used to filter, but cant' be bothered, and they're way to fragile and cumbersome.

I'm using Sawyer mini water filers now. You can drink straight through it. Doesn't do viruses though.

https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/

Don't be fooled by marketing - Size matters!
 

MSR miniworks 0.2 microns (viruses get through)
Sawyer mini filter 0.1 microns (viruses get through)
Lifesaversystems 0.015 microns (nothing known to man to date gets through)

It is also worth considering the added benefit of high specification activated carbon filters which reduces a broad spectrum of chemical residues including pesticides, endocrine, disrupting compounds, medical residues and heavy metals such as lead and copper. It also eliminates bad tastes and odours from contaminates such as chlorine and sulphur.
I do not work for Lifesaversystems but highly rate their products. Stay safe out there.

The sawyer mini would be great on my hydration pack if only it filtered out chemicals and metals.

The water2go bottle filters out bactiera, viruses, chemicals, and heavy metals.

Geigerig do a filter for their packs, but they won't show me any specs of what it filters.

The good thing is that there are now a lot more options than there used to be. On trips I tend to buy water because I don't look around for taps. A filter would be more of a backup item in places where river water or tap water (hotel late at night) is the only thing available.

Form factor is a priority for me, and carrying a bottle or filter around that only gets use occasionally isn't practical.

Filters are getting much better with each generation. But the micron requirement should be taken with a grain of reality. I've never gotten severely sick from water with old pump filtration and being careful. Several times on food poisoning though.

In one statement, you just successfully shot down most men in their tracks :rofl::innocent:

Ive used the MSR miniworks and lately been using the Hyperflow - not bad, but this year tried the Platypus Gravityworks 4 Litre, great bit of kit, no more pumping! I can fill the 'dirty' bag, hook it up in a tree or off the handlebars and walk away and do something else, 4-5 minutes later the 'clean' bag is full, wont be going back to pumping water anytime soon :)

Yeah, I'll second that. Did a whole trawl of reviews last year and the platypus looks like a no brainer, you just have to make sure you keep the clean bag clean.

Chlorine dioxide drops such as Aquamira are also a good one but obviously you may need to filter out suspended matter as it just sterilizes the water. Probably best for short lightweight hiking/camping.

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpa...s-GravityWorks

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpa...reatment-Drops

Add another vote for the Steripen. Worked flawlessly for me. Yes, it's intended for clear water but how likely are you to be starting with turbid?

Hi I have travelled in Asia and Africa I have used some Katadyn kit to keep me safe.

I have the Hiker Pro for normal use and if I can only get sea or brackish water I use a Katadyn Survivor 06. (only used the Latter a couple if times!).

I have used the Aquamira Aqua Venture A+B 2 x 30 ml drops and that was fine too but you can taste the water treatment drops.

We used a Steripen for our South America trip, it worked fine, but we were always able to find a tap, the bottom line is that each of these products is OK for its intended environment, the Steripen would be useless for instance with turbid river or well water in Africa, but it is extremely handy to put it in a Nalgene bottle full of tap water in Bolivia.


The Lifesaver system does look to be the best out there currently.

Hi, i agree with Griff. My wife and i are using a Steripen Classic on a long trip and find it very good. We use Duracell batteries and they last us about a month. The only problem we have found is it won't work if the batteries are cold. Yes, we are using batteries but are saving loads of plastic bottles and also we don't carry many other gadgets!
Phil

Silly but millbank bag and army puritabs worked form me in the army

Sent from my GT-P5220 using Tapatalk

Using Copper for Water Purification
 

Copper has been used to purify water for centuries and if you really want a cheap, easy, and reliable water purification system then copper is the way to go.

Here is a link to a video which explains how to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl_U...c&pbjreload=10

If you don't believe me, do your own research, there is plenty of information out there on the internet.

Water-To -Go
 

I will be using the Water To Go system on my China trip in 2019 ; they claim to remove 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants in water.

https://www.watertogo.eu

(Quoting myself from several years back.) I'm still using the gravity system, having replaced the filter at some point just for the hell of it and added a charcoal canister--easy as could be. No matter what sort of lodging, there's always a place to hang a couple of bags, one above the other; a single use gives enough clean water for a full day, 3+ liters. For shorter-term use I decant into a plastic bottle or Camelback.

The system is easy, broadly applicable, and cheap, which means that not only am I not leaving an endless trail of plastic bottles everywhere but I'm saving quite a lot of money, even on short trips.

Still not worried about viruses in my water, but still paying attention to the lessons I learned early about giardia and dysentery.

Mark