Re: Water treatment?

by ouachita hiker Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:01 pm

Thanks!

That stuff was all that was available back then. Filters didn't exist. That is what I used but in some rare cases, like above Katy Creek in the Caney Creek wilderness, I would drink out of the stream. Not any more!

OH

by HillbillyHkr Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:12 pm

I grew up on the headwaters of the Mulberry river. We never thought a second before drinking out of the creeks and river. Our attitude was the as long as it was not muddy it was fine. Like you...not anymore.

by Jay Wed Jan 21, 2009 8:34 pm

I have been using Polar Pure for years. It does give the water a slight tinge of iodine flavor, but I like that taste.

The problem with iodine treatments (of any kind--drops, tablets, polar pure) is that there is some pretty serious discussion out there regarding whether or not iodine destroys cryptosporidium. It also takes longer to kill Giardia cysts than usually published in the directions if you're treating cold water.

Crypto and Giardia are the two most likely critters to infect us, so if you're using iodine treatments, you should definately keep this in mind.

All that being said, I've used Iodine for years and I've never had any ill effects. Although, some people never show any sypmtoms even when infected.

I will probably be switching to an MSR filter soon though.

by onepaddlejunkie Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:44 pm

I bought a SteriPen but there are a few cautions about using one. Use two bottles. One bottle is your dirty water bottle. Rubber band a coffee filter around the top and fill the bottle. Pour this water into your clean bottle being very careful not to contaminate the rim of the bottle. You can slop enough pathogens on the rim to make yourself sick when you drink out of the “clean” bottle. The SteriPen will dispose of everything in the water inside the bottle, but will do nothing to decontaminate the water on the outside of the rim. Hang the used filter on the outside of your pack while it dries. You can use it for fire starter or TP if you didn’t plan ahead.

I always carry Katadyn Micropur tablets as a backup. They don’t weigh anything and they don’t take up any room.

I also have several of the Katadyn Extream purifiers. I don’t use them much, but they do work very well.

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