Water purification

I saw in one of Lens posts that he used a SteriPen. So my question is are they worth it? How durable are they? I want something for a back up if i need to refill with water in the field.
Thanks in Advance
Jon

Labaherd said:

I saw in one of Lens posts that he used a SteriPen. So my question is are they worth it? How durable are they? I want something for a back up if i need to refill with water in the field.
Thanks in Advance
Jon

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First need water filter. True purifer. Rock solid but on the heavy side. Sterpen works. But still have to filter the debris out.

Sawyer Squeeze or MSR Trailshot, coupled with chlorine dioxide tablets. Use the tablets for most of the purification. Squeeze or Trailshot to supplement the tablets or to filter water with a lot of debris.

I use a Sawyer and it is the best filter i have ever used for the cost. $20 to filter 100,000 gallons.

Jnms73 said:

I use a Sawyer and it is the best filter i have ever used for the cost. $20 to filter 100,000 gallons.

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Have you ever used you Sawyer in-line with a small backpacking pump? Wondering how many quarts per minute or something like that.

Gravity is my method now. I'll never go back to the pump again. I have no experience with the pen. The 10L Katadyn is awesome in camp with multiple people. I often add a couple water purification drops. We use a lot of water in the southwest and fill 4L bladders for our packs. Filling a bag and hanging up is so nice after an exhausting day hunting.

https://www.msrgear.com/water/autoflow-gravity-filter-10

https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-complete-4-liter-dual-bag-water-purifier-system/

https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/368-8019201-katadyn-base-camp-pro-10l_usa

1. Steripen -> for bike bottle with electrolyte drink

2. Katadyn chlorine dioxide tablets -> for Camelbak hydration bladder water

That's all I carry now. Filters are too heavy and don't kill or filter out viruses.

Eric B.

I used a new Steripen Aqua for a 9 day hunt. It takes 4 AA batteries. Instructions say Alkaline or Lithium batteries. I used Alkaline. It worked fine the first day and crapped out after that. New batteries didn't help. When I got home, their FAQ section of their site says most problems are from using Alkaline batteries. Don't ask me why they recommend them but they do. Anyway, I put in some Lithium and it seems to work fine. I won't know till I'm in the field for a few days though. Bring purification tablets for backup. I also bought the pre-filter to remove floaties. It's sorta heavyish and bulky. I also needed a container (plastic jar-like container) to filter water in because the Pen won't fit in the mouth of the water bladders I use. I then pour purified water into the bladders. Oh... and since I was getting my water from a spring, it was more shallow pools and needed to be dipped out with a smaller container (old Spam container) and poured into the plastic jar. All in all, even if the Steripen had worked, the whole rigamarole took up a lot of space.

I'll try it again but if my water source is know to be fairly clean, I'll skip the pre-filter. When it was working right, I could purify a gallon in about 10 minutes which fine with me. One of the things I liked was that my hands weren't in the water during the purification process. With my old pumps, everything was getting wet.

Sevy said:

Have you ever used you Sawyer in-line with a small backpacking pump? Wondering how many quarts per minute or something like that.

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i've never used it with a pump. My wife and kids also have their own filter. Its only about 6 oz. so you really don't notice a change in weight in your pack.

I think I'm gonna use this as a squeeze filter this week then after this trip I will try to figure something else out. Something with more volume and faster rather than squeezing 16 oz at a time into a jug for storage.

I've always removed my lithium CR123 batteries from my Steripen after each use. It's a bit of a PITA to put them in each time but it saves the batteries.

On the topic of batteries, I carry ONLY lithium batteries.
1. longer shelf life - 7 years.
2. much better performance in cold weather
3. lighter than alkaline batteries
4. give high level of amperage for almost all of the battery life instead of a steady decline like alkalines.
5. actually less expensive than alkaline per hour of use
6. won't leak acid (& ruin your device) when depleted like alkalines

Eric B.

BTW, CHLORINE DIOXIDE TABLETS DO NOT EXPIRE.
I put that in caps B/C I want everyone to see it. You will find no expiration date on Katadyn chlorine dioxide tablet packaging.

Labaherd said:

I saw in one of Lens posts that he used a SteriPen. So my question is are they worth it? How durable are they? I want something for a back up if i need to refill with water in the field.
Thanks in Advance
Jon

Click to expand...

I actually turned my dad onto the SteriPen. I've used one for about 5 years now and it always works great. It has been very durable and reliable. I have the SteriPen Ultra which recharges with a USB cable and has a little LCD display that tells you exactly how long to use it.

The water I've purified with it has always been clear, flowing water. I would probably prefer a pump filter for poorer water sources.

The main reason I like it is that it is soooooooo much less effort than pumping water, and much quicker. When you're hunting hard, pumping water is a pain in the you know what.

We just did a class at REI on the different filter systems that hikers are using. For us it came down to weight and packability.

We decided to stick with the keep it simple system- filter with a handkerchief and use tablets.

The hand pump ms were slow- the pens just didn't fit with the amounts of water we were doing and the gravity was too bulky and not compatible.

Most of the tablets expire in a year and REI didn't even sell them.... probably because they want to sell their expensive systems

Another vote for Sawyer. It works exactly as stated.