Steripen

Just wondering if anyone has had a steripen fail? If so, what failed? Someone gave one to me (new) and I am trying to decide if I should trust it for a two week trip (with backup tablets of course).
Thanks

I haven't used one but I've researched it a lot because it seems like a good idea. From what I've found out about it, the easiest way for it to fail is to use it in murky water. Water should be filtered and clear first. Found that advice on the CDC page, I think, and they say it hasn't been tested well enough to trust completely, but the government could be out of date on that.

I'm also an electronics tech, and whether it worked or not over the long term would really concern me. Batteries tend to tarnish and make bad contact, no way to know how the thing works when the supply voltage drops because of that. Maybe the company tested it well, maybe not. UV bulbs that are supposed to last thousands of uses could fail after one, you just can't predict that. I'd really like to be able to depend on a SteriPEN but I don't think I could, yet. I'd like to see some really stressful testing of it and find out what it takes to break one.

JimmyTH

I tried a Steripen Adventurer in the summer of 2008 and returned it to REI after its first trip.

I had a lot of trouble turning the thing on and off because the switch was so stiff. In fact, I had to get my son (who was on the trip) to help me with it. Since I generally backpack solo, this alone was enough to make the Steripen useless for me.

I read the directions extra carefully--even took them with me down to the creek--but the thing kept aborting the cycle during the stirring process. It would take 2 or 3 times to get it to go through the entire process. I was being careful to keep the thing in the water and no, it wasn't the low battery signal.

Another thing I disliked about it was having to carry a Nalgene bottle. The Nalgene and extra batteries pretty much swallowed up any weight savings over a gravity filter.

The third thing I disliked was having to sit by the buggy creek and stir and stir. The Steripen is definitely not suitable for a group (there were 4 of us) unless each person purifies his/her own water.

After a day of this nonsense, I put the Steripen away and used the Katadyn MicroPur tablets I had brought along as backup.

I've been using a Steripen Adventurer for three years now and other than battery problems and problems with my not reading the instructions carefully, it has performed flawlessly. You need GOOD batteries in it; I use Panasonic lithium's in mine. I used it for three weeks in the summer of '08 when I hiked the JMT and had no problems other than my carelessness. I changed batteries halfway down the trail though the ones I started with were still strong. I did carry MicroPur as backup and used it when I was too lazy to fire up the pen. I don't carry it with the batteries installed: for some reason, the batteries don't last very long unless you take them out between uses.

I don't carry it here in Arizona because what water there is, is often pretty murky; I prefer a filter for high-solids water.

I've had the old school 4AA model since '05 and it has served me well. It only failed me once when, ironically, it got wet when my pack was submerged in a stream crossing and it was in an outside pocket. Apparently the UV light section is made for immersion but not the battery compartment. A couple of hours drying in the sun with the cells out and the cover off, and it was good to go.

Still, I would not take it on a long trip without a backup.

OM-
I have a steripen, and I like it a lot. You can avoid the heavy Nalgene bottle by substituting a Nalgene Cantene bottle, either 40 oz or 32 oz capacity, about 2 oz weight. Kind of like a Platy bottle with a Nalgene thread and lid. Works great with the Steripen.