Water Purification

[Lynda Moir]

Thought it was time to invest in a water purification system and was just checking out what is available. I came across a Steripen Adventurer. Any thoughts or suggestions on this or other methods?

[loric]

I use a MSR Miox. (i'm in VIC and don't reckon the water in the high country is all that great).

As for the economics of it all I did a quick return period calc on the water purifier.

Miox Purifier: Unit cost $240 (in 2003), +$17batteries per 200L. 1000L costs $325 (that's very conservative as the battery prices are for Lithiums and i 'think' i'm getting more like 350L per set of batteries. the 200L figure is off the MSR literature and is for regular CR123 batteries

Micropur Tabs: $34 per 100L. 1000L costs $340

I think the steripen uses AA batteries? Much easier than the CR123's (which incidentally are now finally available in rechargable form $50 for charger and batts - which changes the economics of it all)

I purify all our water, so the Miox is more economical for me than the tabs.
Tabs are cheaper and lighter for low usage - and way more convenient.

I picked the Miox over the original steripen as i can batch inhibit a 6L bladder more easily - and have even batch dosed 20L drums when 4x4ing.

Note - none of these get rid of mud like a filter would

[JohnM]

I've been using an MSR Miniworks EX for a few years now, and I'm pretty happy with it.

It's uncomplicated and pretty much idiot proof. Hand-pumps about a litre a minute, and screws directly onto my water bags or 1 litre bottles. And if anything gets clogged or clagged, it's pretty easy to take apart and sort out yourself.

The muddier the water, the more often you have to clean the filter (this is pretty easy though, and I generally only have to clean it once every 100 litres or so - takes about a minute)

Just had a look at the new MSR Hyperflow though... they promise 3 litres a minute. When I need to replace the filter on my EX, I might just do a cost/benefit analysis and look at upgrading.

Doing most of my walking in Vic, filters/purifiers are pretty much essential IMO. I've had giardia once, and that was once too often.

[geoffmallo]

I have previously used the miniworks which is only a filter and just today got a steripen very cheap. Looking forward to using it.

[loric]

I've just had a quick squiz at other water topics in this forum.
It seems that purification is more popular amongst the mainlanders.
The Tas folk seem to use the yabbie straw and suck water straight out of a hole in the ground!

[james cav]

theres nuthin better than fresh tassie mountain water. however i have had giardia or sumtin like it one time from the leven river. If your not going to treat/filter/zap your water best be getting it up high i say. basicly if cows cant sh#t in it and hopfuly no hikersd have it should be ok. I kind of hate the idea of having to treat water somwhere as fresh as tassie, kind of makes me wonder what kind of mess the world has become.

[Son of a Beach]

I've just had a quick squiz at other water topics in this forum.
It seems that purification is more popular amongst the mainlanders.
The Tas folk seem to use the yabbie straw and suck water straight out of a hole in the ground!

I must admit that I do think it odd when I see mainlanders in Tassie adding chemicals to the beautiful water they've just pulled from a mountain creek. However, I understand that it maybe necessary in some places, and they just get used to it.

[Damien]

I've been using a Steripen Classic for a while, it does kill off everything with UV light however it isn't a filter.
I've also used the Steripen Nalgene Bottle filter which isn't that great for filtering, it takes a long time and doesn't filter much.
The main issue I have with the Steripen is that it doesn't filter for taste. I had to drink some awful tasting water on the Wilsons Prom Northern Circuit in December, even adding Hydralyte to the water didn't resolve the taste issue.

I've recently purchased an MSR Miniworks EX as i've heard a lot of good things about them, i'll be testing it out in about 3 weeks on the Heysen Trail.
As someone mentioned earlier, you can field strip this thing with your eyes closed.

Damien

[tas-man]

I have drunk some pretty dodgy water over my years of bushwalking, and walking in Tassie is bliss waterwise compared to summer walks in northern NSW, SE and central Qld in where back in the 1970's I used to filter drinking water through my black felt hat, seen in this photo when I first walked in Tassie. download/file.php?id=173&mode=view The water would dissolve my sweated salts for recycling, which added to the taste

[Darren]

G'Day
You might want to look at the Aquamira Frontier pro. It’s small, light, simple and cheap. You can even attach your yabbie tube straight to the end. It is good backup if you’re not in the tasssie highlands or think the water looks a bit sus
Hope that helps
Darren

[Lynda Moir]

I have drunk some pretty dodgy water over my years of bushwalking, and walking in Tassie is bliss waterwise compared to summer walks in northern NSW, SE and central Qld in where back in the 1970's I used to filter drinking water through my black felt hat, seen in this photo when I first walked in Tassie. download/file.php?id=173&mode=view The water would dissolve my sweated salts for recycling, which added to the taste

What a great system. Love that mud. Where is the pack?

[tas-man]

I have drunk some pretty dodgy water over my years of bushwalking, and walking in Tassie is bliss waterwise compared to summer walks in northern NSW, SE and central Qld in where back in the 1970's I used to filter drinking water through my black felt hat, seen in this photo when I first walked in Tassie. download/file.php?id=173&mode=view The water would dissolve my sweated salts for recycling, which added to the taste

What a great system. Love that mud. Where is the pack?

My mates got my pack off me so I could pull myself out of the mud. One of my mates lost his boot in similar mud across the "Sodden Loddon". His foot pulled out of one boot which had to be dug out of the mud before we could move on. The mud was of a gluey consistency that you would sink into, but the suction was incredible trying to pull your feet out!

[geoffmallo]

One of the things that is rarely spoken about with water quality is building up your immune system. I've traveled a lot internationally through many developing countries and have drunk much in the bush that other wouldn't touch. My stomach is able to cope better than some others with some of the nasties. I do wonder if we protect ourselves too much with purification then we'll get sick when the water isn't at 6 degrees and not 100% clear.

Studies have shown that anti-bactering your house increases asthma and allergies in children. I wonder if any studies have been done about water quality. The only time I've been sick with giardia was when visiting a very posh private school in Sydney!

Obviously there's a line and that's why I recently bought the steripen.

I'm just thinking out loud so am happy to be shouted down (nicely)

[r3volution]

I had a Steripen Adventurer for a year or so and never used it, because I don't carry my water in a 1L or 2L bottle, and I can't quite justify the cost in batteries for the Steripen against the unlikely event of viral contamination in water sources (this is Australian mainland walking, can't speak for anything else). As a result, I sold the thing to a mate, and bought a MSR Hyperflow which I got the opportunity to use this weekend. Basically it weighs a shade over 200gms, takes up very little space and has a flow rate of about 3l per minute, its not as ritzy as the units that include a carbon taste-filter, but hey, its half the weight.

To be honest though, most of my bushwalking in the Aust. Alps, I've never taken a filter with me, and I've never gotten sick, either its good luck or common sense about times of year and picking your water sources carefully. Probably both. But filters have always entered the equation when you know you can't be fussy about which water source you draw from.