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Water Purification

Kit Fox

By Kit Fox
in General geocaching topics

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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted

I looked at a lot of filters and tried a bunch out (the outdoors store near my has a bunch on display and a fish tank so you can actually try them).

 

I chose the Pur Hiker (now the Katadyn Hiker). I've used it for about 6 years now and its still going strong. What I liked about it was that it was easy to pump, easy to handle and had a good flow rate.

 

Before I had the Pur Hiker, I had a Katatdyn Mini Filter. It cost 3X what the Pur cost and I hated it. It was hard to pump, the flow rate was just a trickle, it clogged frequently and you needed 3 hands to operate it. I wound up giving it away to some college student who was looking for a filter in a backcountry forum. May God forgive me for that evil act.

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Cpt.Blackbeard

+Cpt.Blackbeard

Posted
Posted

Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

Until you walk 20 feet upstream and spot the carcass..........

 

Which really happened to me back in my teen years, good long drink from a nice cool stream, then walked upstream and around a bend, not more than fifty feet, and found a rotting deer carcass in the water.

I also use a PUR filter now.

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ironman114

+ironman114

Posted
Posted

Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

Until you walk 20 feet upstream and spot the carcass..........

 

Which really happened to me back in my teen years, good long drink from a nice cool stream, then walked upstream and around a bend, not more than fifty feet, and found a rotting deer carcass in the water.

I also use a PUR filter now.

 

Looks like it didn't hurt you too much. Your still alive and seem to be fine.

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Mopar

+Mopar

Posted
Posted

Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

Until you walk 20 feet upstream and spot the carcass..........

 

Which really happened to me back in my teen years, good long drink from a nice cool stream, then walked upstream and around a bend, not more than fifty feet, and found a rotting deer carcass in the water.

I also use a PUR filter now.

 

Looks like it didn't hurt you too much. Your still alive and seem to be fine.

Except for the patch over one eye, the peg leg, and the hook for a hand. :blink:

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Team Woodward

+Team Woodward

Posted
Posted (edited)

For price, size & ease of use, another vote for the PUR/Katadyn Hiker.

I also have a Katadyn Combi but it's too bulky for a day pack, great filter otherwise. A Katadyn Camp filter (the old style with the ceramic filter) that is great if your are going to set up camp. I also have the MSR MIOX unit. It is the best if you can wait 20-30 minutes on your water.

Edited by Team Woodward
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fox-and-the-hound

+fox-and-the-hound

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm in the market for a lightweight water filtering system. I have my eye on the MSR WaterWorks® EX Microfilter. Does anybody here use these, and like their performance? What other brand filters have you had good luck with?

 

http://www.msrcorp.com/filters/waterworks_ex.asp

 

We both use MSR as our primary filtering system. I have a Katadyn as well and it's both lighter and more compact. The upside of the MSR is faster and larger volume for less work. The Katadyn is lighter, not as sturdy, but more compact. So for the long (bring a lunch) hiking caches we'll take the MSR. For the quick ("grab the small bag") caches, it's the Katadyn. The alternatives of taking a chance on clean water are just not worth it. My brother ended up with "beaver fever" last year and that was more than enough to convince me after seeing what he went through. :ph34r:

 

For reference we're using the WaterWorks® EX Microfilter (MSR) and the Katadyn Hiker

Edited by fox-and-the-hound
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Kit Fox

+Kit Fox

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the different filtration systems. I'm going to find a place where I can compare the Katadyn with the MSR. As for Walden Run, I understand your reasoning, but my health, and the ability to provide for my family is far more important than risking a months worth of downtime.

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The Jester

+The Jester

Posted
Posted

I looked at a lot of filters and tried a bunch out (the outdoors store near my has a bunch on display and a fish tank so you can actually try them).

 

I chose the Pur Hiker (now the Katadyn Hiker). I've used it for about 6 years now and its still going strong. What I liked about it was that it was easy to pump, easy to handle and had a good flow rate.

 

Before I had the Pur Hiker, I had a Katatdyn Mini Filter. It cost 3X what the Pur cost and I hated it. It was hard to pump, the flow rate was just a trickle, it clogged frequently and you needed 3 hands to operate it. I wound up giving it away to some college student who was looking for a filter in a backcountry forum. May God forgive me for that evil act.

Hmm... My experience with the Mini is different. I like it. I looked a lot of filters and that's the one I chose. There are others that are easier to pump, but I'm not that often in a big hurry in the backcountry. The price may seem steep, but when you consider that it will filter 2000 gallons (compared to 200-400 from most others) it is cheaper (3X price, 10X filtering). The biggest point (for me) was the weight/size - it's small and light enough that I will always toss it in. I use a CamelBak and the hose fits right on the out-spout of the filter, I also have a short hose for other containers.

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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted
Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

 

 

I used to have the same attitude. I spent half of my Backcountry hiking career with just a sierra cup and a bota bag and never got ANY bugs (bacteria/protozoa) in all that time.

 

 

My ex-bro-in-law was/is quite the Mountain Man. He taught me where and how to get potable water without filtering and it worked, but then I was ALWAYS above 8,500 feet and that made the odds better.

 

 

I wouldn't settle for less than what I considered the best filter and at the time, I couldn't afford the one I wanted.

 

 

Listening to my friends nightmare stories made me feel a bit like I was playing Russian roulette and when I got the opportunity to get the Katadyn filter I wanted for 60% off, I jumped at the chance.

 

 

I still take the occasional unfiltered drink, especially to mix my Tang & Hornitos. There really is nothing like being in a place where you can drink the water that's running right next to where you're sitting and enjoying the scenery (while gettin' blasted) and not worry what it could do to you.

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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted (edited)

Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

It's easy to forget that this is just water sitting on the ground. If you spill your drink on the floor, you don't just lap it up.

 

 

<_< I think you missed the point. WR's subsequent post sheds a great deal of light on his position and pretty much told me a possible reason why I have no horror stories to tell from all my years in the BC without using any filtration. BTW it aslo pretty much said quite a bit of what my-ex-bro-in-law told me but without all the science.

Edited by Snoogans
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briansnat

+briansnat

Posted
Posted (edited)

This article is somewhat more complex than an ad for a water purification system:

 

http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?reque...4&page=0235

 

I will be quite happy if just ONE Madison Avenue junkie lets the words sink in enough

so that next time his mind goes past the hiking hottie bending over the stream to use her

PUR.

 

-WR

 

I always have a filter along while backpacking, but don't always filter my water. There is something to be said for filling your cup where a spring bubbles out of the ground, or dipping your cup in an ice cold mountain stream on a hot summer day. If you pick your spots you should be OK.

 

That said, you can't always find a spring coming out of the ground or a babbling mountain brook. Often come July and August that spring dries up and that babbling brook becomes a series of stagnant pools. Other times the only water source is a stream that you know passes through farmland, or by homes upstream. For those times, a filter comes in real handy.

Edited by briansnat
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kateweb

kateweb

Posted
Posted

I sometimes wonder if we are over doing as far as filtering and clean comes to mind I know that before filtration it was making sure of cretin things like no dead animals flowing and the sort. i know that in cretin parts of the world the people are completely amuine to a few things we find in some of the "not the best" water. that said I am a fan of the electrified saltwater, I haven't done it in a wile but it is a super simple process of adding a tablet (in some cases)to an ounce or 2 of water and after running the charge adding it to a gallon of water and presto good drinking water. I don't have one of the little devices that do it but I know people that do it's kinda cool to see them in action it the size of a fat pen. and no pumping <_<

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Snoogans

+Snoogans

Posted
Posted
I sometimes wonder if we are over doing as far as filtering and clean comes to mind I know that before filtration it was making sure of cretin things like no dead animals flowing and the sort. i know that in cretin parts of the world the people are completely amuine to a few things we find in some of the "not the best" water. that said I am a fan of the electrified saltwater, I haven't done it in a wile but it is a super simple process of adding a tablet (in some cases)to an ounce or 2 of water and after running the charge adding it to a gallon of water and presto good drinking water. I don't have one of the little devices that do it but I know people that do it's kinda cool to see them in action it the size of a fat pen. and no pumping <_<

 

 

The Snoogstress works at REI and has one of those. She swears by it. I totally don't get it, but then, I haven't done any reading about it either.

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kateweb

kateweb

Posted
Posted
I sometimes wonder if we are over doing as far as filtering and clean comes to mind I know that before filtration it was making sure of cretin things like no dead animals flowing and the sort. i know that in cretin parts of the world the people are completely amuine to a few things we find in some of the "not the best" water. that said I am a fan of the electrified saltwater, I haven't done it in a wile but it is a super simple process of adding a tablet (in some cases)to an ounce or 2 of water and after running the charge adding it to a gallon of water and presto good drinking water. I don't have one of the little devices that do it but I know people that do it's kinda cool to see them in action it the size of a fat pen. and no pumping <_<

 

 

The Snoogstress works at REI and has one of those. She swears by it. I totally don't get it, but then, I haven't done any reading about it either.

 

PopSci did a pice on them a couple years ago it should be in the arcives, if you wanted to check it out.

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geofireman

+geofireman

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just read about this Sawyer Water Filter Bottle in my latest issue of CampingLife magazine. It got great reviews. No pumping, excelent filter, & it can be used by itself (without container), & also hooks up to a hydration pack if desired. It also comes with additional short straws, so you can share your water/filter with someone else, & each have your own sanitary drinking straw after the filter. Price is listed @ $55 retail, and suposed to filter 500 gallons. I think I will give it a try. Anyone use one???

http://sawyerproducts.com/sawyer_products/...lters/index.htm

Edited by geofireman
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edscott

+edscott

Posted
Posted

Filter schmilter. Bubbling brooks flowing over moss-covered rocks have always served me well. What is the advantage of the back-country if you can't trust the water? Yes, there are risks, but Taco Bell worries me a LOT more.

 

-WR

Until you walk 20 feet upstream and spot the carcass..........

 

Which really happened to me back in my teen years, good long drink from a nice cool stream, then walked upstream and around a bend, not more than fifty feet, and found a rotting deer carcass in the water.

I also use a PUR filter now.

 

I know the feeling. When I was a little guy.. maybe 6 or 7, I used to drink from the brook over the hill from my house when out playing in the woods. As I grew older and began to extend my explorations, I found the stream started under our town's dump. Figure it helped my immune system.

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mtbikernate

mtbikernate

Posted
Posted

The thing with pathogenic microorganisms is that they don't exist in a stream in uniform densities. The flowing water moves them from their source rather quickly, and then the numbers decrease again. What this means is that if you happen to dip your sierra cup in a stream at just the right moment, you might get a slug of parasites and bacteria from a deer that pooped in the water just upstream.

 

Cryptosporidium and Giardia get a lot of the press with regards to water-borne pathogens, but they're not the most common, and they're not the nastiest ones out there.

 

E. coli appears in water sources regularly, and its effects are well documented.

 

Leptospirosis is another bacteria that is very common. My wife sees it in dogs and cats VERY often (she's a veterinarian), and people can contract it, too. It can cause liver damage, kidney failure, and lung hemorrhage.

 

Hepatitis A

 

Tapeworm (in restricted regions)

 

There are many more chemicals that end up in various water sources, too. Not so much an issue in alpine regions, but at lower elevations where the water has flowed past human development, it certainly is.

 

I use a MSR Miniworks EX and a MSR Miox. Together, they remove all microorganisms and inactivate a large number of chemicals. In remote areas, I usually only use the Miniworks.

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