Steri-Pen. Who's got one?

Foilist: I purchased the filter/adapter for mine separately but have yet to use it. I'm interested to hear about your results with it. It seemed unnecessarily large and complex. What I really need is a small, light, simple, fine mesh filter I can screw on a Nalgene...
 
gulliamo said:
Foilist: I purchased the filter/adapter for mine separately but have yet to use it. I'm interested to hear about your results with it. It seemed unnecessarily large and complex. What I really need is a small, light, simple, fine mesh filter I can screw on a Nalgene...
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It is a bit bulky, but it worked fine. Nothing got into my bottle from the clear, fast flowing stream I drew from. I'd like to find some sort of little pouch for it to attach to my Nalgene carrier.

I wonder if one could be made by cutting a hole in a spare Nalgene cap and attaching a piece of mesh to it?


When I used the Steripen, I ran it a couple of times to make sure I was doing it right, since this was my first time with it. I felt wary because it is hard to wrap my mind around the idea that swishing a light around in a water bottle was really doing anything, but that is just a mental block I have to get over.

We'll see if it worked in two to fourteen days!
 
I started out w/ a regular filter- heavy (and would get heavier as the trip went on), fussy- would clog, had d1ck around the hose, etc, went to Micorpur tabs- the lightest option, easy to use- cons had to wait to drink treated water, imparted a chlorine taste to the water- not horrible, but noticeable

last year went to the Opti (lightest) and just switched to a CR123 headlamp- it's light and easy to use and you can drink right away, no altered taste

I always keep a 1/2 dozen Micropur tabs on hand (a few grams), but it's very unlikely I'll need to use them
 
Not trying to cap on the technology, but UV works extremely well under a specific set of conditions, and as those conditions become less favorable UV starts to struggle. I run three 24 inch UV reactors at a drinking water plant so I know how finicky the process can be. Even under controlled conditions managing the source water to keep the reactors working at peak efficiency can be challenging. A few other items to note:

  • It's also not likely to disinfect anything living outside of the water...say on the inside rim of a bottle.
  • Distance plays a factor. The further the water is from the lamp the less effective the UV.
  • Unlike chemical disinfection it does not provide a lasting disinfectant residual that will disinfect after the initial treatment, so if something unpleasant is introduced afterwards (like from the cap of a bottle) UV will have no effect.

By all means use UV, but understand the limitations. I'll be trying out a Steripen too, but I won't be using it alone.
 
MEWOLF, I would never use golf course runoff. To much chance of picking up pesticides ,herbicides and other toxic things !!
 
That's what I've been trying to convince my buddy to convey to his sister!! Yikes!
mete said:
MEWOLF, I would never use golf course runoff. To much chance of picking up pesticides ,herbicides and other toxic things !!
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