Safe Drinking Water

[xtreme]

How do you provide safe drinking water for yourself in the back country?

[Kevin Root]

How do you provide safe drinking water for yourself in the back country?

At the link below in REI is a good read on the subject and a short video clip.

http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/water+treatment+backcountry.html

Basically your choices include the below options to disinfect or treat your water.

Pump-style filters and purifiers
Gravity-fed filters and purifiers
Ultraviolet light pen purifiers
Sip/squeeze bottles with in-line filtering straws
Chemical tablets
Boiling

[Umpqua Hunter]

Excellent post Kevin! Xtreme, I have a Steripen (ultraviolet light) and love it.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I have a Katadyn Hiker Pro and a Steripen Adventurer Opti. I like the Hiker for doing large volumes at a base camp. I like the Steripen for light and fast.

This year though, it might be the Sawyer Squeeze Filter. It just looks so fast and easy!

Check out the video:

http://www.sawyer.com/

[Umpqua Hunter]

I have a Katadyn Hiker Pro and a Steripen Adventurer Opti. I like the Hiker for doing large volumes at a base camp. I like the Steripen for light and fast.

This year though, it might be the Sawyer Squeeze Filter. It just looks so fast and easy!

Check out the video:

http://www.sawyer.com/

BB...when you say "large volumes" I have been thinking of getting a filter to recharge the water tank in our camper. One place we hunt is a hour and a half from the nearest spigot, but there is a spring nearby with a 1 1/2" pipe filling a trough. What would someone use for that, to do say 20 to 40 gallons at a time. I have thought maybe a bag type gravity filter.

[Bitterroot Bulls]

I would use a gravity filter in those circumstances.

I use the Hiker for camp quanities up to a couple gallons or so.

It seems like the Sawyer 3 way inline filter would be the best choice when rigged to a gravity system.

[Kevin Root]

BB...when you say "large volumes" I have been thinking of getting a filter to recharge the water tank in our camper. One place we hunt is a hour and a half from the nearest spigot, but there is a spring nearby with a 1 1/2" pipe filling a trough. What would someone use for that, to do say 20 to 40 gallons at a time. I have thought maybe a bag type gravity filter.

Umpqua Hunter, I don't have this one below but when I bought my Katadyn Hiker Pro a while back I saw the below on their site. It might be a bit of overkill but perhaps not if you have large volumes to filter. If the water is pretty clear perhaps one of the chemical treatments would be a possible solution.

http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn-products/products/katadynshopconnect/katadyn-water-filters-endurance-series-products/katadyn-expedition/

[Kevin Root]

Umpqua Hunter , the gravity filter like what you and Bitterroot Bulls mention is the perhaps the most cost effective and easiest solution especially if you have the water coming from a hose or pipe. I've used the Katadyn Base Camp gravity fed one and it holds a pretty good amount of water. Something that could keep up with your water flow from that hose would be cool.

The Sawyer looks cool Bitterroot Bulls. I saw that it got the, Editor's Choice Award by Backpacker Magazine in the April 2012.

[Ikeepitcold]

I also use a water filter pump type. Works well for me.

[Umpqua Hunter]

Kevin and BB...some very good leads there. Thanks!