Bushwalk Australia

I was asked earlier today what I use for my water filtration.

I like to use either my Sawyer Squeeze filter or Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide water treatment drops, sometimes both.

The Aquamira drops are supplied in two bottles of 30ml each, part one and part two, the two parts are mixed together prior to adding to water, 7 drops of each part, The kit filters up-to 114L.
I repackage the Drops into eye dropper bottles, each marked Part A and Part B. The drops from the Eye bottle are a little smaller than the drops from the Aquamira Kit, I mix 10 drops of each parts together.

My Sawyer Squeeze Filter weighs apx 100grams. I take a Evernew 1.5L water bladder for my dirty water bag.
Depends where I'm going I usually take one or the other, Sometimes both, most of the time I chose to use the Aquamira Drops.

I use Micropur tablets. No mixing or mucking about and the water is ready to drink in 30 minutes. Weight about 2 grams for 25 tablets.

Lindsay wrote:I use Micropur tablets. No mixing or mucking about and the water is ready to drink in 30 minutes. Weight about 2 grams for 25 tablets.

Same, Simpler and no fuss. Just add a few tic tacs and the flavour is improved too.
Weighs a lot less.

Phil I know you LOVE your Sawyer - and now the Mini Sawyer is coming out so I know you will get one.
As you know from when we camped together - I use a Steripen ( the rechargeable mini USB version with LED torch) - I love it, and to prefilter much just use a coffee filter. I ALWAYS carry a USB power pack battery of some sort, so if I ever need to recharge pen I can.
But.......... If I could only EVER take 1 item for any trip I would take a Sawyer Squeeze System. - Tried and trusted, foolproof/bombproof.
Steripen is nice - but NOT foolproof by any means, and it has hick-ups occasionally. But 9/10 times the water I purify is already "reasonable".

KANANGRABOYD wrote:Phil I know you LOVE your Sawyer - and now the Mini Sawyer is coming out so I know you will get one.
As you know from when we camped together - I use a Steripen ( the rechargeable mini USB version with LED torch) - I love it, and to prefilter much just use a coffee filter. I ALWAYS carry a USB power pack battery of some sort, so if I ever need to recharge pen I can.
But.......... If I could only EVER take 1 item for any trip I would take a Sawyer Squeeze System. - Tried and trusted, foolproof/bombproof.
Steripen is nice - but NOT foolproof by any means, and it has hick-ups occasionally. But 9/10 times the water I purify is already "reasonable".

I also own a Steripen, It's the Adventure opti, Owned it now for a year, never used it. Was in Paddy Pallins in Brisbane, saw the Steripen, thought that would be great, came home placed it in the cupboard and it's been sitting there ever since, I have tried it a couple times at home. I don't like the Steripen because I'm forced to then use those Nalgene bottles with the wide opening. I don't like those Nalgene bottles. I have so many filters here. Most of them sit in the cupboard. I even own a MSR Miox.

McNett Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment Drops. Kills odor causing bacteria and enhances the taste of stored potable water. Treats up to 30 gallons of water. No after taste. Two 1 oz. bottles. Part A contains 2% aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide. Part B contains 5% phosphoric acid activator. Directions for use are printed on back of packaging. Ideal for longer trips and group water treatment. This popular chlorine dioxide kit treats up to 120 quarts (30 gallons) of water yet slips easily into a shirt pocket. Liquid drops are easy to dispense making even large container water treatment a quick process. Long shelf life (4 years) is unaffected by partial use of bottles.

Directions For Use:

1) Prior to treatment, clean water container.
2) Place 7 drops AQUAMIRA (Part A) and 7 drops Activator (Part B) in mixing cap. If water is cloudy or tinted use 15 drops of each.
3) Let mixture react 5 minutes.
4) Fill container with 1 quart (1 liter) water. Add contents of cap.
5) Shake to mix. Let stand 15 minutes. If water is very cold, cloudy or tinted let stand 30 minutes.
6) Water is ready for use.

ULWalkingPhil wrote:

KANANGRABOYD wrote:Phil I know you LOVE your Sawyer - and now the Mini Sawyer is coming out so I know you will get one.
As you know from when we camped together - I use a Steripen ( the rechargeable mini USB version with LED torch) - I love it, and to prefilter much just use a coffee filter. I ALWAYS carry a USB power pack battery of some sort, so if I ever need to recharge pen I can.
But.......... If I could only EVER take 1 item for any trip I would take a Sawyer Squeeze System. - Tried and trusted, foolproof/bombproof.
Steripen is nice - but NOT foolproof by any means, and it has hick-ups occasionally. But 9/10 times the water I purify is already "reasonable".

I also own a Steripen, It's the Adventure opti, Owned it now for a year, never used it. Was in Paddy Pallins in Brisbane, saw the Steripen, thought that would be great, came home placed it in the cupboard and it's been sitting there ever since, I have tried it a couple times at home. I don't like the Steripen because I'm forced to then use those Nalgene bottles with the wide opening. I don't like those Nalgene bottles. I have so many filters here. Most of them sit in the cupboard. I even own a MSR Miox.

Phil,
I see you as one of the most "authoritative" persons on this site re gear.
My Steripen - I cut a 2lt apple juice bottle in half ( aldi) - and then measured out exactly 1000ml's to the brim, so then I carry this - doubles as a filter item and then also to use as a food container and coffee mug etc. I am honestly somewhat confused by you suggesting that you need to use a wide mouth Nalgne etc - as all you need to do is place your Steripen in a container of measured out water and stir??????????????????- Sorry if I am missing something my friend, but I don't understand. The ONLY thing I have against steripen is that it is electronic, and also weighs more than Sawyer. But - 99% of the time it is an EXCELLENT product.
Please reply, as I'm about to go to bed, and leaving for 10 days tomorrow morning out fishing.......

KANANGRABOYD wrote:

ULWalkingPhil wrote:

KANANGRABOYD wrote:Phil I know you LOVE your Sawyer - and now the Mini Sawyer is coming out so I know you will get one.
As you know from when we camped together - I use a Steripen ( the rechargeable mini USB version with LED torch) - I love it, and to prefilter much just use a coffee filter. I ALWAYS carry a USB power pack battery of some sort, so if I ever need to recharge pen I can.
But.......... If I could only EVER take 1 item for any trip I would take a Sawyer Squeeze System. - Tried and trusted, foolproof/bombproof.
Steripen is nice - but NOT foolproof by any means, and it has hick-ups occasionally. But 9/10 times the water I purify is already "reasonable".

I also own a Steripen, It's the Adventure opti, Owned it now for a year, never used it. Was in Paddy Pallins in Brisbane, saw the Steripen, thought that would be great, came home placed it in the cupboard and it's been sitting there ever since, I have tried it a couple times at home. I don't like the Steripen because I'm forced to then use those Nalgene bottles with the wide opening. I don't like those Nalgene bottles. I have so many filters here. Most of them sit in the cupboard. I even own a MSR Miox.

Phil,
I see you as one of the most "authoritative" persons on this site re gear.
My Steripen - I cut a 2lt apple juice bottle in half ( aldi) - and then measured out exactly 1000ml's to the brim, so then I carry this - doubles as a filter item and then also to use as a food container and coffee mug etc. I am honestly somewhat confused by you suggesting that you need to use a wide mouth Nalgne etc - as all you need to do is place your Steripen in a container of measured out water and stir??????????????????- Sorry if I am missing something my friend, but I don't understand. The ONLY thing I have against steripen is that it is electronic, and also weighs more than Sawyer. But - 99% of the time it is an EXCELLENT product.
Please reply, as I'm about to go to bed, and leaving for 10 days tomorrow morning out fishing.......

Hi, sorry i didn't get back earlier, just came upon your post now, was watching Gordon Ramsey on tv.

In regards to the Steripen,i use those Collapsible bottles and the cheap water bottles you can purchase at the supermarkets, they take up less room in my pack, i also chose to use a small volume pack. My pack is smaller than when I last saw you, also the steripen is heavier than my preferred filtration and the biggest reason for me is I want to get away from electronics as much as possible on my bush walks. the only electronics I take with me now is a 124gram GPS and phone. Occasionally I take my GoPro camera.
I have no doubt its an excellent product. But those batteries are way to expensive and not easy to come by where I live. Its just not for me, i realized this after I purchased it.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I use iodine tablets. Iodine isn't effective againt Cryptosporidium but chlorine dioxide tablets (like Micropur) require a 4 hour wait to treat Crypto. So for practical purposes it isn't effective against Crypto either. I couldn't find any objective information for Aquamira about its effectiveness (or treatment time) for Crypto. It's odd that McNett is coy about that. But since it is also chlorine dioxide it presumably works similar to Micropur.

I use iodine tablets mainly because they are less expensive than chlorine dioxide and easy to find. I don't even know where to buy Micropur, online I suppose. The other reason is that popping a pill into the water is fast and simple. Pumping or mixing liquids is extra fuss and bother. If Micropur were less expensive I'd probably use that instead since the treatment time for bacteria and viruses is about half that of iodine tablets.

Can you taste the chlorine dioxide from Aquamira or Micropur? I have read reports of some people who say they can.
A tiny pinch of vitamin C powder after the treatment period neutralizes the iodine and renders the water clear and clean tasting.

I repackage the iodine pills into a small glass vial and a week's worth weighs 8g.
The vitamin C dust in a miniature plastic container adds another 8g.

ULWalkingPhil wrote:...But those batteries are way to expensive and not easy to come by where I live.

Which battery? CR123? I recently discovered rechargeable version of these and they have come down in price big time, especially online along with chargers.

You need to be careful if using rechargable CR123 batteries in steripens. You need to find high discharge cells such as Ultrafire. Many of the no-name cells give very poor performance.

For trips up to 3 or 4 days I now carry the Steripen Freedom (76g) with a cut down collapsable bottle (9g) for the purification vessel. I ensure it is fully charged before I leave and don't bother carrying a charger.I also carry a strip of Micropur as a backup. For longer trips I carry a solar charger to recharge the unit. Cloudy, muddy water is strained through my jif cloth before purifying.

To prevent cross contamination of water bottles I only purify water I plan to drink and store all drinking water in a 1 litre collapsible bottle - it only holds water I am absolutely sure of. For cooking and in camp I use a 2 litre collapsible. I don't purify water I use for cooking. If I need more than 1 litre of drinking water I fill the 2 litre and purify it as needed into the 1 litre.

Mark F wrote:You need to be careful if using rechargable CR123 batteries in steripens. You need to find high discharge cells such as Ultrafire. Many of the no-name cells give very poor performance.

Thanks and good point. I have yet to fully test out the capacity of my rechargeable CR123s but I do have an identical pair that came with the package. Will do a test soon to see how many cycles each pair can provide in my Traveler Mini model.

Good tip about adding a tic tac or vitamin c powder to adjust the taste. I'll try that. I use the USB charged steripen, but always carry a backup - tablets or aquamira. I find the sawyer filter a bit cumbersome. Personal preference I suppose.

Orion wrote:I use iodine tablets. Iodine isn't effective againt Cryptosporidium but chlorine dioxide tablets (like Micropur) require a 4 hour wait to treat Crypto. So for practical purposes it isn't effective against Crypto either. I couldn't find any objective information for Aquamira about its effectiveness (or treatment time) for Crypto. It's odd that McNett is coy about that. But since it is also chlorine dioxide it presumably works similar to Micropur.

I use iodine tablets mainly because they are less expensive than chlorine dioxide and easy to find. I don't even know where to buy Micropur, online I suppose. The other reason is that popping a pill into the water is fast and simple. Pumping or mixing liquids is extra fuss and bother. If Micropur were less expensive I'd probably use that instead since the treatment time for bacteria and viruses is about half that of iodine tablets.

Can you taste the chlorine dioxide from Aquamira or Micropur? I have read reports of some people who say they can.
A tiny pinch of vitamin C powder after the treatment period neutralizes the iodine and renders the water clear and clean tasting.

I repackage the iodine pills into a small glass vial and a week's worth weighs 8g.
The vitamin C dust in a miniature plastic container adds another 8g.

I don't notice any after tastes in the water after treating with Aquamira. The water tastes better than our town water. I own a MSR Miox, that leaves a taste in the water, still not as bad as our town water, for those that have tried a MSR Miox, this would give you an idea how bad our town water is. I don't think your could find a worse tasting water than our town water, I don't know what they put in it. I use a Hiker Pro filter at home, to get rid of the worst of the town water taste.

I been told with Aquamira it will treat crypto after 4 hours. Also with the Aquamira if the water is clear and not cloudy, 15 minutes is all you need to wait to treat viruses and most other contamination.

I've seen Micropur at the Local BCF for something like $40.00 for a few tablets. It's cheaper for me to order in Aquamira Drops and the package treats over 100L of water.

The Micropur tablets have 100 tablets to treat 100L of water.
Still pretty pricey at $40 though.

Just a quick one, I have a Steripen also but I usually walk in area that the water is clear and clean and I just use it just in case. But I'm doing a coastal walk where the water isn't so clean and clear, more salty and murky. Whats a good filter system that weight very little that can clean the muck up first.

wildernesswanderer wrote:Just a quick one, I have a Steripen also but I usually walk in area that the water is clear and clean and I just use it just in case. But I'm doing a coastal walk where the water isn't so clean and clear, more salty and murky. Whats a good filter system that weight very little that can clean the muck up first.

For particulates use a handkerchief/bandana/chux cloth/buff/coffee filter paper

Desalination is a whole different matter altogether....

Ok cool thanks

I've been using the Micropur tablets. My problem with them is they take 2 hours to be effective against giardia. That typically means I carry undrinkable water for two hours, which is heavy, even though the tablets themselves are very light.

I'm considering buying a sawyer squeeze. It weighs an extra 100g, but what's that compared to a kilo of water I can't drink?

Baka Dasai wrote:I've been using the Micropur tablets. My problem with them is they take 2 hours to be effective against giardia. That typically means I carry undrinkable water for two hours, which is heavy, even though the tablets themselves are very light.

I'm considering buying a sawyer squeeze. It weighs an extra 100g, but what's that compared to a kilo of water I can't drink?

You cant go wrong with the Squeeze. Mine only weighs 80g and is worth every gram just for the conviencance alone. Cheaper in the long run as well.

Zapruda wrote:You cant go wrong with the Squeeze. Mine only weighs 80g and is worth every gram just for the conviencance alone. Cheaper in the long run as well.

Seconded!

Tangent: Zapruda, what do you use as your dirty water vessel?

coimon wrote:

Zapruda wrote:You cant go wrong with the Squeeze. Mine only weighs 80g and is worth every gram just for the conviencance alone. Cheaper in the long run as well.

Seconded!

Tangent: Zapruda, what do you use as your dirty water vessel?

I've been playing around with one of these CNOC bladders ( I have no affiliation with the website ) - https://ultralighthiker.com.au/products ... adder-28mm

I like the CNOC, it’s easy to collect water and it’s fairly light. I don't think it will last as long as the Hydrapak Seeker I've been using for a couple of years but so far so good.

The Squeeze also works well with a San Pellegrino bottle or one of those Balance water bottles.

I have an old Steripen but was caught out with battery discharge last time.
So now have the Hydroblu filter and 3ltr Cnoc bladders kit, https://hydroblu.com/copy-of-versa-flow-water-filter-and-cnoc-3l-vecto-water-container-pack/. Happy.

Zapruda wrote:You cant go wrong with the Squeeze. Mine only weighs 80g and is worth every gram just for the conviencance alone. Cheaper in the long run as well.

Thanks. That's enough to tip me into Buy Sawyer Squeeze Now mode.

Zapruda wrote:The Squeeze also works well with a San Pellegrino bottle or one of those Balance water bottles.

Yeah, I've been using the balance ones and find them to be good. Always looking for options though

Balance? Are they the same as the 'Cleanse'?

Lamont wrote:Balance? Are they the same as the 'Cleanse'?

I think they are the same G -

https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/prod ... lsrc=aw.ds

Whoops. Missed the label.
Ta S

Handkerchief for the big lumps.
Steripen Classic3 when needed - which is not often.

Bottle neck problems ? ? ? ?

I just cannot see the problem. I am assuming of course that you will be cooking dinner.

Cheers

rcaffin wrote:Handkerchief for the big lumps.
Steripen Classic3 when needed - which is not often.

Bottle neck problems ? ? ? ?

6213.jpg

I just cannot see the problem. I am assuming of course that you will be cooking dinner.

Cheers

What problem are you referring to Roger?

My experience with steripens has been average. The new style screw on filters like the Sawyer Squeeze and Katadyn Befree are excellent and much more hassle free than most other options, no need to pre filter and wait.