brettbrown
 |
I was wondering what the best way to treat water is. By "best", I don't mean what kills the most bugs. I'm talking weight, speed, pack-ability, etc. Iodine is the lightest but slow. Are light pens better than pumping?
I have to admit that I never once treated or pumped a drop of water. I did a lot of hiking and camping as a kid and always just watched where I got the water from. Maybe I just got lucky, but I never had a problem. (Now that I typed this, I probably screwed myself)
I was looking for something light, easy and fast.
|
melissa
 | Posted: July 5th, 2010 Edited: July 5th, 2010 | Quote, Reply |
Each has its benefits and drawbacks and it depends on what is most important to you. Since they limit my space here, I will have to reply several times to answer.
* Water pumps:
Ex.
- Fast- Water is ready to use right away
- Great tasting water- usually has carbon inside, so they also remove the majority of chemicals and metals that can give water a bad flavor
- Not ingesting chemicals (unless you get a purifier)
- No way to contaminate the threaded part of your bottle, so you don't need to worry about sanitizing that
- Can pump only the amount you want to drink/carry, so you could end up saving some weight
- Relatively heavy
- You may want to bring a backup treatment system (or extra stove fuel for boiling) for if it breaks or clogs
- Clog easily in silty water
- Won't treat for viruses (which is an issue in S. America, Asia, and possibly rangeland) unless you get a purifier
- Hard to know when carbon is spent (and it doesn't last as long as the filter)
- You can re-contaminate your water if you store the filter wrong or accidentally drop the clean end in the water source
- A chore (some people don't mind it), especially if the mozzies are biting you up and you want to keep moving or get in your tent or you are bringing out your family and you have to pump for 5 people
- Need to be stored properly or mold can cause micro-fractures
- Ceramic filters can freeze and crack and you would not know it
- Some are easier to use than others and selecting them in the store it is hard to know if you will like it
|
melissa
| Posted: July 5th, 2010 Edited: July 5th, 2010 | Quote, Reply |
* Gravity filters
Ex.
- Pretty much the same benefits/drawbacks, but without the pumping and you have to have one "dirty" water bag (so you will want to be careful not to drink from it or to swap caps on accident)
- Usually a bit lighter than pumps
* UV
Ex.
- Fast
- Lighter than pumps
- Super easy
- Inactivate viruses
- Doesnt remove chemicals or metals that could flavor your water
- Doesnt remove any other chunks in your water, so you may want to carry something as a prefilter
- Although they claim to kill giardia and crypto, I did experiments using UV on cysts in college (I have my bachelors in Public Health), and I found that UV was not 100% effective
- Have to carry batteries or keep good track of how much your batteries have been used
- Siltiness reduces effectiveness
- No way to treat the lip of your water bottle (which you have dipped in the unclean water)
- Have to use particular water bottles
- Sometimes they are glitchy- I have had friends who have used them on long-distance hikes and many of them had to replace them once (or twice)
|
melissa
| Posted: July 5th, 2010 Edited: July 5th, 2010 | Quote, Reply |
* Miox
Ex.
- Relatively light and small
- Fast
- Water tastes great
- Have to carry rock salt
- Should probably carry extra battery
- Still ingesting chemicals (it creates chlorine ions)
* Chlorine Drops
Ex.
- Super light
- Wont stain your water or bottle
- Decent taste
- If you make them yourself they are cheap
- Hard to (but not impossible) to treat the threads of the lid
- Can use any type of water bottle or bladder
- Silty water will bind up some of the available chlorine, making it less effective
- Cold water will slow the reaction
- Questionable whether it is effective against cycts unless you have a long (4 hour) contact time
- Will not remove metals, silts, or chunks
- Takes 15 minutes to 4 hours
|
melissa
|
* Chlorine tablets
Ex.
- Super light
- Pre-measured
- Wont stain your water or bottle
- Percent of chlorine is much higher than your tap water, so it can be quite gross if you are sensitive to such things (I cant stand themI actually spilled some treated water on a shirt and it bleached it!)
- Hard to (but not impossible) to treat the threads of the lid
- Can use any type of water bottle or bladder
- Silty water will bind up some of the available chlorine, making it less effective
- Cold water will slow the reaction
- Questionable whether it is effective against cycts unless you have a long (4 hour) contact time
- Will not remove metals, silts, or chunks
- Takes 20 minutes to 4 hours
* Iodine crystals or tablets
Ex.
- Super light
- Pre-measured
- Not safe for some people, especially pregnant women
- Taste is gross unless you use a neutralizer
- Will stain your bottle if it is plastic (not lexan)
- Discolors your water unless you use the neutralizer
- You have to carry the iodine in the particular container it comes in or it will oxidize (cant repack it in smaller bags or something handy)
- Hard to (but not impossible) to treat the threads of the lid
- Can use any type of water bottle or bladder
- Silty water will bind up some of the available iodine, making it less effective
- Cold water will slow the reaction
- Questionable whether it is effective against cycts unless you have a long (4 hour) contact time
- Will not remove metals, silts, or chunks
- Takes 20 minutes
|
melissa
| Posted: July 5th, 2010 Edited: July 5th, 2010 | Quote, Reply |
* Grapefruit Seed Extract
- Light
- Cheap
- Not ingesting chlorine or iodine
- Many studies are inconclusive about the effectiveness
- Tastes awful
* Boiling
- 100% effective for killing cycts (crypto and giardia) and bacteria, and inactivating viruses
- Have to carry extra fuel
- Slow- you have to wait for water to cool too
- You need heat proof bottles if you are making more than one pot of water
- Wont remove metal flavors or chunks
- Most people end up carrying more water because they dont want to stop very often to get more water
So, it just depends on you--sorry. If you are sensitive to flavors or metals, or picky about your water bottles, or hike in Asia often, or cant fathom the idea of a stained bottle, only care about weight, etc, that will change your decision. I didnt include cost in this because per gallon they are all fairly close (unless you make your own chlorine drops).
I bet if we put it on the Facebook page, you will get a lot of different opinions. I have tried everything under the sun and keep coming back to iodine. But, I guarantee if you ask the other Gurus, they will have a different choice than me. For me, weight, flavor, and safety in my pack (I love Aqua Mira, but they kept leaking on me) are my driving factors.
That being said, you said "light, easy, fast". For you, I would recommend UV or Miox.
Melissa
|
brettbrown
|
WOW.... What a detailed answer. Thank you very much.
So what system do you use?
|
brettbrown
|
Never saw the Miox system before. Very interesting.
One thing I should have pointed out, I plan on using this in the US and not over seas.
|
melissa
| Posted: July 5th, 2010 Edited: July 5th, 2010 | Quote, Reply |
I use Potable Aqua Plus Neutralizer. I repackage the neutralizer in a small ziplock. No way to leak on ya, and I actually need more iodine and vitamin C (the neutralizer) in my diet. If you add the neutralizer (or some sports drink with vitamin C), the water is pretty tasty. Packs super small so you can put it on a hip belt pouch or in a pocket for easy access. You can treat any increment of 1/2 L, so you don't have to carry more than you will drink until your next water source.
I am a total gram weenie, though. So, I admit weight is my main driver in my gear choices.
|
|
