I'd have to agree with the water purification. It really kind of just depends on where you are. In places where lot's of people hike and horses and dogs accompany, probably best to purify. But when you get back far enough and closer to the sources, pruification is less necessary. I mean, I drank a whole Nalgene bottle of creek water in the middle of the Sawtooths here before I had my purifier, and I never had any problems because the source wasn't terribly far away and not too much traffic back there at all. It is always a risk of course anywhere.

As for bear canisters, I don't really see it as a bad thing. There aren't enough responsible backpackers who know how to take care of what they do with their food properly when bears are around. It's probably best for both parties at the end of the day.