Latest in water purification?

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Expatriated

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RYP (and others):

I know a few years ago you were using the water bottle type with the filter/straw combo. I've used those as well. Very convenient but the drawback is some pretty slow flow through the straw (in my experience).

I've also used pumps, UV lights, tabs, etc.

I'm wondering what you third world travelers are currently using? I'm speaking specifically of semi-urban environments, not straight-up jungle remotenes. Some of you guys know the kind of countries I'm talking about--where the bottled water isn't safe. That kind of joint.

UV lights currently work best for me, assuming I carry batteries and it continues to work. It's got the convenience of killing bugs in nasty hotels just using a small cup or glass so that you can use the water to brush your teeth. The canteen/straw type are not as convenient in that situation.

Anyway, what do you hardcore travelers say?

Faleminderit shum! (Bonus points for naming the language:D)
 
Well I don't know. Never used a straw. I can tell you that I use a South African made canteen with a built in filter and never had to shit through a straw. :))Others who use a yuppie Katadyn version have had problems. I also use a katadyn pump (which I recently donated to the cause) but many people forget that you have be scrupulous about separating what you stick in your mouth vs what is considered sterile. Also think about those tiny alcohol swabs to clean off the mouthpiece or even washing your hands can make a difference.

Depending on where you are traveling most water doesn't actually need purification since you can boil it, use rainwater or bottled water etc. There are tablets as well but I rely on my old south african canteen.
 
Here's a really great one that I keep in my Bug Out Bag at all times, the X Pack. The military uses them quite a bit and they have a great system. You add a small bottle of fluid along with the water and it filters all on it's own with no work by using osmotic pressure. The added fluid provides you around 900 calories per Liter of water. So not only do you get clean water you get plenty of calories to keep you on the go. This thing will filter out the worst water that you can find.

Here it is: http://www.xpackprepared.com/
 
i used the xpack over in afghanistan and its very smooth for sure. the one thing i will point out is that it takes a bit of time to filter the water. i can't remember exactly and i tried to watch but i believe its at least 30 minutes. also you have to be careful to not contaminate the valve the water comes out of. so you really are better off using a cup to put the dirty water into the filter
 
The technical specs of the X-Pack seem to reveal some drawbacks:

Total Output: Up to 5 gallons
Filter Life: 10 days
Filter Output: 1 liter in 4 hours at 20 C
Weight: 3 lbs

I would much prefer the LifeSaverSystem or some other pump/canteen style filter.
You get way more than 5 gallons.
What happens on day 11 or 12?
1 liter every 4 hours is super slow!
Canteen style only weighs .5 lb
 
Ad Alta said:
The technical specs of the X-Pack seem to reveal some drawbacks:

Total Output: Up to 5 gallons
Filter Life: 10 days
Filter Output: 1 liter in 4 hours at 20 C
Weight: 3 lbs

I would much prefer the LifeSaverSystem or some other pump/canteen style filter.
You get way more than 5 gallons.
What happens on day 11 or 12?
1 liter every 4 hours is super slow!
Canteen style only weighs .5 lb
Click to expand...

Yeah it does have some drawbacks like filter life of 10 days after you start using it. But it's like the thickness of a CD new so you could easily pack 2 if you thought you'd need water for a longer period of time. It filters far more than 5 gallons though, more like 22 Liters for the 10 days of the filter. The 3lbs. is with a full load of additive bottles, 10. It's intended purpose was for shorter length survival situations. It does filter a lot faster than 1 Liter every 4 hours though. In my experience it's more like 30-40 minutes. If you go to the companies main site they have about 7 products and one is a Camelback type setup that is REALLY slick!!! You just need to remember for that with 3lbs. your also getting enough calories included to keep you moving and on the run. So it cuts back on the weight of food that you'd need to carry in your pack, which would be even more. Once it's done filtering, pour the clean water into your Nalgene, etc, then refill the pouch and let it start all over again. If you do it right you shouldn't run out of water. Or just keep it in the pouch if you have nothing else.

For just a pure water filter bottle, I think the LifeSaver Bottle is the best one on the market. It filters all the way down to .2 microns and will filter quite a bit of water before the filters needs to be changed out.
 
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Thanks, guys. I'm going to check out that lifesaver stuff.

Oh, and good job, Albanian speakers. Un flas pak shqip.
 
steripens and katadyn and msr have never let me down. I loved the miox pen from msr but it takes to long.
 
i've heard good stuff about the Miox, but don't know what conditions those people were using it in.

the UV pens seem interesting, but i haven't picked one up yet.

i live in an arid environment, so my concern with the canteen or waterbottle filters is their limited capacity, but there's nothing that says you couldn't use a jug of unfiltered water to refill the canteen.

i've got two Katadyn filters. the big one pumps quickly, but it's big and fairly heavy. the little one doesn't pump very fast. let me clarify that... it's pathetically slow and while it has a storage compartment for the intake hose inside the filter pump, it;'s VERY hard to pack it all in there.

iodine crystals like Polar Pure are limited because adding water to the bottle only makes one dose, which treats one liter of water, but takes time to do it, and adding water to the bottle of crystals takes time to make the solution. the bottle is glass, so packing multiple bottles would seem to be begging for one to break.
 
fixer said:
i've heard good stuff about the Miox, but don't know what conditions those people were using it in.

the UV pens seem interesting, but i haven't picked one up yet.

i live in an arid environment, so my concern with the canteen or waterbottle filters is their limited capacity, but there's nothing that says you couldn't use a jug of unfiltered water to refill the canteen.

i've got two Katadyn filters. the big one pumps quickly, but it's big and fairly heavy. the little one doesn't pump very fast. let me clarify that... it's pathetically slow and while it has a storage compartment for the intake hose inside the filter pump, it;'s VERY hard to pack it all in there.

iodine crystals like Polar Pure are limited because adding water to the bottle only makes one dose, which treats one liter of water, but takes time to do it, and adding water to the bottle of crystals takes time to make the solution. the bottle is glass, so packing multiple bottles would seem to be begging for one to break.
Click to expand...

The MIOX works good, but remember it dosen't filter water at all. You can buy Katadyn chlorine dioxide pills that do the exact same thing for a fraction of the price though and don't have to worry about batteries or rock salt. The great thing with Lifesaver filters are they filter all the way down to the virus level, and as far as I know it's the only pump filter that does that. Also they filter out a HUGE amount of water per single filter, and the carbon and pre filter are also easily changeable. Being in Vegas and counting on the Colorado River water storage is kinda key for you. They also make a Jerry can version that holds much more and filters MUCH, MUCH more also. I have one at home to back up my water barrels and I wouldn't give it up for anything! Go to the website and watch some of the videos, you'll be pretty impressed.
 
333rm is totally right. The miox and the steri pen won't filter they just kill bacteria and viruses. The main reason I use the steripen is where I live and backpack there is no real need to filter do to the fact there isn't a ton of sediment in the water. I would rather kill viruses than get rid of sediment. The cool thing about the miox pen is that the water can be muddy and it will still sanitize the water. For the steripen to work the water has to be some what clear for it to work. There are no pumps in the market that do viruses other than the life saver bottle that I'm aware of. The only down sideto the life saver bottle it's a lot of work for a liter of water and there is a high chance of cross contamination by dipping it in a creek to get your water. Given all my experience with filters has been during backpacking. In the case of some natural disaster anyway you go is better than just trying to drink dirty water.
 
Royal berkey! Not very portable, highly reflective stainless is great for blinding your enemy.
 
By the way. You can also harden the fuck up and carry a couple of full doses of Cipro. Worst case you drink want you want, accept the shits and giardia and then do the full five day regimen in one day a la fighter pilot and to walk out.
 
RYP, are you still using the Seychelle system too? I've got some inbound to try out.
 
I was in the market for a water filter, and have narrowed it down to the steri pen and or the msr MIOX. Do you guys have any input?
 
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