I'm currently looking into some different ideas for "purifying" my water. I've used for over a decade a sweetwater filter system and I need another new filter for this coming season. I've been able to find a replacement filter cartride for $30 but I'm tempted to switch things up and go lighter weight.

The sweetwater system weighs about a pound or so but has been very reliable. Any personal experiences out there along with recommendations, drawbacks, and weights of the system you use?

I would even consider prefiltering and chemicals as long as the taste of the water is not like drinking from a rinsed out DOW chemical truck.

Almost all of my backpacking is done in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, etc. Think high mountains in the west and possibly a little desert packing thrown in.

Thanks for the ideas,

Skippy

I use a Sweetwater for most of my Arizona hikes where I filter before using chemicals. Some of the water sources here are pretty rank (dead coyotes etc) so I like the filter first and then ClO2 system.
I have been able to reduce the weight of my Sweetwater to 9.7oz by eliminating some accessories, making a lighter stow sack and by judicious shortening of the hoses. There is a thread about lightening the SW on Practical Backpacking.

"I would even consider prefiltering and chemicals as long as the taste of the water is not like drinking from a rinsed out DOW chemical truck."

Common among lightweight backpackers is Aqua Mira drops (two small plastic bottles, pre-mix drops from each, wait five minutes, add to water and shake). Not too expensive to try out to see if you like this approach --- can always buy a more expensive filter later if you don't. It's what I use, and I don't notice any taste issue, whereas with the old iodine tablets I very definitely did.

+1 for Aqua Mira.

Aquamira liquid 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.

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.

I vote for the steripen. I use it with chemical drops as backup. It has never failed me yet. I have taken water from beaver ponds, big lakes, rivers and even some small slow moving streams. I have not been sick yet. You may want to bring something like a bandanna to filter out the floaties. I love the speed and ease of use. It takes a minute and a half to completely purify a full nalgene. I have also used it as the main filter for a group of four people. This worked very very well. I own the steripen journey. It weighs 4.9 oz according to backcountry.com.

All in all I think it is hard to beet this system for weight, speed, and reliability.

I'll second the Steripen for clear water. I use an Adventurer for all of my trips where I can anticipate clear water. But, for some of the murk I have to treat, a bandanna will not get the water clear enough to use the Steripen: so, I use a filter and then chemicals. Those who use UV sterilization on cloudy or murky water are risking a good case of "the green apple quickstep".

"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."

For me the right decision data includes both theoretical and empirical. Empirically --- i.e., from experience of my own and that of a lot of happy A.M. users that I've known --- A.M. seems to be a fine solution. Certainly in murkier or otherwise more doubtful water situations (herd of cows just upstream ...), and/or in particularly cold water the user has the option of increasing the dosage or increasing the treatment time or both.

The really tough thing in assessing collective "user experience", however, is the fact that not getting sick doesn't say much, and unfortunately, *getting* sick doesn't say much either, given incubation period and other hygiene issues that can also cause gastro distress. We unfortunately are always making somewhat of a stab at assessing our experiences at obtaining sufficiently clean drinking water.

I'm not trying to convert anyone here, just saying that A.M. remains my choice in most situations.

Pika,

I've tried registering for an account on the Practical Backpacking forum but for whatever reason it is not working. Could you fill me in on what all was done to lighten the Sweetwater?

I got my Steripen Adventurer for Christmas and have had lots of time to play and learn with it. Usually I can expect clear water where I will hike. I'm looking at other ways for when the water isn't.

Not literally knowing what the "green apple quickstep" means, but I sort of get the idea. I think. Never heard that term before.

I have used Pristine which is the Canadian version of AM. Because I encountered more and more murky water I now use an MSR HyperFlow filter. It is very light. Not sure what it weighs, but very light compared to any other filter I have ever looked at . Very compact, so I don’t really notice I have it in my pack. It is also very fast. I have only used it for one season but so far so good.

Howie