Water Filters VS Chemicals

“OK, forgive me if this is a repost. I searched the posts and found tons of stuff on each but not really what I was looking for; a comparisan of the two and a survey of what you use.

I've been packing about 5 years and there's one piece of equipment that I've been putting off cause I don't want to spend the money and that's a filter. This weekend I hiked with Golfhiker and his son. They just used the bandana and checmicals technique. His son has hiked the AT and sad he did this the whole way. What does everybody use?”

“I filter. Mine is a Pur (now Katadyn) Hiker.”

“Same as Bit. When canoeing up in Canada, I don't filter at all.

I guess it all depends where you be.”

“you bringin a filter this weekend WK?

golfhiker's son was taking water right out of lake monroe and treating it with chemicals...they even got water the day before out of a small leaf covered pond
last edited: 9/16/05 9:35:36 AM”

“Yep”

“I’m currently using a Sweet Water filter and use iodine tablets as a backup. My next filter will be a First Need.

I prefer a filter over chemicals because I don’t like waiting 30minutes before I can drink my water.”

“Someone posted an article that talked about a study of the Sierras, which said that you don't need to filter the water if you're above the level regular human habitation.”

“Polar Pur. Small in the pack, light, one bottle lasts a looooong time.”

“It would be ideal to carry both.

We were using tablets for years but recently picked up a filter and love it!”

“Pur Hiker. Best filter I've ever had. Have you thought of getting one of the inline filters and doing a gravity filter?”

“Up here in Canada, I use Chemicals...so far so good!”

“milemonster, is that a chemical?

i'm don't think i'm really worried about (or should i be?) creepy crawlers...from what i've read and heard chemicals like aquamirer(sp) will take care of all those...i guess i'm more worried about color, taste, and odor”

“I think bitpusher had one of those gravity inline filters. I can't remember what he thought about it though.

I carry the PUR Hiker filter. It is worth the extra pound. I also carry chemicals for a backup.

FYI Someone mentioned that an open bottle of iodine pills will go bad after a yr.”

“as chemicals go i've read iodine was the worst, it doesn't kill some things and has a shorter shelf life, plus you've got that iodine taste yuuk!...i think i've read that aquamirer(sp) has a 3 year shelf life

from a common since stand point chemicals make more since(at least to me)...they actually kill the bacteria while filters just attempt to remove them...what if some get through?...i really don't want the trail squirts
last edited: 9/16/05 10:09:02 AM”

“Really WK? Where in Canada? I go up there all the time and have always used bottled or filtered. (paranoid)”

“When we were in the Canadian Rockies we had a ranger tell us that she never filtered or treated in the area we were in. And she claimed she never got sick.”

“FYI Someone mentioned that an open bottle of iodine pills will go bad after a yr.”
Ewker
11:03:16 AM
9/16/05
ignore this user

That is true.”

“It wasn't just ten or twelve years ago when we would go to the BWCA in Minnesota we'd drink right from the lake with no effects. I think the water thing is over blown.”

““Really WK? Where in Canada? I go up there all the time and have always used bottled or filtered. (paranoid)”
Nonconformist
10:07:59 AM
9/16/05

Up to the Quetico. 10 years of paddling the lakes, drinking unfiltered water and I have never been sick.”

“I used to have a SafeWater Anywhere filter, which was an inline filter that attached to a reservoir.

The last time I took it on a trip, it got clogged and I had to borrow Ewker's filter to filter my water. I put it away and haven't used it since. I went back to my Pur Hiker.”

“i just found this thread:

http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/28758,-1.php

it was pretty informative”

“I have a PUR Hiker, but I only carry it if someone in the group might be paranoid. I drink the water in the Sierra unfiltered unless it is visibly questionable. Never had a problem, even where I KNOW there are cattle grazing upstream. If there are BEAVER upstream, that's another issue.”

“i've never had a problem with beaver ;) lol

no, but seriously, what's up with beaver?...are they a problem w/ water?”

“I bought my First Need in 1987. I got the then state of the art pre-filters. About four years ago the filter clogged on me. I didn't mind buying a replacement as I felt I had had good service from it. I got the new filter unit at EMS in Lake Placid and when I used it it was still clogged. Turned out that it was the pre-filter and when I rinsed it eveything was fine. I'd prolly still be using the original filter if I had been a bit brighter.

The First Need has got some bad press; apparently some people don't have the strength to pump it. I've never had a problem.

I like that it purifies - not just filters. That means it takes out viruses. As someons who contracted hepatitis A twice as a child I think that's important.

You need a purifier in most places - especially the Adirondacks because of the crowds. Up North I just boil water from the lakes and make tea (tastes better than instant coffee with lake water IMO).”

“I used to chemical, but I prefer the filter for one main reason: I love the taste of clean non-gritty unchemicaled water. It just tastes soooooo much better then iodine loaded water. You can cover the taste a bit with citamin C or kool aid but the citric acid in a lot of those items gives me heart burn something fierce after drinking it for a whole day.”

“Thrifty,

If you see beaver activity near a source of water, get the f away. This is a major source of giardia (I know I butchered that)

I wouldn't even drinking filtered water from around a beaver dam.”

“I love my MSR Miniworks EX. It produces reliable results and is easy to take care of. It's fairly heavy, but it lets me manage the amount of water I carry so it's worth it. I carry iodine tablets in my first-aid kit just in case, but I have never needed them.”

“Aqua Mira all the way for me. It even kills giardia, with an extended treatment time. It removes bad odors and colors, too. Like the sulfides that rotting leaves make, and the tannins they put in the water. The active oxidant it produces (chlorine dioxide) is the same that is used by many city water treatment plants.

Iodine fails in all those respects, and yes, it is no good after a year.

Check out this thread. There is input from many people, including a rep from the company than makes MIOX. Chemically MIOX and Aqua Mira are in the same league, but Aqua Mira is mucho less expensive and doesn't need batteries or salt.

http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/26556,-1,2.php
last edited: 9/16/05 11:22:49 AM”

“I was going to buy some Aqua Mira to replace the iodine in my First Aid Kit and even bought some dropper bottles for this purpose. In the end I decided it wasn't worth it, since the tables are for emergency only and odds are I'll never use it. I do rotate them in the kit, as I do with all the items that expire. I refres it about twice a year.”

“good info:

http://giardiaclub.com/aquamira/”

“Sorry, I mis-spelld

It's Polar Pure, with an "e". It is a chemical - iodine. If you want to get rid of taste/odor it might not be for you. The iodine makes the water slightly orange and does have a taste.”

“thriftyhiker - that's a good price offered on that site. They mentioned other aspects that I didn't - like the light weight, lack of anything to clog, etc.

If your water source has chunks of stuff, strain it through our hankerchief first.”

“Vitamin C will get rid of the brown ting and iodine taste. Just wait 30 minutes before adding it.”

“If you got brown tings in the da wattah mon, you bettah filtah again.”

“Most of the water I wind up having to filter is tan-colored (streams and ponds in the forest). My friend said this was tannin, but I don't know. I do know that when I filter from sources like this I have to clean the filter every few liters and the water is still a tan-color. When I filter from a clear source the water is clear and I hardly ever have to clean the filter.

That said, the water always tastes good and I have never gotten ill despite pumping from sources that were clearly unfit to drink straight up.”

“LOL@Bit...it's piarate day not rasta day”

“i been using iodine or boiling and never heard of aqua mira but that stuff sounds awesome thanks for the info”

“The brown ting"e" (I forgot the e) I was referring to is from using iodine not the original color. Vitamin C will neutralize the iodine eliminating the taste and color, but you have to wait until the iodine has sterilized the water before adding it.”

“http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=30622149&memberId=12500226


I was planning on trying them on an upcoming trip because they seem so simple to use. Anyone use them?”

“Na, I just stick a straw into the source and start chugging”

“nonconformist, from the discription they sound just like the tablet form of aquamira”

“That was my assessment too, only these seemed like they'd be easier to work with---not that Aquamira is hard, I was just looking for something small, light, and no mixing.”

“polar pure barely has any taste at all. last year i started my thru-hike with an msr mini-works, got tired of cleaning the cartridge all the time, messing with the components, plus wanted to save some weight, so i switched to polar pure in damascus”

“Polar Pure for me. I also bring coffee filters to remove the 'chunks' from the water before adding a few capfuls of Polar Pure, then (after 30-45 min) add a piece of a crushed Vitamin C tablet to knock down the bitter taste.”

“I've been a filter guy for years, took polar pure last trip. I am sold! Polar pure for me from now on.”

“I used our First Need on the same water as a pur hiker and the water from the pure was still rust colored. The first need is a touch heavy and harder to pump (for some) but is worth it everytime. One lite in about 45 sec isnt too shabby.

While properly using our old sweetwater sass got a nasty bacterial prob that lingered for almost 2 years.”

“I use a sweet water filter. I'll carry iodine as back-up but have never used it. Don't like ingesting chemicals. Have had good experiences with the sweet water filter. Boiling is too much of a pain & too difficult to cool down. One drop of un-treated water can contaminate the lot. Won't drink un-filtered water except from a spring in a pinch.
last edited: 9/16/05 9:28:16 PM”

“I have PUR Scout and I just found out it was discontinued (years ago - it's been that long since I have chnaged the filter cartridge). But I love it and have used it A LOT. I am wondering what others with the same filter are doing. It seems like Katadyne is not making the iodine soaked filter, so the Guide is not truly a replacement (it is not a purifier like the Scout). Is there a web site somewhere that I can use to get a replacement filter, or am I SOL? And also, how does the First Need filter work? What is in the "matrix"?”

“KZ, the first need works very well. We have had ours for years. They are a touch heavy, and some folks think they are harder to pump (I disagree). I can purify a liter in a minute or so. I have filtered the same water as a pur hiker, when we were done the pur water was yellowish still, mine was crystal clear. Not sure what the matrix is though. Another plus of the first need is the ability to backwash the cartridge.”

“Personally, I like to pump.”