Water Purification

Just wanted to ask a few questions and see what everyone uses to treat/filter their water.

I really only have experience with one of the MSR pumps (don't remember which one) and the Steripen UV light. Both seemed to work OK, but I don't have that stuff anymore (took back to REI and/or sold for food money) so I'm in need of a new piece of gear and want to get something cool!

I was thinking about just getting another Steripen but I don't really like the idea that it runs on batteries. They are heavy, expensive, and create a lot of waste.

I've been reading about these new "gravity fed" filters, which make sense. I hated the pump thing I had. Katadyn and Sawyer are the two that I've been coming across. Anyone using these?

I'm relatively uneducated about viruses and bacteria that I might be encountering but in the mountains of N. America it seems that a filter of about .3 microns will suffice? Unless we are sourcing downstream from humans/toxic sources that is. Iodine as a back up?

And since you're boiling your tea and cooking water, no need to filter right? Unless it tastes bad I guess.

Sorry, it's been a long time since I've had to think about this kind of stuff. I'm starting to realize that I've become a car camper!

Thanks!

Biggest concern is giardia and cryptospordia.

if you just want to go light, then get either iodine (smells bad) or chlorine tablets (can be neutralized with some gatorade mix after the appropriate time).

Steripen Adventure is more robust ive heard, but still has the battery issue.

Pumps ( is till use an MSR Ceramic one) are the next fastest. I usually treat with some chlorine after i pump anyways because im paranoid im going to wind up craping myself

Gravity - probably just as effective as pumps but takes longer. Usually requires a separate bag to hang up (extra container vs pump weight) which may or may not be easier to do in the alpine.

In NA, unless you are in some remote location, the water is probably contaminated with various human caused contaminants and it would be healthier to filter.

i use a katadyn hiker pro water filter, it's a pump style with an attachment that screws right on to a wide mouth nalgene bottle. it's really simple and has served me very well over the last few years.

MP1 for me most of the time. Filters are a real PITA and I avoid them unless absolutely necessary.

My favorite water treatment product is Aquamira ( ems.com/product/index.jsp?p…). This system is just as light as iodine tabs, and I find it produces much better tasting water. The one thing you have to watch for is that over the long term (years) the chemicals will eat through the bottles, and if they do it attacks nylon and rubber quite aggressively. Bad for stuff sacks and backpacks.

I am an avid backpacker and have used a majority of the different types of purification

Iodine:
Pro- Cheap, effective
Con- Using for prolonged periods is bad, water doesnt taste great, must pre-filter to get mud n junk out

Chlorine/other Drops ( Aquamira)
Pro- Tastes better, kills more nasty stuff
Con- must pre-filter to get mud n junk out

Filters:
Pro- filters mud n junk out, good tasting water,
Con- removes MOST pathogens, not all viruses

Purifier:
Pro- Kills pathogens
Con- most models dont filter out mud n junk

The best and most sound method of water treatment is boiling. This kills EVERYTHING. I have used aquamira and iodine, both are ok. My Katadyn Filter is the shit! Except if the water is really dirty the filter can clog. All mechanical/electris devices ( filters and steripens) should be complimented by a spare little dropper bottle of iodine.

I have had Gihardia( or however you spell it) and it was probably the worst experiance of my life. No matter how good the water looks, still treat it. Trust me

CDC has a good explanation of this problem and solutions at cdc.gov/healthywater/drinki…

1)Boiling works as a complete treatment.

2)Filtering doesn't eliminate viruses, but does get bacteria, crypto and Giardia. Filters clog easily.

3)Chemicals kill viruses and bacteria, Giardia but not reliably crypto cysts, which can cause a hard to cure chronic diarrhea.

4)I use a Clear2Go filter for day trips to eliminate crypto and parasites, then treat with iodine or chlorine to kill bacteria and viruses. The Clear2Go is a "loose" filter that fits on the included plastic bottle that filters quickly and doesn't clog easily. Clear2Go doesn't kill bacteria. If the water is quite clear on multiday trips I will use a ceramic filter, but if there is any haze to the water these ceramic filters clog quickly. Still have to treat chemically for viruses even with ceramic filter.

Whatever you choose I think its a good idea to have some way to boil as a backup in case of clogged filters. If you have a campfire going sometimes its simpler just to boil. You don't need a rolling boil, basically enough to poach an egg (160 degrees? I think). I carry stainless steel water bottle for this purpose.

I don't use steripen because I'm not sure it is proven by third party to eliminate crypto cysts.

Hmmmm...

Well, I'll have a stove so can boil but just thought that it would be a waste of fuel to do all my drinking water this way. Main place that's got me thinking about water treatment is the Winds, but I'm sure I'll use it other times as well this summer as I plan to be in CO and WY for 2 months or so. There will be two of us.

Looks like it's a good idea to treat with some sort of chemical even if I do filter first... so if I can get relatively clear water, is there even a reason to have a filter at all?

Doesn't crypto take like HOURS to kill with the tablets?

Ryan, what context are you looking to purify water in?

I worked in rural East Africa for a few months where I didn't have access to clean, safe drinking water. I relied on:

1- Water Guard I trust WaterGuard's sodium hypochlorite solution to kill most viruses and bacteria. After treating sketchy (and I mean sketchy) water with WaterGuard, I never had any ill effects. Downsides: the treatment takes about an hour to fully work, slighlty alters the taste of the water, and is, well, a chemical solution. Upsides: super cheap, super light (only need a couple drops per liter), and confidence that it works.

2- Steripen. I don't understand how a UV light can fry bacteria, but it seems to. The steripen is a second, for me, to the WaterGuard simply because I don't comprehend how it works -- and I tend to be wary of things I don't understand. In three months away from safe water sources, I got sick once and I believe it was from water treated with a SteriPen. (Note: the water was super questionable in the first place and not as "safe" as water caught from a flowing, fresh mountain stream.)

3- Bandana for chunks. ;)

So, in short, my vote is for the tried and trusted chemical solution.

I have a General Ecology First Need XL. It is amazing. It is a pump purifier...unlike others that are considered filters.

I'm not a fan of the UV light things or tablets because if your water is muddy, it won't take that out.

I've had the First Need for several years and it's still perfect. The one downside though, is that you can't clean the element. It's in a sealed canister. So you just buy a new element/canister/thing and they are about 55 bucks. But I haven't had to replace mine yet so they last a long time!!!

Seriously, check this one out.

Thanks Whitney.

I don't see myself trying to purify any sketchy water and in the end I guess I'll never be more than a days walk from fresh water. But in order to stay in climbing areas as long as possible, we'll need to treat all of the water we use to drink, cook, wash dishes, etc.

Obviously I hope to be able to source it from quickly moving streams, but I'm not in the habit of really making plans until we get on the road and see what the weather is going to be like. Tentatively we could spend a few days at a time in the Longs Peak cirque, Glacier Gorge, the Cirque of Towers, and wherever you camp to do the Grand Teton! There has to be water sources in these areas... how contaminated they are by human and non-human stuff is unknown to me.

I'm just trying to figure out the best compromise between money, weight, safety and convenience. Like I said, it's been a while since I've had to rely solely on treated water, and back then I didn't really put much thought into it.

UV light works to kill bacteria by breaking apart their DNA so they cannot grow/replicate anymore.

Bleach oxidizes everything on and in bacteria / viruses to kill them.

Both these treatments are most effective if the bacteria are exposed in the water, and not sheltered inside some dirt particle suspended in the water, so try to start with the cleanest water. If no clear running water is available, you can collect water and let it settle over night, then treat or filter it.

Filters physically block bacteria from passing. A typical E. coli bacterium is a about a 1 x 3 micrometer cylinder. Some bacteria are smaller (down to 0.3 micrometers) , some larger. So if you get a 0.2 or 0.3 micrometer pore size filter the bacteria are stuck on the filter, while water and viruses (0.02 - 0.3 micrometers) pass through. This is why some filters have backflushing options and filters are cleanable, and why you can't buy a filter and never think about it again. Eventually you will have to service or replace it, so you might think about getting one with a removable, cleanable filter.

Crypto and giardia are large and filterable or can be killed by extended! (half hour) treatment.

Probably the easiest way to get these things is to not wash your hands and eat food, so good hygiene can go a long way.

Richard88 wrote:i use a katadyn hiker pro water filter, it's a pump style with an attachment that screws right on to a wide mouth nalgene bottle. it's really simple and has served me very well over the last few years.

I can't second this enough. It's not the lightest option but is VERY reliable and allows you to drink filtered water virtually instantaneously.

mec.ca/Products/product_det…

aquatabs ... weight almost nothing ... used by unicef and medicine sans frontiers during the cholera epidemic in haiti ... used by nato, canadian/brit and other armed forces, used by us special forces ...etc ...

cheap at MEC as well

very little taste IMO ... the downside is that it aint a filter

You could always go with the Yvon chouinard approach and intentionally drink from contaminated water sources to build up an immunity... You might get sick a time or two in the process though :)

I like the steripen. It is lighter, cheaper per liter of purified water, easier, often faster and more effective than filters, which I have two of sitting in my closet unused since I bought my steripen 5 years ago.

The steripen has been tested by several independent organization which always says it works well. See steripen.com/micro-biologic… for a list of studies showing it to be effective.

The main drawback with a steripen that it does not work well with murky water or with organisms that are encapsulated. The UV light has to hit the organism to be effective. Pre-filtering with a bandanna or something is sometimes necessary. Note that in the same conditions you must increase the amount chemicals and exposure time for chemical agents to perform their task. Filter generally just clog up unless you have a prefilter.

I also used iodine for years and while I don't mind the flavor most people do. Also the exposure time for chemical purifiers is dependent on the water temperature and can be a long time for near freezing water.

I only purify water I drink or wash my hands with. Water I use for cooking is purified by the cooking process.

I suspect that most people who get sick from 'purified' water, whatever the purification method, are really exposed by dirty hands(maybe the cooks hands) or unpurified water on the outside of the container or some other vector.

Ryan,

you should have no problem finding running water in the winds. We filtered 8 L every night before going to sleep and treated with chlorine overnight. Water at least in early june was silt free up in the cirque. Avoid the lake water obviously.

T

Been using the Katadin Hiker for years. Every time I've considered an alternate solution i keep coming back to it for ease of use and quality of function.

I have been using UV treatment for about 5 years in the backcountry. I found the steripen to be an unwieldy solution, prone to human error (we got giardia once, and it's unclear if the pen was the culprit, but it's a possibility.) It's also easy to break in a pack and takes a dumb amount of batteries, and stopped working after a year or so. I then found the aquastar:

uvaquastar.com/skins/2008St…

Takes cr123a batteries, which are like [old] camera batteries. IE, easy to find. The batteries are light and easy to take along a second set, but you shouldn't need to for most weekend warrior trips. The `star aslo has an led light which is nice in the tent at night when shuffling about. I've never gotten sick using the aquastar despite using it in marmot and cattle infested waters. (They used to graze cattle all the way up to 12k on capital peak!)

The bottle is nice to keep the UV protected, and easy to throw in your pack and hike along as the water is treated (saves time over swishing the pen).

I usually have a couple of iodine tabs in my first aide kit. Iodine is not great for your thyroid long-term and should not be used for more than 6 weeks continuously.

As far as how UV works. UV breaks down the DNA inside the organisms. This means that while you are in fact ingesting the living giardia, etc. they cannot replicate and therefore cause problems in your intestinal tract.

Boiling water is probably the most effective method for killing the organisms, but keep in mind at altitude water boils at a lower temp and therefore will require more time to be effective.

I forgot to mention that I have used the big honking MSR pump and the Katadin mini-thing. I find pumps to be a pain in the ass quite frankly. They are heavy, and require lots of time and energy to treat your water. I'd rather save those calories for hiking/climbing than pumping my water supply.

Lightest/easiest basecamp solution I've ever used is bleach. On a rafting trip on the Colorado (seriously nasty water) we'd grab a few 5 gal. buckets of river water, let 'em settle for an hour or two, decant clear water into a second vessel and add a drop of bleach. Even with loads of waste and god-knows-what-else flowing into that water everyday, noone got sick. Not the tastiest solution, but simple. Platypus' Gravity Works is a good basecamp filtration solution, too.

I've been using the same steri-pen for years (Africa and US) and have been happy with it so far- excusing the battery life/weight issues you mentioned. There is a solar-power charger attachment thingy you can get for them (already mentioned?), although I have no experience with it. I've found it to be durable and reliable.