Water Filters and Purifiers (bottles, straws and in-line)

I'm disappointed to see that the Aquamira straw doesn't meet EPA requirements for bacteria, because naturally that's what I bought for my wife and I to use when hiking/camping . . . in a pinch, anyway. Starting to think they were a waste of money.
 
Inazone said:
I'm disappointed to see that the Aquamira straw doesn't meet EPA requirements for bacteria, because naturally that's what I bought for my wife and I to use when hiking/camping . . . in a pinch, anyway. Starting to think they were a waste of money.
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I have them paired with micropur tabs so that after treating water, you can then use the straw for taste. May want to move to a Lifestraw or Sawyer system for you and your wife. Really not that expensive or heavy, but do much more of what is needed just in case.
 
abo4ster said:
Nice post. As an alternative to the Berkey, check out the NDUR which are the same price on Amazon and I believe last longer.

http://www.proforceequipment.com/product-details.php?id=256&catid=45

I like the NDUR for areas where there maybe toxicity. For purely biological pathogens where toxic water is not a concern, I would rather not carry a filter. Boil or chemical treatment for me.
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Thanks :)

So the NDUR to the best of my knowledge uses Sychelle technology for its purifier. This means it uses iodine resin to purify the water. I believe this means it pairs up with a carbon element as well. I have to look more, but not sure what NDUR thinks they are using that would address toxicity better than other iodine/carbon purifier combos.
 
Very well done. I have a sawyer mini and I've drank things through it that I wouldn't drink if I boiled and char-filtered first. Needless to say, it works.
 
Not so much data, but personal experience here:
The Miox is nice and small, but what it does is make chlorine and other noxious stuff that kills the pathogens. You need to have salt and batteries to make it run. Plus, it's fiddly, you have to wait, and you run the risk of nobody wanting to drink the water because it reeks of chlorine. Plus, whatever was in the water is still there, although the pathogens are dead.
The steripen is nice but heavy. You need to have working batteries, you need to actively stir the water for 90 seconds (for a liter), and it doesn't take out anything even though all the pathogens are dead.
The Sawyer Mini looks great in theory, but I never got past trying to fill the stupid squeeze bag out of the creek. The water just wouldn't go in. I gave up and went back to my steripen plus activated carbon setup.
I'm looking hard at the Rapid Pure Straw right now, because the steripen plus carbon thing is also fiddly and relies on working batteries, which always makes me nervous. The straw apparently gives you 7,000 gallons before it stops working and you can set it up with a siphon system (in case you want to provide water in quantity rather than just using the straw), which looks a lot simpler and quicker than a drip system.
 
PS My requirements for a filter/purifier system:
--Has to be lightweight because I'm a wimp carrying stuff
--Has to take out pathogens up to and including virus because I have a healthy regard for Hepatitis A and its ilk
--Has to take out particulate, up to and including mercury since I camp in northern California chiefly. Not sure if I can ask a filter to take out pharmaceuticals, but they wouldn't be in backcountry streams anyway. For disaster situations, I think I would run everything through an extra heavy duty carbon filter after the first pass. Weight wouldn't matter, since it would be an on-site situation for multiple people
--Has to have as few moving parts as possible
--Has to give as many liters as possible, hopefully to the point that I don't have to think about it for the rest of my life
--Has to be scalable, from individual use to water in quantity for a group
--Has to be reasonably priced
--Has to work without me, i.e. no pumps, no stirring, no waiting
--Has to work equally well for camping, travelling, disaster situations, etc.
--Has to be well-nigh fool proof because, well, when I'm dehydrated I'm pretty much the definition of a fool

I'm sure I'll think of other stuff as soon as I sign off on this, but that's all I can remember for now.
I realize I can't have every one of these, but heck, I'm going to try.
 
berrygirl. MSR or Katydin gravity filter. then deal with the viruses in whatever way you feel you need to.
 
gadgetgeek said:
berrygirl. MSR or Katydin gravity filter. then deal with the viruses in whatever way you feel you need to.
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Might as well then get General Ecology's First Needs XL. Pump action like those mentioned, but takes care of viruses too. Probably one of the best under represented pump purifiers available.
 
berrygirl said:
PS My requirements for a filter/purifier system:
--Has to be lightweight because I'm a wimp carrying stuff
--Has to take out pathogens up to and including virus because I have a healthy regard for Hepatitis A and its ilk
--Has to take out particulate, up to and including mercury since I camp in northern California chiefly. Not sure if I can ask a filter to take out pharmaceuticals, but they wouldn't be in backcountry streams anyway. For disaster situations, I think I would run everything through an extra heavy duty carbon filter after the first pass. Weight wouldn't matter, since it would be an on-site situation for multiple people
--Has to have as few moving parts as possible
--Has to give as many liters as possible, hopefully to the point that I don't have to think about it for the rest of my life
--Has to be scalable, from individual use to water in quantity for a group
--Has to be reasonably priced
--Has to work without me, i.e. no pumps, no stirring, no waiting
--Has to work equally well for camping, travelling, disaster situations, etc.
--Has to be well-nigh fool proof because, well, when I'm dehydrated I'm pretty much the definition of a fool

I'm sure I'll think of other stuff as soon as I sign off on this, but that's all I can remember for now.
I realize I can't have every one of these, but heck, I'm going to try.
Click to expand...

We used to just put a sawyer inline with our camelbak bladders, they work great. I only ended up using the squeeze bag to backflush and clean it out. I still keep a sawyer mini in my bag for backcountry trips for inline, only I treat it more like a siphon instead.

Welcome btw!
 
Good to see thread is still going. I've been looking for a small straw or better yet an inline filter that can handle virus for when I'm traveling. Any suggestions?
Also I have some other filter/purifiers that I looked at to add to your list.

H2O Survival Water Filter Travel Straw
Filter size: ?
Bacteria: 99.9999% bacteria,algae,spores,protozoa,cysts,heavy metals
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: No
Capacity: 70L
Other: 6.5 inches long and 1″ in diameter (Say 1” but in images looks like the average pen diameter)

H2OLIFEGUARD World Travel Water
Filter size:0.01 microns
Bacteria: 99.9999% BACTERIA & ,HEAVY METAL,
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: 99.9999% VIRUS
Capacity: 2000L
Other: ONLY 6.5" LONG X.75 WIDE


H2O Survival™ Water Filter Travel Straw MAX.
Filter size:0.01 microns
Bacteria: 99.9999% BACTERIA & ,HEAVY METAL,
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: 99.9999% VIRUS
Capacity: 2000L
Other: ONLY 6.5" LONG X.75 WIDE

Grayl Travel Purifier
Filter size: NA, uses G3+™ technology uses electroadsorption
Bacteria: Removes 99.9999% of disease-causing bacteria (e.g. E. coli, Salmonella);
Protozoan: 99.999% of protozoan cysts (e.g. Giardia).
Viruses: Removes 99.9999% of viruses (e.g. Hepatitis A, SARS, Rotavirus).
Capacity: 150L
Other: removes industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals (i.e. BPA, benzene, chlorine), and heavy metals (i.e. lead, arsenic, chromium)

GravityWorks™ 2L Water Filter
Filter size: .2 microns
Bacteria: Yes
Protozoan: Yes
Viruses: No
Capacity: 1500L
Other:
 
rezak said:
Good to see thread is still going. I've been looking for a small straw or better yet an inline filter that can handle virus for when I'm traveling. Any suggestions?
Also I have some other filter/purifiers that I looked at to add to your list.

H2O Survival Water Filter Travel Straw
Filter size: ?
Bacteria: 99.9999% bacteria,algae,spores,protozoa,cysts,heavy metals
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: No
Capacity: 70L
Other: 6.5 inches long and 1″ in diameter (Say 1” but in images looks like the average pen diameter)

H2OLIFEGUARD World Travel Water
Filter size:0.01 microns
Bacteria: 99.9999% BACTERIA & ,HEAVY METAL,
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: 99.9999% VIRUS
Capacity: 2000L
Other: ONLY 6.5" LONG X.75 WIDE


H2O Survival™ Water Filter Travel Straw MAX.
Filter size:0.01 microns
Bacteria: 99.9999% BACTERIA & ,HEAVY METAL,
Protozoan: ?
Viruses: 99.9999% VIRUS
Capacity: 2000L
Other: ONLY 6.5" LONG X.75 WIDE

Grayl Travel Purifier
Filter size: NA, uses G3+™ technology uses electroadsorption
Bacteria: Removes 99.9999% of disease-causing bacteria (e.g. E. coli, Salmonella);
Protozoan: 99.999% of protozoan cysts (e.g. Giardia).
Viruses: Removes 99.9999% of viruses (e.g. Hepatitis A, SARS, Rotavirus).
Capacity: 150L
Other: removes industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals (i.e. BPA, benzene, chlorine), and heavy metals (i.e. lead, arsenic, chromium)

GravityWorks™ 2L Water Filter
Filter size: .2 microns
Bacteria: Yes
Protozoan: Yes
Viruses: No
Capacity: 1500L
Other:
Click to expand...

Thank you for the additions! Rapid Pure http://www.rapidpure.net/ has inline versions of the straw I have listed which qualifies as a purifier. I have one for my 1 litre platypus hydration pack in my mini-bob.
 
Tixx said:
Thank you for the additions! Rapid Pure http://www.rapidpure.net/ has inline versions of the straw I have listed which qualifies as a purifier. I have one for my 1 litre platypus hydration pack in my mini-bob.
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No problem, once I gather more I'll add. I don't think my search is over yet just done for today. :)
 
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I dunno, the science behind that filter smells a little funny. Electro-absortion of chemicals is a thing, yes there are products that do that, and NASA funded them. But they don't mention how you are going to know when they loose effectiveness. Yeah its the same principal as the coke to water filter, but how long does that last? I get that game-changing tech sometimes changes all the rules, but I just don't get this one. As far as Rapid Pure goes, if it works so well, why is their backup evidence so poor? Their so-called test seems odd to me. They put half a liter of contaminated water into the filter, then push 50L clean water through and see if anything comes through? that and two pages of each test are missing. No chemical testing, and no real explanation on what things mean. Lots of info, but no context.
A lot of their info pdfs are either incomplete, or contain no real info, just what someone would get from a wikipedia reference page. It just seems weird. Maybe they are just bad at marketing.

I'm not trying to trash on a company. But there are lots of companies out there who are on the prepper craze and are playing loose with the science. Or at the very least, not telling all of the truth. Like a lot of things, it really seems to me like over-promising on a product most people would never use up.

Its like what I heard a guy say about the sawyer filter, "I don't know how long they last for, after about a summer of use they get a bit slow so I replace them" What's the point of a million liter filter if it gets too hard to clean so tossing it is a better plan?

Also, how does the General ecology deal with viruses if its only a 0.4 micron filter? Lots of flash on their website as well, but not one detail on how the filter actually works. My bet is iodine resin and carbon.
 
Going old school here... like ancient :)
Or spaceage, its used in spacecraft and ISS.

Copper and silver containers/items can be used to disinfect water.
Ionized Silver is far superior, as developing resistance means microbes must actually mutate in multiple ways in a single generation because multiple vectors of attack, but copper works too.

The entire myth of Silver as a pure and good metal is based on the fact it kills many water borne pathogens and people drinking from silver would not get sick... a silver coin in milk was said to stop it spoiling as quick.

Seems to be 16 hours to kill most bacteria/viruses in a copper container, 1 hour in silver.
Real world use?
Having a silver coin with you that can be dropped in a water container if all else fails could be a good backup, it cant go off and should last for a lifetime...
Coin can also be added to long term storage potable water to ensure its drinkable when you need it.

Due to previous thread ah problems...
So links straight up if people are interested.
Copper research extract.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312355/

Silver research extract.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25145073
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/tech/silver-nanoparticles-could-give-millions-microbe-free-drinking-water/
 
gadgetgeek said:
Its like what I heard a guy say about the sawyer filter, "I don't know how long they last for, after about a summer of use they get a bit slow so I replace them" What's the point of a million liter filter if it gets too hard to clean so tossing it is a better plan?
Click to expand...

Sounds like someone who didn't read the instructions or didn't even use it.
 
seem to recall he was talking in the several hundred liters of use. Not that it makes much a difference, one anecdote is not data.
 
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