water filters and back packing.

[tony.latham]

Slow:

In the middle of Idaho, as long as I'm out of cattle country, and it's good looking stuff, I'll drink it unfiltered.



But I don't drink the water in Mexico, nor would I recommend somebody that's not from here to drink the crystal mountain stuff that has that special taste I can't quite describe. (Is it acidic? Or perhaps extra hard?)

Odd, eh?

Tony

[earl84]

I have used these while backpacking. Small, light, and pretty easy to use. https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/

[Shadow Catcher]

Yes you can get away with not filtering water, until you can't.
We canoe camped, kind of what you are doing but much more water. The areas we were in, Michigan, Canada had not seen cows, ever. But they did have moose and beaver and deer and, well you get the picture. Beaver fever. The giardia organism/parasite inhabits the digestive tract of a wide variety of domestic and wild animal species, as well as humans. It is one of the most common pathogenic parasitic infections in humans worldwide.
We used a First Need water purifier (more than just a water filter) https://generalecology.com/category/portable
I do not trust water from anywhere.

[Cosmo]

Depending on your needs, looks like the 3 popular categories for portable water purification are UV light, mechanical filtration and chemicals.

UV light – fast works in most temperature ranges. Seems to me like it’s for small batches such as a water bottle. Steri-Pen comes to mind. I am sure there are other options . Works fast and you just need batteries and a pre filter. Not a great choice for turbid water that the light cant penetrate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs8vREv-gKI

Mechanical filters come in all shapes and sizes from backpacking pumps to larger drip feed etc. I use a Katadyn which uses a ceramic filter. It works but pumping for large volume water is an endurance event. Fine for 1 or 2 water frugal camper. Takes out Cysts and everything else but not viruses. Some filters dose the water with a chemical while filtering. Some use charcoal which will improve the taste and claim to lower radiation levels (in case your camping at the Fukashima campground). Pumps clog with turbid water. A pre filter is a good idea for streams and rivers (in my experience).

Chemicals: Temperature impacts the effectiveness of chemical so read your instructions. Used correctly chemicals will kill viruses and cysts. All sorts of chemicals are available including plain Clorox. A few drops are all it takes. But you get Trihalomethanes as a byproducts which is a cancer causer. Aquamira claims to be a less hazardous chemical to your health. I use a MIOX gizmo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtHuV0mPXYQ which runs on batteries. You add plain salt and a little water and press the button and it generates the same chemical as Aquamira. The advantage is you can make as much as you want for large batches of water. Even enough to dose the water tank – same for other chemicals. Turbid water may require more chemicals.

I am sure there are many other solutions (water pun) depending on your needs and location.

For city water hookups I like the Camco charcoal filter which greatly improves the flavor at campground I have stayed at. If you buy off season you can get them for about $10
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-40043-Tast ... ter+filter

Along the carbon filter line there are the pitchers like Brita for flavor improvement. Brita no longer claims to remove chemicals which they used to claim.
-Cosmo

[booyah]

I have the $19 sawyer mini from walmart.

It works great in a gravity system with two hydration bladders. One dirty, one clean, hang the dirty high, and the water column creats teh pressure to send it through the filter. Not fast, but if it does 2l in 10-15 minutes who cares, its not like it takes any effort from me once the dirty bladder is filled and the bags are hung.

I also have an MSR Miniworks, that will do 1l a minute, and is easy to field maintain as a backup, and for hikes.

[JohnnyG]

I've been backpacking and canoe camping since 1980 and in my opinion this is the best! Fast and very reliable. You won't be sorry if you bought one.
https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/432-80182 ... icrofilter

[ND hiker]

I use an MSR Sweetwater filter with the prefilter and the drops when backpacking. I've been in areas where there is livestock around the water and I've never had a problem.

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[cheri832]

I have a Steripen. Bought it for a trip to South America and it worked perfectly except for some washed lettuce in Otavalo that I didn't think about until too late. LOL.
If the water is dirty you need to filter through a bandana first but it kills bacteria, virus, everything..a full liter in 90 seconds.
Better safe than sorry...

[Tomterrific]

Doesn't boiling kill bacteria, virus and amoeba? A clear mountain stream should be clear of chemicals, wouldn't it?

T

[Cosmo]

Doesn't boiling kill bacteria, virus and amoeba? A clear mountain stream should be clear of chemicals, wouldn't it?

T

The winds are transporting combustion chemicals and depositing them in the water supply and on everything else.
Some of the chemicals are mercury (from coal burning power plants), sulfer dioxide etc which is killing the life in streams and ponds.

Here is a link to a fish advisory for the Adirondacks the source of mercury is the air.
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental ... ondack.htm

Also I have seen helicopters spraying power line and pipleline cuts with defoliants to kill the vegetation in otherwise wild parks. Those chemicals enter the water supply too. Every area is different I am sure some areas are less likely to be exposed than others. Acceptable risk is a personal decision.

-Cosmo