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I use a first need water purifier. It weighs around 18 ounces but filters down to .01 microns. It claims to take everything (including viruses) out of the water and I haven't had a problem yet. It costs around 80 bucks. I have also used iodine tablets and bleach, personally I like the purifiers (not just filters) better.

I would like to upgrade to a unit thats lighter and has a higher flow rate. Of course I want to retain the purifying aspect of the unit, any suggestions?

I've never had much problem carrying all the water I need at 39 degrees

what is it for 60 degrees?

Most municipal water treatment plants in the valley use sodium hypochlorite (bleach) for primary disinfection. For best results filter and disinfect like surface water treatment plants do. A lot depends on the source water. I have been drinking out of LaBarge spring (the pipe not the trough) without filtration or disinfection without any ill effects. ymmv.

@johnlp
You use bleach don't you? How many drops per liter?

Outdoor Lover wrote:How many drops per liter?

4 drops
do not use lemon or any scented. must be plain bleach.

te-wa wrote:

Outdoor Lover wrote:How many drops per liter?

4 drops
do not use lemon or any scented. must be plain bleach.

And there you have it: WWSULD.

And to think I was using bleach for years, until a well-meaning family member gave me a water filter for Christmas.

I do recall that in Scouts we used more than the 4 drops if the water was scuzzy. And then, no matter how much powdered lemonade you add to it, it tastes like scuzzy bleach.

azbackpackr wrote:scuzzy bleach

Tasty!! For years, in Scouts, I believed that was how water tasted... (of course, I lived in the city and drank tap water...). Purification tablets were Heaven-sent when I discovered them.

Now-a-days, I filter and/or use Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets; better living through chemistry!! If the water is truly scuzzy/silt laden, I prefer to use PUR Water Treatment (a flocculent/purifier - ( dead link removed )). Can't beat science!!

Sorry do Purification Tablets have an expiration date???

Flocculent? Now you are making me run for the dictionary. Oh, sorry, they are all in Spanish. Will have to use the web dictionary. Thanks for a new word from your fine vocabulary, Paul!

In researching this great word, I also ran across the verb form: Flocculate. And the chemical process, flocculation.


floc·cu·lent
   [flok-yuh-luhnt] Show IPA

adjective
1.
like a clump or tuft of wool.

2.
covered with a soft, woolly substance.

3.
consisting of or containing loose woolly masses.

4.
flocky.

5.
Chemistry . consisting of flocs and floccules.



FLOCCULATE:
verb (used without object)
2.
to form flocculent masses, as a cloud or a chemical precipitate; form aggregated or compound masses of particles.

Coagulation/flocculation takes small particles (colloidal) that don't settle well, forms larger particles that will more readily settle or be filterable. Alum (aluminum sulfate) is commonly used in water treatment along with an anionic polymer.

All you flocculaters better watch out. The Great Purifier is going to exact its power upon you!

azbackpackr wrote:All you flocculaters better watch out.

Is there a chance we could go blind from this!?

cysts are the hardest bacteria to kill, and most people don't wait enough time. Choose your wait time, take your chances. Giardia is fairly rare within the US, with the exception of some areas of the PCT, as I understand it. I use a comparatively heavy - Miniworks EX. It has never failed me in the field, and is field cleanable. It takes awhile to pump water, and pumps faster when the source is clear. There are newer gravity filters, I would like to see one of those in action one of these days.

Ken let me use his Sawyer Squeeze on the Midnight Mesa Loop. Impressed me in weight and speed so I picked one up. While it claims 3 oz, it's really 4.8 with all the pieces. First attempt filling the bag took some learning... hold the edge and fish it through the water in a circle or figure eight and it fills up fast. Kinna useless in a tiny/shallow pool but seems like a decent option when you know the source.

@joe bartels
I really like mine and have had it for a few years. Just an FYI I froze one and they are no good after that. Also, the bags that come with it wear out pretty fast. It will screw onto a platypus flexible bottle or a plastic pop bottle. I carry it in my pocket or inside my jacket when it's cold. I'll put it in my quilt with me for overnight camping. Also, after replacing my first one (after freezing in owl creek overnight temps forecasted above 32), I found them in the camping dept. At Walmart for $29. It doesn't have the three bags etc. but it has 1 bag and the actual filter. The three bag version is now $37. That's $20-30 cheaper than REI's model and quite a bit cheaper than most replacement cartridges for pump filters.

Good to hear. It does fit my old platypus bags, a good 1.4oz backup for an overnight! My ceramic MSR is still one of the best two buys ever. Just seemed nice to have this option for so cheap.

If it's freezing I'm in the wrong place to begin with!

I watched some video's and looked online in regards to the Sawyer because my MSR Sweetwater filter needs replaced. Has anyone tried using it inline? From what I can tell the filter is great but the bag situation is shite. So I am on the fence because the MSR Sweetwater has never let me down.

I was wondering that too, hope someone chimes in.

Did notice they do have ( dead link removed ). Based on how they jack up the price they must work and be in demand.

With Joel's recommendation, I bought one for GG last year...Now it's all I carry...I do however carry a Backpacker's Water Bucket which makes it much easier to fill the Bags, especially if you don't have any Flow...I love it! Cleaning is a Breeze and takes 1/8 the time of any other Filters you can "Field Clean".....

Outdoor Lover wrote:With Joel's recommendation, I bought one for GG last year...Now it's all I carry...

Pam, I would much appreciate if you would soon return back to me GPSjoe's MSR WaterWorks Filter (just stop by and put inside my G/H front seat.. just insert between the window opening).

I would like to be able to again loan this like new, top-of-the-line MSR water filter to another HAZ member to use on a planned backpack trip.

T-hank-S

@Uberdroog
I had a sweet water at one time....great great filter...mine was like a used ten year old one...and I used that thing until the handle literally broke off...cant provide insight on the filter you are talking about...but the platypus gravity filter gets 4 stars in my book, however, its more conducive to back packing, as you do not get the instant action/filtered water you may get with a MSR pump, or the squeeze that seems to be all the rage..

side note...unless you really like intense arm work outs after a long hike, don't get the MSR pump! gets dirty real quick, a pain to back flush in the field..I use to love it, but after switching to gravity, I cant imaging pumping another liter again..lol