Lightweight water filtration

A place to chat about gear and the philosphy of ultralight. Ultralight bushwalking or backpacking focuses on carrying the lightest and simplest kit. There is still a good focus on safety and skill.
Forum rules
Ultralight Bushwalking/backpacking is about more than just gear lists. Ultralight walkers carefully consider gear based on the environment they are entering, the weather forecast, their own skill, other people in the group. Gear and systems are tested and tweaked.
If you are new to this area then welcome - Please remember that although the same ultralight philosophy can be used in all environments that the specific gear and skill required will vary greatly. It is very dangerous to assume that you can just copy someone else's gear list, but you are encouraged to ask questions, learn and start reducing the pack weight and enjoying the freedom that comes.

Common words
Base pack backpacking the mass of the backpack and the gear inside - not including consumables such as food, water and fuel
light backpacking base weight less than 9.1kg
ultralight backpacking base weight less than 4.5kg
super-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 2.3kg
extreme-ultralight backpacking base weight less than 1.4kg

Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby crollsurf » Tue 04 Feb, 2020 7:10 pm

Worth noting the Sawyer Mini flow rate is a shocker. I've always used the Sawyer Squeeze with the "pouch"s that comes with the Squeeze and they work well for storing dirty water.
Also worth noting Micropur can reak havoc on your gut flora. And if it does, there are tabs you can buy to get things back in balance.

My go to these days however is the BeFree. It's nice to sit next to a creek while filtering but the scoop and go offered with the BeFree has been a game changer for me.



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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby rcaffin » Tue 04 Feb, 2020 7:25 pm

There have been complaints that you can't get a Steripen into the neck of a common water bottle.
For reference: I have tried most of the chemicals and many of the filters. UV is more effective, faster, tasteless and simple, imho.

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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby crollsurf » Tue 04 Feb, 2020 7:36 pm

I haven't got a Steripen but planning to hike in Nepal in the coming years. Not sure I need one for Aus but will definitely get one for Nepal. Some places, filter systems are not good enough.

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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby Rileyr » Tue 11 Feb, 2020 1:45 pm

A warning on sawyers: the bladders are terrible! Had several split. I like the squeeze with a cnoc bladder

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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby Gold Coast » Fri 14 Feb, 2020 5:20 pm

[quote="crollsurf"]I haven't got a Steripen but planning to hike in Nepal in the coming years. Not sure I need one for Aus but will definitely get one for Nepal. Some places, filter systems are not good enough.

I'm also thinking of going to Nepal this year. Can you expand on why filter systems are not good enough.
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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby coimon » Fri 14 Feb, 2020 5:27 pm

Due to waterborne viruses I'm guessing. They aren't caught by filters and need to be killed with chemical (I believe chlorine isn't sufficient) or UV treatment such as the Steripen.
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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby ribuck » Sun 16 Feb, 2020 5:59 pm

Gold Coast wrote:
crollsurf wrote:Can you expand on why filter systems are not good enough.

As coimon says, filters do not remove viruses, which may be an issue in certain places. Most problems, however, are due to bacteria and protozoa.

This chart from the US Center for disease control spells out exactly which techniques work for which pathogens:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/dr ... atment.pdf

Based on that, I always use boiling when available. Otherwise, I use chlorine dioxide tablets and/or the light-and-convenient Katadyn BeFree filter. As a result, all my water containers are multiples of one litre, because the chlorine dioxide tablets treat one litre each. Fortunately, the BeFree is available in one litre capacity, and doubles as one of my water bottles.
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Re: Lightweight water filtration

Postby rcaffin » Sun 16 Feb, 2020 7:26 pm

That CDC doco is a bit obsolete. I would not rely on it myself.
One special note is that it says that UV lacks adequate experimental data: this may have been true in 2009 (or more likely 2007 & 2008), but it is very wrong today.
Also, for chemical treatments, I do not think it makes adequate distinction between fast contact times and 30 minute waits.

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