Water purifiers

“I am shopping around for a water purifier and came across the MSR MIOX, which appears to purify water by changing its chemical composition by passing an electric charge through it. Has anyone out there used this product? Good points? Bad points? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.”

“Sounds like a good idea, but boy, I hate packing those extension cords....


;-)”

“a couple links:

Aqua Mira vs MIOX

General discussion on MIOX”

“There was a recent review 'round here some place....”

“Well, let's see here. Seems like a cool idea, until you look at the wait times.

from the Campmor page on the MIOX purifier.

Wait Times:
Viruses and bacteria: 15 minutes
Giardia: 30 minutes
Cryptosporidia: 4 hours

If you want to clean the water of everything, you have to wait 4 hours. That's a long wait when you're thirsty. If you want the same level of cleanliness, you can get it with a combination of iodine and a decent filter, like the Katadyn Hiker. Collect the water in a carrier bag, and add the iodine. Wait 30 minutes or so, depending on temps, add the neutralization tabs, and filter. Boom, you've got pure water. But in the U.S., filtering is sufficient, since backcountry water doesn't usually have viruses in it. It would be good if you were travelling to a country that didn't have a safe water supply, or in an emergency situation.

Pluses of this gadget are weight, ease of use, freeze protection (a big deal with filters) and the fact that it's a purifier. Like the website says, it'd be good for large groups.

Minuses are: It uses batteries (albiet light ones), it's expensive, and you have to carry salt to feed it.


Personally, I think I'll keep my filter.”

“Wow! That wait time is unacceptable!

My Pur Guie doesn't get the Cryptosporidia. Are there any light weight "drops" that I could use (short of bleach, yuck!)”

“Well, I carry iodine drops as a backup. In the spirit of dual-use, they can also be used to clean a wound, lol...”

“There is of course the first need purifier - mechanical filtration at its finest....”

“MileMonstaer has the MSR thingy and recently posted a review of sorts.”

“Lumberjack has it 90% right - the First Need is a water purifier, not just a filter. Get the First Need - I've used mine since 1988 with excellent results (excellent results are no results in this domain).”

“does that miox get the floaters out?”

“We use the first need too. Only had one [roblem with it, ever. Darn thing kept plugging up. Turns out someone (I'm not going to name names here) backflushed it incorrectly at Roaring Plains last Autumn and sucked a chunk of junk inti the filter element. I sent the whole thing into General Ecology and they repaired it n/c and sent me (did I just name a name?!) and new set of instructions for it. They rock.”

“sorry for all the typos.”

“I use the first need and I love mine. It is my second first need though. My first filter was used by someone to filter his water (and I will not give any names either) anyway...he came back with a broken handle. LOL I am not sure how he did it. I think he must have pushed down to hard after it was plugged or something...

I don't think that's the norm though. Seams like those filters are really good filters.”

“What an idea, back packing issues! I was expecting something about allowing the bornagain gay whales to bear arms.

As I understand the Miox gizmo, it makes purifying solution from salt, so you still gotta deal with the floaters.

I use the First Need Purifier, no complaints. I also have a PUR Explorer, but PUR quit making replacement cartridges. Wanna buy it cheap? The First Need seems to be doing fine, still on the first cartridge, but I did carry the extra on a trip last weekend, just in case.”

“I have a PUR (Katadyn) Hiker. It is easy to use, durable, and there is no wait time. I do not add any drops or tablets to the water though, I filter straight from the creek into my bottle. I change the filter each year.”

“Bounce”

“Ah, excuse me.

This forum is not for real back packing questions. The last true back packing discussion here was sometime in the late 80's. If you have a back packing question, find a site not over occupied with love lives, lack of love lives, fashion, politics, bizarre concerns with the Masons, etc.

Thank you very much, see you on the trail. : )”

“Pur Scout with new filter element (never used,Bottle adaptor and some extras. 50 bucks includes shipping! Jerbear@backpacker.com”

“^”

“I have the Katahdyn hiker. Used to be Pure Hiker. Like it better than my MSR. So far working great!”

“What dhutch1 said about the Hiker. Great filter. I've had mine (the Pur version) for years, have used it quite extensively, and it's held up great.”

“Scout for sale.All new!FIlter”

“I had a PUR Explorer, they quit making the cartridges, now I have a First Need. No problems with either.”