Water safety......

[Rob]

Do you filter or treat your water when replenishing on the trail ? What method do you use, filter , chemical, or other?

[Lostsheep]

I ALWAYS filter my water before consumption on the trail. Granted, it may be clean, but I'm not taking the chance to find out. Giardia is one nasty bug that I don't want and will do whatever I can to prevent it.

In my case I use an older model of the Katadyn Hiker Filter. The only maintenance it's needed is a new filter cartridge and it's been great. Mine was put out by PUR before Katadyn bought them out. If you ask around, lots of people will recomend it and speak highly of it. It has definitely been proven durable and effective in my uses.

I have also used the Aqua Mira chlorine tablets, but never really was fond of the taste. I do keep a few in my first aid kit (as a backup), but just haven't used them.

[Cuffs]

Started with chemical (Aqua Mira / 3oz)  while it is just about the lightest option going, sometimes I cant wait 30 minutes for water... Many areas here are very dry and by the time I get to a good water source, Im out of water and need it quickly!  It also does not take out the "floaties!"

Switched to filter (Katadyn Hiker Pro) and love it.  For me it was worth the sacrifice of weight (12oz) to have 'instant' water and no floaties!

[Skippy]

I use the Katydyn Guide and has always worked well for me.I also boil at breakfeast so I don't use up all of my pumped water( if the water source is pretty good)  Sometimes I'm just lazy and don't feel like pumping water

[Magic City Matt]

This is something I actually know about (for a change).
Hands down the safest drinking water filter device for trail use these days is the First Need deluxe portable filter. It filters at .1 microns removing all bacteria and most viruses. I own one and can say that it is easy as can be to use and has a great prefilter. I would recommend it to anyone serious about what goes into your body.

[Skippy]

That is a good one,one of my friends has that one and we use his most of the time!!
Well whenever I can get him to go.

[Rob]

Great replies! I do filter all of my water too, am presently using the Katadin Hiker Pro, just wanted to see what other options are out there. Interesting info on the First Need Deluxe, not sure how I missed it when making a choice on what to use. Has anyone tried the Steri pen thing? (Trying to bump up this forum a bit with some new topics) 

[Cuffs]

I thought about UV when I first started looking

PROS:  light weight, quick

CONS:  fragile, have to carry spare batteries, does not work with cloudy water (so you have to filter which defeats the purpose...) expensive

[Cuffs]

The First Need is a purifier... and its pore size in NOT .1, it is .4   

I found their information very misleading when I was first shopping them, I was going to get one too.  The pore 'nominal' size is listed as .1.  This only means that of all the pores on their unit, the smallest will be .1 

Their 'absolute' pore size is .4 (this is the average pore size on the unit)

No filters remove viruses.  Thankfully the smallest bacteria are .2 microns, which is removed by the better filters.

Matt, if you were given the sale picth of  that purifier on the basis of .1 microns, you should go get your money back!

[Rob]

MSR actually does claim that their MSR Water Works EX Ceramic filter system removes Viruses from water, however, the claim reads that it removes viruses attached to particles .2 microns or larger in the second stage PES membrane of the filter. It should also be noted that in the user guide/handbook in it's WARNING section it states that the filter does not remove ALL viruses. One should obviously be very careful when reviewing the products information and the sometimes rediculous attempts the manufacturer or sales people use to push products. They often make attempts to dupe us into believing the products are far better than they are.

Question...Do purifiers use some sort of chemical process in the filtration of water, such as chlorine or iodine additives? Are Viruses really a big threat in our part of the world or are they primarily a threat in third world countries?

[Cuffs]

A filter cannot remove a virus.  Virus size is about  .018 microns...  even the best filters only have pores of .2 microns.  I virus will flow right on thru a filter... Boiling will kill the virus as does UV (Steripen) treatment.  Hepatitis, Polio, Norwalk are all good examples of virus you dont want to catch!  Thankfully, virus are the least common micro organism in the outdoors!

Ecoli and Salmonella are bacteria that are growing in backcountry waters... but are removed by filters. 

And protozoa are so big that they dont have a fighting chance against even a bad filter!

COOL TIP:  if you use a filter, wrap a paper coffee filter around the intake hose end, it will work as a pre-filter and remove alot of the floaties.  (yes, many have one built in, but this will make it last even longer!)

[Rob]

Not disputing the facts Cuff's  , I concur with you. Just an abstract way of illustrating the attempts of manufacturers and sales persons to sell at all costs. And confirming to those who may potentially fall victim to such attempts that it does exist. Buyer beware kinda thing.

[Cuffs]

Oh I totally agree they will sell it however they can!  I just hope folks do their homework before spending the bucks! 

I like how the pack manufacturers will state the pack weight on their site, but when you get it, its usually several ounces more!  I like the magic scales they use, I sure could use one in my bathroom!

[Magic City Matt]

I stand corrected again. Cuff's how do you fit all of that info in that head of yours.
I used the term most viruses and this is indeed not the case.

I will have to disagree with the term "Nominal pore size" though. I believe the term nominal is referring to the environmental conditions in which the device is being used. Things like water temperature, air temperature, and chemical composition of the source.

As it turns out my father ran the National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory for the EPA for several years. One of their many projects was generating the data used by water treatment facilities to know what to treat for and how to treat it. I am sure he knows someone who can give us some expert witness on water treatment. I will ask him to put us in touch and will report my findings here.

I think that would be great to have floating around because it is indeed the case that product advertising has taken over the pure facts.

Who knows, the first need may be overkill. It sure does make for great tasting water though.

[Cuffs]

Any manufacturer of filters usually includes this info on their site...

An absolute pore size rating specifies the pore size at which a challenge organism of a particular size will be retained with 100% efficiency under strictly defined test conditions. Among the conditions that must be specified are: test organism (or particle size), challenge pressure, concentration and detection method used to identify the contaminant.

A nominal pore size rating describes the ability of the filter media to retain the majority of particulate at (60 - 98%) the rated pore size. Process conditions such as operating pressure, concentration of contaminant, etc., have a significant effect on the retention efficiency of the filters.

[Nalgene Ninja]

I treat w/ Potable Aqua tab kits (the new ones have a 2nd bottle that removes the Iodine color and taste). Since I basecamp and dayhike, I can take enough tap water to last unless it's really hot or the kids spill theirs.