How to Choose a Portable Water Filter or Water Purification System for Backpacking, Camping and Hiking
Adventurers can’t always carry all the water they need to stay hydrated while hiking, biking or paddling in the outdoors. So you need to bring along a way to safely treat water while in the wild.
And water is HEAVY! A gallon weighs over 8 pounds and a liter weighs 1 KG, so you want to carry what you need and maybe a tad bit more, but not much more.
On today’s Adventure Travel Show podcast, we look at the ways to filter and purify water from springs, streams, creeks, rivers and lakes.
It’s all about BALANCE. There is no perfect water treatment system!
Everything is a trade off:
- Weight
- Ease of use in the field
- Ease of cleaning and maintenance
- Effectiveness
- Time
- Money
Types of Portable Water Treatment:
- Filtration: a physical barrier prevents most protazoans and bacteria Filtration Systems
- Purification: sterilization that also kills viruses Purification Systems
- Chemical: chlorine or iodine based Chemical Systems
- Mechanical: Boil
Water Filtration Methods:
Pros/Cons: Eliminates most protozoans and bacteria. Ease of use and cleaning, affordable, can treat larger quantities, can be bulky. For US use, this is generally sufficient. Often requires more than a trickle to fill the untreated bags. Filtration Systems
- Pump and Squeeze Filters: Require some work on your part, but still easy
- Gravity: You must put the untreated bag higher than the fill bag but gravity does all the work
- Drink Through Filters: Simple, small and lightweight but only treats a small amount of water at a time. Consider a straw filter as an emergency item in your pack and as a backup for your regular water treatment system.
Water Purification Methods:
Pros/Cons: Effective also against viruses, in addition to protozoans and bacteria. Best for some overseas locations where disease and/or human/animal waste may be entering the water source. Expensive. Need to carry extra batteries (weight). Easy to maintain. Small. Often need to pre-filter out any sand, grit or debris (in a pinch use your bandana). Purification Systems
- UV Light: You put the light in a glass or water bottle and stir around for the amount of time indicated.
Chemical Water Treatment: Iodine or Chlorine tablets or drops
Pros/Cons: Small, cheap, effective BUT it can take 30 -240 minutes to treat, which obviously is a pain. Plus especially iodine, has a funny taste most don’t like. NOT recommended for anyone who is pregnant or has thyroid issues. Does not remove cryptosporidium. Good to keep a couple of tablets in your pack as a backup. Chemical Systems
Mechanical Water Treatment: Boiling your water
Pros/Cons: Effective but you must boil ( a ROLLING BOIL!) for one minute and if above 6500’ elevation, for three minutes. Can leave a metallic taste to the water. You still need to carry fuel, which is heavy (plus a pot and stove to cook it), and worst of all, you need to wait for it to cool down. OK as a backup, but hard to use in practice if you are on the move.
Backpack Bladder:
I like to use a water bladder because the drinking tube which clips to the front of my backpack encourages me to stay hydrated and I don’t have to remove my pack to get my water bottle or ask someone to get it for me. Backpack bladders
If there are many water sources ahead, I will fill the bladder as appropriate (I use a 3L size and will fill it halfway or all the way depending on how reliable water will be), and then either fill one or both of my backpack water bottles as a backup in case I use up all the water in the bladder (since you can’t see the water levels as you drink).
When I get home, I thoroughly CLEAN THE BLADDER! There are cleaning tablets you can get that you stick in the bladder with warm water and let it rest, then clean and rinse thoroughly. I let it dry out about a week and then fold it up neatly and store in a gallon zip bag in my freezer until the next use.
Also back flush and otherwise clean your water treatment system according to directions.
FINALLY: Test your portable backpack water treatment system before you head back into the wild so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises (allowing time for a replacement in case it fails on you!)
If you plan on purchasing a new water treatment system or any adventure gear or tour, please consider using the links on my website. At no additional cost to you, you will be supporting the show as sometimes I earn a small commission which helps pay for the costs of running this show- thanks! Kit
Link mentioned in this episode
Active Travel Adventures Bhutan
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