What do you think about the Steripen?

S

spareparts

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May 12, 2010
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I got an REI dividend the other day so decided to get a Steripen classic. Thought I'd see what you guys think about them and post some observations.

I ran a set of fresh charged NiMh batteries through it and got 40 treatments in 3 days before I gave up, just to see how long the batteries would last. That seems a reasonable amount of treatments for an outing to me.

I decided to test it against some non-pathogenic brewers yeast. I mixed a 500ml yeast solution that was slightly cloudy. Ran a 1 liter treatment on the steripen and stirred. I then took samples of the water and plated it. After about three days of incubation colonies started to show up. This is completely non-scientific, but I've been a homebrewer and culturing my own yeast for 7 years, I would say that somewhere around 1-3% of the yeast survived.

So I took my plates in to some of the labs in my Bio Chem department. Talked to some scientists. 4 out of 4 biologists said that based on my little study they would not drink water treated by the steripen. They also pointed out mutagens in some of the yeast colonies based on the way they were growing on the plate and cautioned that they use UV light in the labs to select and deselect for certain traits in micro organism strains. It's possible that somehow I could have turned my non-pathogenic yeast in to zombie yeast.

I'm out of town for a few weeks right now, but when I get things together I think I'm going to repeat the experiment but run two consecutive cycles on the steripen. Or maybe go get some water from a pond and test it before and after. I'm sure I could test it against pathogens in one of the labs but I really don't want some of the nasty stuff they grow to touch my personal property.
 
You say the water was cloudy. For the Steripen to work the water needs to be clear, otherwise the light can't reach all the pathogens.

Chad
 
ChadHahn said:
You say the water was cloudy. For the Steripen to work the water needs to be clear, otherwise the light can't reach all the pathogens.

Chad
Click to expand...

Ditto. The UV light has to be able to reach all the water. I can tell you this about my experience. I travel internationally for my job, to places most people wouldn't even dream of going (e.g., remote tribal villages on the African continent). I have used my Steripen the last 4-5 years and I've never gotten the trots, no matter where I was. Prior to that, I'd always have some problems, from mild, to gut wrenching. I have Cohn's Disease, so I'm particularly susceptible to water borne cooties. :eek: My method is to always nuke the water twice on the longest setting just to be sure, so I'm probably overdoing it, but it works incredibly well for me.

- Mark

P.S. Love the term "zombie yeast"
 
There seems to be little or no real evidence that the Steripen actually works, the last time I looked anyway. If you find any, please post a link.
 
I have one, and actually use it on occasion. As ChadHahn mentioned, the water needs to be clear, so I run the suspect water through my Katadyn Hiker Pro first, and then use the Steripen. Must work, or I am lucky, 'cause I ain't dead yet. :D
 
There are a butt-load of reviews and tons of Steripens in use. Moreover, UV water purification is used in lots of settings, from hot tubs to fish tanks to municipal treatment plants. Here's just one link for starters, pulled almost at random.

http://ojs.fpin.net/ojs/index.php/fpin_CI/article/view/619/258

I have a AA Steripen, a CR123 Steripen (with solar recharger), and a Steripen Sidewinder (handcranked). I'm not dead yet.

The downside is that, like any mechanical device, it can break or fail. Just read/follow instructions and always have a backup means of purification. In addition to a billy can for boiling, I also carry chlorine dioxide tablets and a straw filter to get rid of Crypto (which otherwise takes 4 hours to kill with the tablets).

Cougar Allen said:
There seems to be little or no real evidence that the Steripen actually works, the last time I looked anyway. If you find any, please post a link.
Click to expand...
 
I like the idea of not needing chemicals, boiling, or filtering.

I do not like the idea of trusting whether or not I am able to provide myself with life-essential potable water to an electronic device that can fail in a handful of different ways.
 
if the battery dies, you can always pull out your trusty fire steel and tinder, make a fire, and boil the water. :D
 
after using Cl02 for about ten years, I broke down and bought a Steri-Pen Opti. I waited on the sidelines a couple of years to insure all the bugs were worked out (there were some battery depletion issues w/ the earlier models)

3.5 oz for water purification that can be drunk immediately is pretty darn appealing :)

I do carry some backup ClO2 and switched my headlamp to a CR123 battery type as well
 
Solution was slightly cloudy. You could still see through it easily enough. Just for comparison put 1 or two drops of 2% milk in to an 8oz glass of water and you'll get the degree of cloudiness that I was at.

After thinking about it during an 8 hour drive today, I don't think I would rely in it as a primary source of water sanitation. I believe that it does work to a pretty good degree but I'm thinking that I would use it after filtering to kill any viruses, and the water should by then be crystal clear so as not to inhibit the ability of the UV. And only on trips where weight isn't an issue.
 
Cougar Allen said:
There seems to be little or no real evidence that the Steripen actually works, the last time I looked anyway. If you find any, please post a link.
Click to expand...

prepper10 said:
http://ojs.fpin.net/ojs/index.php/fpin_CI/article/view/619/258
Click to expand...

That article has no evidence, and some factual errors. However, I googled around a little and found links to evidence at http://www.steripen.com/micro-biological-testing -- evidence that looks more convincing than the evidence presented by the manufacturers of many filters. Suddenly I'm thinking this is worth looking into, especially if combined with a filter.

chlorine dioxide tablets ... Crypto ... 4 hours
Click to expand...
Somehow that 4 hour figure has gotten stuck in the popular mind.... It is true only for unusual worst-case conditions. Read the fine print....
 
Cougar, what makes you doubt the efficacy of UV?

FWIW, I usually pre-filter with canvas to get rid of the big nasties, then use the steripen to get rid of the little nasties. So far, so good, but that's hardly a clinical trial, for sure.
 
Sorry if the article was a dud, Cougar Allen. But, as you see, there's quite a bit of information out there. That includes scientific studies by the government and independent labs, as well as reviews by various backpacking magazines, organizations, etc.

It's definitely a nice option, and you can't have too many when it comes to drinking water.
 
Anecdotal evidence isn't really evidence at all in my book but I will attest that I used my pen as the sole means of sterilization (only a bandana for a filter) for 3 people for a week in the Yosemite back country this year and we were fine.
 
since viruses are not really a problem where I am (as far as I know) I only single treat my water, either boil or filter. (I find chemicals to be too troublesome and since crypto and giardia are my main concerns boiling or filter seem to be better) is it mainly just the redundancy most of you are going for? or are you filtering the big stuff and treating for viruses? I'm interested in the steri-pen for a pack-able solution, but I'm also interested in a miox, or a gravity filter for car camping, just to treat the well water without having to boil everything I want to use.
 
Your method sounds like it works, gadgetgeek. Like you, I'm concerned about crypto. But, I don't want to wait 4 hours for my chemical treatment to work and don't always want to mess with a filter that then has to be somewhat sterilized and dried out before I put it away. The Steripen kills everything and does it lickety split. I consider boiling to be my main "backup," but boiling isn't always convenient or even feasible for me.

A gravity filter does sound like a good option for camping, however. Especially if you're not alone.

[Plain old SODIS (using UV from sunlight) works pretty well for deactivating everything except crypto, which takes TEN hours to kill that way!]
 
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