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.

All one has to do is look at the Aquamira site to see the difference: “When used as directed, Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets meet the EPA guidelines for Microbiological Water Purifiers making it the safest solution on the market.” But for the liquid, Aquamira makes the following claim, “Aquamira Water Treatment treats drinking water using chlorine dioxide to kill bacteria, control the build up of slime and improve the taste of stored water.” It is only designed to ensure that already potable water remains such. That is not what backpackers are trying to accomplish.

According to the site, "Recently Aquamira procured the EPA registration for the base chemical from the supplier and we are now in the process of submitting our own label with appropriate claims to the EPA. This is a lengthy process, and requires every claim to be backed up with test data. Some of the data was not available from the bulk supplier and must be supplied by Aquamira. We expect this process to take up to a year from now to complete." It has been about three years since Aquamira's prediction as to when the process would be complete, which is three times the amount of time at the longest. Yet still no EPA registration.

What is clear is that the drops have not been registered with the EPA (unlike the tablets) and, as such, their efficacy for killing the nasties to EPA requirements is unproven. As such, why trust an unproven product that is not marketed for backpackers' uses? That is not a risk that I am willing to take given the plethora of reasonable alternatives available. I don't mind people buying the liquid, but only as long as their eyes are wide open to its limitations.

I think that anyone that recommends AquaMira liquid without noting its limitations is doing a disservice to our fellow backpackers. YMMV