So, if you choose the pen, what filtering system do you use to clarify the water?

it’s worth pointing out that iodine tablets are not effective on cryptosporidium, though chlorine dioxide is.

My vote: Gravity fiters rule!

RE “if you choose the pen, what filtering system do you use to clarify the water?”. . . answer is you can use anything. A piece of cloth even will do. Just need to get rid of the sediment and the murk.

A less popular, but very efficient, option is the MSR MIOX. It has a small reservoir of salt and a battery powered electrolyzer that creates mixed oxidants in a small reservoir of water. Pour this activated water in your bottle and everything gets killed. It has a much longer battery life than the SteriPen. It’s as light as the lightest reusable devices. The main drawback is that learning the right technique to dissolve the salt in the water reservoir is tricky.

I am stunned you didn’t mention the FIRST NEED filter/purifier.

I’ve used Aqua Mira on every trip for 5 years now after getting introduced to it on a NOLS course. Little to no taste beyond what the water already has. 20 minutes from filling the bottle to drinking w/o having to stop to pump. No batteries and you can take it into frozen locations (unlike a filter system).

It’s also worth mentioning that the Katadyn Pocket is a solid option, with a field-cleanable ceramic filter that lasts for 13,000 gallons. That’s a lot of water!

I also think it is worth mentioning the sawyer drip filter. If weighs just about nothing and is 0.02 microns. I am waiting for them to come in stock, cant find them anywhere. I currently have an MSR sweetwater, which is great but a bit heavy and it would be nice to have a drip, set and forget.

It’s hard to beat Chlorine-dioxide tablets for the ultralight hiker/backpacker. Virtually weightless. And most of us aren’t likely to need to worry much about viruses. (Life is full of small risks everywhere). When planning to refill I usually save a swallow or two to wet my whistle before refilling – its more psychological than anything, but it helps stave off that “panic” of being parched without water. (I carry gum for the same reason-and that really works when stretching my water supply, though obviously its a temporary stalling measure.) Then I’ll fill an extra bottle and resume hiking. 30 minutes wait time goes by surprisingly quickly and then I drink that extra water to “camel up” and not carry the extra weight all day. If hiking somewhere where I was particularly concerned about viruses I’d probably use my steripen. But otherwise even the added 3.3 ounces is no real advantage to me. Most filter users should remember that for all that weight they still aren’t treating for viruses – so why carry the weight? Works for me.

In the wilderness, using a water-purification product is close to being hysteric. I’ve never used it and it has never caused me any problems. By drinking/fetching water from a fresh looking, moving stream you’ll avoid most risks.

I cannot think of anything that tastes better than water straight from the stream!

until you’re on day 4 of some race only to find that your gut has been compromised because of some bacteria or parasite and you’re shit out of luck (literally) :)

KO – Just because you have done it, and continue to do it doesn’t mean it is safe. There is great debate as to how much our water is contaminated, but there is no debate that things like Giardia, and cryptosporidium are out there. There is zero correlation between ‘fresh looking, moving stream’ and cleanliness. While I do agree that people tend to be paranoid about a lot of things. this is one that I think makes sense to cover your bases.

jpea – Just an FYI, in general intestinal issues from Giardia and Crypto take a week to ten days to show effects.

These are great. Nobody likes bringing bottled water with them in the wild. I’ll definitely check out the iodine for my upcoming camping trip!

I am the owner of 7summitsgear. I always take with me some type of water purification. About a month back 6 of us went off to do Bluejohn’s Canyon in Southern Utah. We did 3 slots in one day, around 16 miles of hiking. Well we thought there was going to be water but not a drop to be found till the end of the last slot we found a small pool of stagnant water. I would have rather tried getting water from a bathroom stall at a truck stop is what crossed my mind while we filled up one of the bags with the katadyn hiker pro. After only getting about 100 oz of water before it clogged up with slim and goo we headed out with 5 hours of hiking left to go. We ran out of water with about 3 hours left. No wanted to drink the bluejohns water. We all finally broke down and had a sip of Bluejohn water and that 100 oz got all 6 of us back safely to are camp. A month later and we are all healthy and no Giardia, and looking to to do Neon canyon in a few more weeks.

This is amazing technology. All you need is to carry it along whenever we go out and can assure a great pure quality water anytime and at anyplace.

What about lifestraw ?

Said KO- “I cannot think of anything that tastes better than water straight from the stream!”
lol…and you will get ko-ed