My recent visit to Canoecopia got me thinking about the Steripen for my solo trips. I dip for drinking water well away from shore on deeper lakes, but that can be a problem if I make camp on a shallow lake or find myself wind-bound one day.

I know Steripen has been around for awhile, but they now package the Classic 3 Steripen with a prefilter, so I thought I'd pose a few questions:

As a dipper, I'm not concerned about drinking a few floaties in the water, but I know that cloudy water can reduce the Steripen's effectiveness. Are BWCA/Quetico waters clear enough that a prefilter is unnecessary for safety, or is a prefilter needed sometimes?

Has anyone used the prefilter, and what are your thoughts on it?

For those who have used the Steripen without a filter, what are your comments on this unit in general?

If the ad copy can be believed, a set of lithium batteries would treat 150 liters, which would be plenty for a 10-day solo trip.

This looks like an easy, light (no pun intended), and compact drinking water solution for solo trippers. If that's the case, I would be inclined to purify my water on a regular basis.

I have a steripen, I have used it without the pre-filter. In my opinion in the North Country lakes, it is not needed. Just one more thing to hassle with. Never had a problem with it.
I always take a spare battery.

Only use during the day, I use a platypus in line base camp filter in camp.

The only thing I can tell is the taste of the lake comes through when you dip and steripen versus running it through a filter.
But NO ill affects.

SunCatcher

Steri Pen is a water purifier. . .not water filter.

We take a Platypus for camp use as we have 6-9 men per camp. For under way, we use Sawyer water bottles with the filters in them.

However, I bring a standard steri pen and the mini as back ups. I also keep a LifeStaw in the small pack on the back of my PFD>

I don't "dip" and advise all our teams not to dip as well. With the Sawyer water filter bottles, there is no extra work then "dipping", and you are covered with the filter. I don't know why anyone would dip in a non filtered bottle when there is no extra work involved in a filtered one. In camp, Platypus is the only way to go for volume.

I've taken a steripen on about 10 trips now. I don't feel a need for a filter, and in fact I switched to the steripen because I had to constantly clean my old filter on trips from the green something that's in the water up there.

I dip in the center of the lake when paddling and use the steripen from the shore and have had no problems.

One piece of advice : The batteries are a little pricey, and I've found that they drain if I leave them in during the off season. If I take the batteries out when not in used and they last for several years.

If the water seems a bit cloudy then use the steripen 2 or 3 times while stirring well.

Make sure not to drop the steripen into the water. They are not waterproof.

I do like them but have been going more with the gravity filter to do lots of water easily. May start using a steripen as a backup and for convenience on the move.

Treksouter,

I believe we met at dinner after the Copia show, we talked about solo tripping.I have used my Steri pen since I started solo canoeing. I have never used my pre-filter, like others have said, I do not think it necessary. I do like a bag filter in camp, but the S. Pen is awesome.

I have a rule I never break, when tripping, have more than one water system. I use the pen, a bag filter as well as polar pure as a back up to my back-ups. The pen is outstanding and I think you will come to love it, very dependable. Just make sure you have another method as well.

I enjoyed chatting with you over Pizza. I hope you enjoy your next solo trip.

Bob.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The comments were helpful.

After reading the SteriPEN responses, I'm confident that it would work well for me.

I also took a hard look at the Sawyer Personal Water Bottle filter, recommended by Ockycamper. I was very impressed with it. The water flows easily either by drinking from the straw, or with a squeeze of the bottle. It's capable of filtering one million gallons (!). The syringe-based backflush system will restore flow by up to 98.5%, which is remarkable. Unless you let it freeze, it would be hard to break.

It does weigh twelve ounces, but it doesn't need batteries. Since it's a bottle, I can leave my second Nalgene bottle at home, which saves six ounces. All things considered, using the Sawyer would be about the same weight for me as using the SteriPEN.

After careful consideration, I decided to give the Sawyer bottle the nod. I think it would be a little more convenient to use when on the water. I'm going to give it a try this year. At just $35, if I'm not satisfied with it, I can try the SteriPEN next year.

Solobob1, thanks for the reminder to have a backup system. I also take purification tablets, and can boil water, if necessary. It was good meeting you at 'Copia.

Best wishes to all for a healthy paddling season.

TrekScouter, take it from someone who treats water for a living ("we know water from the BOTTOM TO THE TAP") that you are right on track in the understanding that cloudiness reduces the effectiveness of a Steripen. ANY turbidity in the water, including particles that are too small to see with the naked eye, will reduce the effectiveness of ultra-violet light--the technology behind Steripen. If there is a "green something", as one person posted here, that's visible in the water, you can bet that UV light or the Steripen is not going to kill all of the bacteria that may exist since the tint-causing turbidity will block the UV light from penetrating that bacteria.

When we make commercial or industrial applications of UV sterilization, proper pre-filtration is always a part of our design, even on the clearest-looking incoming feed water. I think that "success" with a Steripen without using the pre-filter speaks more to the user's good fortune than lack of need for a pre-filter.

If Steripens are sold with a pre-filter as part of the equipment, it's done for a reason. If you will be relying on a Steripen for safe drinking water, I'd certainly use the pre-filter that comes with it.

"It does weigh twelve ounces . . ."

It actually weighs about half that, I believe. It probably doesn't weigh that even with syringe, tubing, and bags to convert the mini filter to a gravity set up.

I find it very convenient to use while traveling. I think you'll like it.

quote bottomtothetap: "If Steripens are sold with a pre-filter as part of the equipment, it's done for a reason. If you will be relying on a Steripen for safe drinking water, I'd certainly use the pre-filter that comes with it. "

Most steripens are sold without a prefilter. However, it is also true that they are also marketing for non-camping travel use where the water may look clear but still contain bugs.

quote boonie: ""It does weigh twelve ounces . . ."

"It actually weighs about half that, I believe. "

You are correct...the package says 7.5 ounces, which I confirmed with my kitchen scale. Thanks for the catch.

I use the steripen and pre-filter. Everyone in my group brings a 32oz wide mouth water bottle. We dip the big cook pot in the lake, then pre-filter out the floaties while filling the bottles. We follow up with the steripen inside each bottle. We use the water out of the water bottles to cook with as well. It's easy to get water quickly on the fly and I like the peace of mind that I filtered out the floaties as well as killed bacteria. I like very clean water and this is one of the many great ways to get it. I have also used the gravity filters and really like them as well. As others have said, for large groups that IS the way to go. I just happen to have a steripen and I have no plans to switch.