Best tablet or liquid water treatment...

I'm looking for the best/most trusted tablet or liquid water treatment for bug out bag and such. I know there is a lot of discussion on this subject, tablets vs. mechanical devices, but I'm specifically looking at a tablet/bottle type product for emergency lay-away use. Micropur seems to be the preferred product on this board (at least of the threads I've read) and Aquamira seems to be the second choice. I also searched for a product I've read about called Chlor-Floc but didn't get any hits.

Any thoughts or 2¢ on this?

I've used iodine tabs my whole life. That's what was supplied in my boy scout days. I've never had the runs during or after a trip so I trust it. I think I should try something else though as my girlfriend dislikes the taste... me, I'm used to it.
GD

I want to caution about the use of iodine.

After only a month of using iodine for water disinfection, I broke out in a horrible rash, with deep lesions (lichen planus) that left permanent scars. To this day (25 years later), I cannot tolerate seafood, iodized salt or multi-vitamin/mineral products, nearly all of which contain iodine. The iodized salt is a particular problem--when invited to someone's house for dinner or eating at a restaurant, I have to request specially prepared food (no-salt is the easiest) or stick with salads with oil and vinegar on the side (no house or home-made dressings). If I ever have to have a medical diagnostic test that uses iodine, such as an angiogram--well, I'll just have to die of the undiagnosed ailment! Per several doctors I've consulted, allergies to iodine are not at all unusual. Per the CDC, iodine is to be used for water disinfection only in emergencies and is contraindicated for pregnant women and small children (which should tell you something). It is also ineffective against cryptosporidium, which is becoming more common.

I've posted this information several times on this site, but it seems that in almost every water purification thread, someone always pops out of the woodwork recommending iodine for water purification. Not everyone is sensitive to iodine, but enough people are that it should never be recommended for general use--not just in my own opinion, but in the opinion of a number of medical authorities I've consulted.

Don't use iodine. it's old school, and has too many potential side effects if you use it for too long.

Many people espoused iodine for years because prior to some of the more modern treatments iodine was the only thing that would kill cryptosporidium (which btw is pretty much not a problem in most places anyway).

Clorine dioxide based treatments such as Aquamira or pristine are as effective as iodine (they kill everything), work as fast or faster, and don't have a taste. They are as dangerous for side effects as municipal water treatement, since most of them are based on the same chemical process.

Short answer - go find aquamira (in canada it seems to be called "pristine") or an equivalend Chlorine Dioxide based treatement.

If you are looking for the "best/most trusted" then don't use Aquamira liquid since it is not intended for our needs as backpackers. The only liquid solution I know of that is a purifier is what is made by the MSR Miox.

The chlorine dioxide tablets are good. Just ensure that they say they can kill all the nasties. If they are good, they will say that a contact time of up to four hours is required.

If I am not mistaken, the Chlor -Floc you are referring to is a product made by "Pur" http://www.psi.org/pur-emergency-relief/how_pur_works.htm. It uses a combination of a chlorine dioxide treatment and a flocculant to remove particulates. In the US it is sold under a different company, I do not recall off the top of my head the name.

I have posted in the past about the different forms of water treatment and their pros/cons. I am sure it is found with a simple search.

I'll call bovine scatology on that:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/aquamira_mcnett.html

Not clear to me what there is *not* designed for backpackers.

I've used the pristine brand of this for years. aquamira is the exact same thing. I'm not sure what ndsol's problem with it is, but trust me it works just fine and a lot of people use it. Read the directions and use it appropriately.

The brand is basically irrelevant - look for "chlorine dioxide" - in either tablet or liquid mix form. PUR makes some of the same thing too, as does katydyn micropur, etc.

I usually take micropur tablets but been meaning to get some Aqua Mira.

Has anyone every tried KlearWater? Its Chlorine Dioxide based also. Someone from work mentioned it to me and looked it up but don't know much about it.
http://www.klearwater.com/

Did you look at the manufacturer’s website that I linked to for AquaMira? That would explain my concerns about Aquamira liquid for backpackers. The link you refer to is a secondary source and is old as it still refers to McNett as the manufacturer. The website you linked to states, “Laboratory studies continue to show that McNett Aqua Mira (AquaMira) is effective against viruses and protozoa. The US Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating these claims and approval is pending.” But after years, approval was never forthcoming.

Look to what the manufacturer has to say. Don’t you think that Aquamira would promote its liquid if it could be called a purifier?

Aquamira’s website has this to say about its tablets: “When used as directed, Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets meet the EPA guidelines for Microbiological Water Purifiers making it the safest solution on the market. Great for weekend hiking, camping, hunting, or fishing trips.” Nothing of the sort is stated for the liquid.

I was always hearing before from others that it was just a bureaucratic issue about EPA registering and that it didn’t mean much. I always thought that if Aquamira wasn’t willing to have proper laboratory studies to get it EPA registered, then they didn’t care enough for my needs. Now that they have gotten their tablets registered, a different picture seems to be painted. The drops don’t meet EPA guidelines and, therefore, don’t qualify as “the safest solution on the market” as they promote for their tablets.

I just don’t want backpackers out there using the liquid and having a false sense of security. As such, the brand is not irrelevant. A certain concentration level and contact time is needed. A weak mixture of chlorine dioxide just isn’t going to kill the nasties.

KlearWater makes some outlandish claims about killing everything in 15 minutes. Read that website carefully. They talk about what chlorine dioxide does, but not so much about what their product does.

Like Aquamira liquid, this liquid is also not EPA registered. As such, I wouldn't trust it as there are plenty of other products that meet the requirements to be purifiers.

I would personally stick with the Micropur tablets out of those three.