PUR is no longer PUR...

“Katadyn
Katadyn, which bought the PUR outdoor and marine line from Proctor and Gamble in 2001, saw its rights to the PUR name expire at the end of 2002. All the products are now being offered under the Katadyn brand name. The filter products are now manufactured in Switzerland.

Katadyn has introduced a new tablet water purification product, the "Micropur MP1" ($14), which uses chlorine dioxide to eliminate all the nasties. And, yes, unlike iodine (Potable Aqua or Polar Pure) or other chlorine products (Chlor-Floc, Aquatabs, Puritabs, etc.), it will reliably kill Cryptosporidium cysts (actually, chlorine dioxide doesn’t contain chlorine, but that’s for a more in-depth article). They claim this is the only chemical water disinfection product registered with the EPA as a "purifier." Chlorine dioxide leaves virtually no taste when used according to instructions and does not discolor the water.”

“The one thing that is bad with it is it takes to long to work.


I think 15 mins or so.


8)”

“Longer if the water is cold or scummy.

Think I'll keep filtering.”

“Can you say 'First Need' by General Ecology?”

“filter for me....”

“I have switched back over too Sweetwater.


8)”

“I too, was curious how ClO₂ doesn't contain any Cl....”

“My ol trusty Pur Hiker does the job.”

“Mine too. I carry tincture of iodine as a backup. If I thought the water was really questionable, I'd collect some in my bag, put a couple drops of iodine, let it sit for a while, then add the tabs to take the iodine taste out, and filter it. That ought take care of just about anything.

Plus, the tincture of iodine can be used for disinfecting wounds as well.”

“HPM had taste issues when using the chlorine dioxide tabs. No one else in his group liked it either.”

“What about iodine crystals?

Jerbear has something like that and it lasts forever.


And where can you get it?


8)”

“"Chlorine dioxide leaves virtually no taste when used according to instructions and does not discolor the water"

Wrong on both counts. I used the tabs during my HST trip and it left a noticable chemical taste and the water did take on a very light tint. The taste went away after a while as did the color.

Personally I'll use them as a backup to my Pur Hiker or if I want to go really lightweight.”

“Aqua Mira works like a champ for me. The only place I take my old school PUR hiker is Big South Fork. All of the trails we take there are dry or the water very slow moving so we end up filtering from puddles and wee trickles.”

“Katadyn's already been putting out the new products.

Thankfully, the Katadyn cartridges for the Hiker still fit the Pur model.”

“Filtered water has less crap (ie. dissolved and suspended solids), no added chemicals and tastes a heck of alot better than treated water. Imo, the immense bulk and excessive weight of a filter is a welcome tradeoff.”

“15 minutes isn't a bad wait time. It takes a minimum of 30 minutes for iodine, and much much longer if it is cold.

I wish they would find a way to make filters lighter and still good for more than 10 gallons. The ones that last are heavy and the superlight in-line filters don't last.

We use a filter, usually, but it can be a problem in glacial melt or if the water is really nasty as they will both clog a filter up really quickly. I also used to wonder how well my Pur Hiker was actually working when I would filter green water and green water would come out the outspout.

I know the arguments against using a filter and the ones for using one, and bottom line, I've seen too many really gross things in my water supplies to do without entirely, much as I would like to.”

“Katadyn is doing a great job of backing the Pur filters.

The problem with waiting 15 minutes or more for tablets to work in the summer is that wonderfully cold water gets warm (or you have to leave your bottle in the stream and stay put).”