Just got a SteriPen Adventurer/Solar charger combo yesterday. It is just the lightweight ticket for backpacking & dayhiking. No more waiting interminably for the chlorine dioxide tablets to kick in.

Now, with the SteriPen and Katadyn chlorine dioxide tabs for fallback I should have the best of both worlds for safe water for backpacking in the North American west and travelling in the Philippines next December.

Next I'm thinking of a Garmin Colorado 400t GPS. (Technoweenies rejoice) It's loaded with several good features and, being on the cutting edge of handheld GPS technology, there should be no need to "update" for many years.

Anyone with a Garmin Colorado care to comment on their experience so far?

Yeah, I know, too many gadgets (too many gadgets??), especially ones that depend upon batteries. But I'll still have my maps & Silva Ranger compass.

So back to my SteriPen and N.I.W. (I am not worthy, I am not worthy...)

Eric

In anticipation of some questions:
1. I don't intend to carry the solar charger backpacking, just extra batteries.
2. The SteriPen is part of our family travel and emergency equipment. (That's my story for my wife and I'm sticking to it.)
3. Intend to filter ALL water thru #2 coffee filters before purifying.