. I can hold it easily and safely with 1 litre of water, or alternatively, the base of the Nalgene bellows out nicely into a round'ish shape (that is very stable) if I wish to place it on the ground while I sterilise.

I do remove the batteries and store them separately when I am not hiking (you can see that in the photo with the scales) - this stops parasitic drain over longer periods of time.

I also carry some Micropur tabs as back-up in the event of Steripen failure (which has never happened in 6 years), which weigh next to nothing.

[Kinsayder]

Whilst I'm familiar with the notion of the Steripen, I've not used one before, so my question is; what does it do with floating debris and sediment in the water?

[quicky]

Whilst I'm familiar with the notion of the Steripen, I've not used one before, so my question is; what does it do with floating debris and sediment in the water?

You can purchase a 'pre-filter' or their 'fits-all filter' that are compatible (or work well with) most water containers. One particular type of pre-filter that screws directly on top of a nalgene. You pour your un-filtered water through first, then remove and use the Steripen to sterilise.

http://www.steripen.com/accessories2

I have one of these, and stopped using it after a while, simply because I use my Buff as a pre-filter....the bigger bits don't bother me. Otherwise, the system is relatively smooth and hassle free.

[Kinsayder]

Thanks, Quicky! Does this system work with muddy water?

[quicky]

Thanks, Quicky! Does this system work with muddy water?

It has for me. In the case of really murky water, Steripen advise that repeat 'doses' may be necessary, they also recommend 'agitating' the water to create flow past the globe...which I believe happens naturally anyways, simply by holding the lamp in the water. It is my understanding that the emitted UV light extends out to approx. 6 inches in diameter from the globe, so it does cover a decent amount of volume in any one session (for clearer fluid).

[Kinsayder]

Thanks again, Quicky. I think I'll stick with my Hyperflow but it's nice to know a little about other methods.

[ULWalkingPhil]

Hi quicky. Thanks for the tip of cutting the top of the nalgene container, i own the adventurer opti for the past 6 months and its never been used for an overnight hike, due to not been able to find a bottle with a huge opening thats light enough for my needs.

[wildernesswanderer]

Bought one yesterday on a good special from MD. I'll buy one of the containers so thanks for that tip

[Kimbo]

I've been waiting for their new model to become available after being told about it by their customer support a few months back.
I was orignially told that it would be available in Dec but now I've been told it will be a bit later. Shame.....was going to be Chistmas pressy to self

I note that it is now listed on the website...
http://www.steripen.com/ultra

[Picaro]

I've been reviewing my filtration, which is a Sawyer 3 way filter. It takes care of bacteria, protozoa and cysts. But it doesnt deal with viruses(virii?).
Is this much of a problem, and if so I expect it might be an issue next year in Africa ?
If I should use a backup treatment for viral nasties, what would partner well with the inline filter?

[ULWalkingPhil]

I've been waiting for their new model to become available after being told about it by their customer support a few months back.
I was orignially told that it would be available in Dec but now I've been told it will be a bit later. Shame.....was going to be Chistmas pressy to self

I note that it is now listed on the website...
http://www.steripen.com/ultra

Nice looking unit, and light at 74grams, what worries me with these gadgets being released with built in batteries, is how easy is it to replace the battery? Battery dies, throw away unit like the iPhones? Batteries don't tend to last very long.

[jimbo42]

I have no confidence in steripens, since I doubt they would work properly with water with sediment in it. And what do you do when the batteries run out?
When the water is clean I prefer to use iodine drops; this kills the big stuff as well as viruses. the taste of the water doesn't bother me.
when the water is cloudy I use multiple filters in my obsolete Sweetwater pump filter: 2 layers of prefilters plus my bandanna in several layers over the first prefilter.
Then I add iodine drops for the viruses.

Yes, I never bothered with filtration when I was walking in the Flinders Ranges in the footsteps of my hero Warren Bonython, and put up with goat/wallaby *&%$#!, dead goats etc. in the water with no problems.
Went overseas and got sick repeatedly from the food in nice restaurants (washing food in contaminated water??); now I'm more paranoid and treat all the water

Jimbo42

[quicky]

I have no confidence in steripens, since I doubt they would work properly with water with sediment in it.

They seem to be a "love them or hate them" thing hey! However, my Steripen has never failed in 5 years, and I have sterilised 100's of litres, from near freezing water to warmer waters.
They do work properly with sediment...you may just have to repeat the process. I also pre-filter sediment with my Buff...which works a treat.

And what do you do when the batteries run out?

change them

If you plan on carrying spares...2 x CR123 batteries weigh about 32 grams. Plus, if I plan correctly, I don't have to replace them during a trip. If it's a trip under 1 week, I won't take spares...I'll fall back on Micropur tabs if needed.
I also use a Zebralight H31 http://www.zebralight.com/H31-Headlamp-CR123-220Lm_p_25.html, which uses 1 x CR123, and if that battery packs in, I grab one from my Steripen...so it becomes somewhat of a multi use item (from a battery back up perspective).

When the water is clean I prefer to use iodine drops; this kills the big stuff as well as viruses. the taste of the water doesn't bother me.

Ditto, I also carry Micropur tabs as back up. Back up tabs for a 4 day hike weighs about 3 grams.
...and like yourself, I always sterilise water when O/S ...just with my Steripen. I comfortably drink tap water from all over Asia after sterilising.

[Onestepmore]

I have the Steripen Freedom which is USB rechargable (or you can buy a solar charger) The CR123 batteries in the model mentioned above are a little difficult to find, and as far as I know there isn't aren't rechargeable batteries of this size
I use a Powermonkey Adventurer solar charger which has a USB port, and I also have an isound battery with same
Steripens need to be used with a wide mouthed bottle/bag as mentioned above - then decant into something more useful like a Platypus squishy bottle etc
As mentioned above there is a prefilter available, or you can use a filter system as an adjunctive (or backup method) like a Sawyer squeeze bag http://gossamergear.com/dynaglide-cord.html - these fit with Evernew bags too (when you can get them!).
or http://drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php options,
or various Seychelle producst http://store.seychelle.com/Products-Inline.html. I have a bigger gravity bag for larger volumes - hang up from a tree and let it do it's stuff overnight
For a crude prefilter you can use a piece of stocking - will remove larger particulate matter like floaties

Always have a backup for any electrical device - eg a filter system, or Aquamira solution - chlorine dioxide
http://aquamira.com/preparedness/aquami ... escription ,
or just plain old household bleach (2 drops household bleach per litre water) or iodine solution (not betadine scrub! - that has soap in it) - 3 drops 2% tincture iodine per litre
Cloudy water - double the quantities of iodine or bleach

I'd always carry metronidazole tablets too ('Flagyl' is the human prep) but just because as a vet I have easy access to them. Specific antiprotozoal for giardia caused diarrhoea. I have to say I don't ike the idea of Immodium etc tabs - they, like atropine containing meds, Lomotil etc, cause ileus, or gut stasis, and I'm a bit of a proponent of the 'better out than in' theory, unpleasant as it seems

[ULWalkingPhil]

I received the AquaMira Chlorine Dioxide kit in the post today, I found store here in Australia that stocks them, ordered two days ago, arrived today. Very excited about this kit, I've read so many great reports and reviews from overseas.

[quicky]

The CR123 batteries in the model mentioned above are a little difficult to find

I found that too....so many shops had either sold out, or simply didn't stock these CR123's. Frustrating!!

I jumped on candlepower forums for some more in-depth information regarding CR123 batteries. Came across a great article http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?235213-CR123A-Comparison-Review-4Sevens-Titanium-Innovations-Tenergy-Surefire-Duracell which gave the Duracell Ultra the thumbs up as far as comparative quality goes. I also learned how hardcore people are about...batteries...a bit like us and hiking!

The CR123 averaged at about $7-8 a pop in the shop for various brands , so I jumped online and had a look on eBay. There are literally hundreds of eBay posts for these batteries, for all brands good and bad.... certainly not hard to find though online. Their pricing varied greatly, depending on which Aust. state you purchased from (sometimes $10 for 2), or from the UK ($10 for 4 plus $8 shipping), then the cheapest were the US.....especially when buying in 'small bulk'.

I ended up purchasing 10 Duracell Ultra's online for a shipped total of $31 ($22 for 10, $9 postage).

...at $3 per battery, that's as cheap (if not cheaper) as any other battery I've come across, regardless of battery type!