Registered: 04/19/02
Posts: 493
Loc: Hervey Bay, QLD Australia
I've just spent the last three hours reading previous threads on water treatment methods. (VERY informative)
So now I'm curious - what treatment system(s) are you using now?
I'm most interested in a quick poll. So, I ask everyone to please try to refrain from the long winded response as most everything that needs to be said has been.
Me: I've been using a pur hiker (Katahdine) most recently. Before that was the sweetwater. Before that was a (now defunct) chemical treatment. And now I'm thinking of switching over to Aqua Mira.
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i really don't think that applies to me.
MSR Miniworks EX; thinking seriously of giving the MSR Hyperflow a try. I've also used the Katadyn Mini Filter (8 oz., ceramic element) with reasonable satisfaction.
90% of the time I do not treat. The other times I only treat non-cooking water with chlorine tabs. I previously used iodine tabs with a nutralizer for my emergency treatment.
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6800
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
I've used a pump filter (MSR Sweetwater), iodine (with horrific results), Katadyn MicroPur (chlorine dioxide tablets), the Steripen Adventurer and the ULA Amigo Pro gravity filter.
The pump filter consistently threw my lower back into spasms while I was bent over the water source. The Steripen (see my recent post) has been returned to REI. Its on-off switch is so stiff that most of the time I couldn't turn it on, and I was concerned that there was no way to sterilize the water remaining on the threads or the outside of the wide-mouth jar required. The Steripen may seem like the lightest solution, but by the time you carry extra batteries and the required wide-mouth Nalgene bottle (4 oz.), it is heavier than my preferred solution. With the extra batteries and the Nalgene, it's heavier (and takes longer per gallon) than my preferred treatment method. My experience with chemicals has not been happy; the allergy to iodine resulting from my use of iodine purification 20 years ago has left me unable to tolerate seafood or anything cooked with iodized salt (meaning I can't accept most invitations, since most people use iodized salt).
My preferred water treatment is the ULA Amigo Pro gravity filter, 7.5 oz., $45 US, a gravity filter using the Katadyn Hiker Pro filter cartridge. In a situation common to most of the "cottage" gear manufacturers who work out of their basements or garages, the owner of ULA, Brian Frankle, is going on a hike starting Aug. 1, so unless you want to wait several months, you need to order by this Thursday, Aug. 24. While it's inconvenient, I can't object to these folks doing the same things I like to do--and the gear they produce will be the better for it!
YMMV--Your Mileage, obviously, May Vary!
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Micropur tablets and AM liquids use identical active ingredients: chlorine dioxide. If you read the ingredients, you will note that Micropur has 3 times the concentration of chlorine dioxide. So:
1. Micropur is EPA registered and is allowed to advertise effectiveness against all three classes of baddies: viruses, bacteria, and protozoa (crypto, giardia, etc.). Treatment times are 15 minutes for the first two -- and 30 minutes to 4HOURS for the third -- depending on water temp (the colder, the longer).
2. A.M. being a weaker solution cannot obtain EPA registration and is NOT allowed to mention either viruses or protozoa! If you read the AM packaging, you will note that ONLY bacteria is mentioned -- along with the shorter treatment time.
3. When I talked to an A.M. rep -- she said I could replicate Micropur's efficacy against protozoa by simply quadrupling the dosage. Mathematically, it should be tripling, but she said quadrupling. Be it 3 or 4 times, that makes AM both slower to use (counting drops, 5-min mixing period, etc.) -- and more expensive!
4. Finally, just last year, A.M. came out with its own tablets! Interestingly, if you ignore the A.M. labeling and just compare the packaging and ingredient percentages -- they are identical to Micropur! And both are made in Spain. I am willing to bet it's the same factory making the tablets for both brands!
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