I've only ever used a gravity feed (Sawyer) filter and have had great success with it. However, in the warmer months when we're drinking more water I'm looking for something a bit quicker and have been looking into AQUAMIRA to quickly treat larger quantities of water for my group.

Has anyone used this before? I know it's popular amongst ultralight backpackers.

Aquamira - why we like it

The only downside I know of would be that it's a lot more expensive in the long run. If that's not an issue, then I don't see any reason not to give it a try. I'm not aware of any safety issues when it's being used properly.

Everyone could have their own filter and bottle.

We use a Katadyn gravity bag for our main filter, and a Sawyer squeeze bag for backup and on the fly use. We don’t bring the MSR pump anymore. It was dependable but heavy and slow/tedious to use.

Doesn’t aquamira need like 15+ minutes to treat? With large water bladders I can filter and store a lot of water in 15 min.

Knowing that I'll have a group of 8 or 9 again this year, I bought another 10L bag for my MSR Gravity Filter. Another group member brings an 8L gravity filter. We will also have 1-2 Steripens and a Sawyer Squeeze as backup.

Typing it out feels like overkill but it's amazing how much water a group that size can go through.

Regardless of your group size, my recommendation is to have another filtering option. I am personally a huge fan of the gravity filters for canoe camping.

I've used the Katadyn Vario for several years and had good luck with it. I use a Life Straw which is a gravity filter for group trips but the Vario for solo trips. It is a pump unit.

shouldertripper: "Doesn’t aquamira need like 15+ minutes to treat? With large water bladders I can filter and store a lot of water in 15 min."

Aquamira is a 5 minute treatment, longer if you're worried about Cryptosporidium. I haven't timed how long it takes for a Sawyer to gravity filter say 5L, but it's surely longer than 15 minutes. I won't be stopping use of my gravity filter, but these drops seem like a good backup or if you wanted to filter a large amount of water quickly.

Treating a 5 gal container of water in say 10 minutes sounds really nice.

anthonylane: "

shouldertripper: "Doesn’t aquamira need like 15+ minutes to treat? With large water bladders I can filter and store a lot of water in 15 min."

Aquamira is a 5 minute treatment, longer if you're worried about Cryptosporidium. I haven't timed how long it takes for a Sawyer to gravity filter say 5L, but it's surely longer than 15 minutes. I won't be stopping use of my gravity filter, but these drops seem like a good backup or if you wanted to filter a large amount of water quickly.


Treating a 5 gal container of water in say 10 minutes sounds really nice. "

My mistake, that is definitely faster than I thought. Sounds like some combination of the two methods would be very efficient!

At the end of the day I tend to treat my water to a splash of whiskey.

4 liter Platypus GravityWorks when camped
Gravity straw when on the move - I am embarrassed how much energy I used to put into decreasing pack weight only to add a couple liters of water every time I'd put on the pack.

Personally, I just use a water filter bottle when out or traveling, and a gravity filter in camp. Skurka's use is different as they are not always near a water source like we are in BWCA. You just have to dip the bottle, replace the lid, and drink - no mixing 2 chemicals, waiting 5 minutes for react, then 15 minutes minimum to drink. You're also not carrying pounds of water.

In camp, using a gravity filter, just fill and connect, do something else while it filters. There are many sizes of bags (up to 10L I believe), and you can just repeat and fill additional water bags. Very simple, very quick, very easy - no careful chemical mixing, no timing, no worries.

Does aquamira not have the downside of also killing healthy gut bacteria? Chemical methods seemed better left for emergency use for that reason

One downside to chemically treating your water versus filtering is that all the macroscopic "stuff" (algae, larva, debris, etc) is still present in your drinking water. This material may not be a health hazard due to the chlorine dioxide treatment, but drinking water with suspended dead larva in it is not appealing. This may not be an issue if you're filling up mid-lake, but it can sometimes be hard to avoid this type of contaminant near shore.

After drinking lots of funky looking (albeit safe) water treated chemically while backpacking in the late 80's and early 90's, I strongly prefer filtering.

+1 We typically have 2 10L gravity bags in camp and have rarely if ever waited for water. I also only use a 1 bag system and not a two bag system, so in our scenario we have two bags with usable water available.

We fill up our nalgene prior to heading out for the day and that is typically enough. If we intend to have shore lunch somewhere I bring along a pump or and each fills up on their own. If the group is larger, I will pack a gravity bag.

Water in BWCA, in my opinion can be safe with just filtering so I personally have never use chemicals to treat as others sometimes do.

SNA has a good end of day technique as well. Worth considering.

MSR Mini Works Ex and a Sawyer Water filter/blue bottle/name ??? Both have worked well...

I switched to a Katadyn BeFree 1L for each individual for the travel day. Easy to just load and drink on each lake and we empty it them before each portage so we aren’t carrying extra weight. If the cost is too much go ahead and use the tablets…that is what a lot of camp groups do now.

I recall photos of collecting drinking water in an old thread anyone interested and skilled in these things might dig up. Is it no longer safe to drink the water filtered through lips and tongue? Per the photos near beaver lodges and in swampy areas were suggested collection sites, tongue in cheek. Several useful comments about where to find clean water were included such as is still water better than moving water, how deep should I collect?

bhouse46: "I recall photos of collecting drinking water in an old thread anyone interested and skilled in these things might dig up. Is it no longer safe to drink the water filtered through lips and tongue? Per the photos near beaver lodges and in swampy areas were suggested collection sites, tongue in cheek. Several useful comments about where to find clean water were included such as is still water better than moving water, how deep should I collect?"

Simply dipping water from the lakes/streams requires some knowledge of the risks. The changing nature of usage, weather, and water biology makes this a more risky practice. Heavy downpours, flooding events, droughts, and prolonged heat waves create situations in which the water quality can be negatively impacted.

1. Moving water is always suspect. The presence of aquatic mammals is increased in those areas. Beaver, otter, etc. tend to negatively impact water safety.

2. There are many more reports of blue/green algae blooms in the BW than in past years. These algae blooms create toxins that are near impossible to filter from the water.

3. There are many more of our domesticated mammals traveling through the BW these days. These creatures make the water immediately nearby portage ends and campsites of suspect quality all the time.

4. Any water with turbidity should be viewed as highly suspect.

The "safest" practice is to assume contamination and filter or boil all water.

At camp, we filter. On the move, we dip (in highly selective places) and steripen. If we are moving on a river, we take the time to filter.

The folks claiming that mid-lake water is safe are just guessing and taking a calculated risk. In my opinion, it’s a risk that has really no meaningful upside unless you were in danger or lost your gear. Getting sick can ruin a trip.

Filtering water is simply too easy and almost guaranteed to keep you from getting a bad bug.

But hey, I’m not going to tell anyone how to drink their water. Do what works for you.

anthonylane: "The folks claiming that mid-lake water is safe are just guessing and taking a calculated risk. In my opinion, it’s not a risk that has really any meaningful upside unless you were in danger or lost your gear.

Filtering water is simply too easy and almost guaranteed to keep you from getting a bad bug."

Guessing? I suppose there's some truth to that, but it's definitely an educated guess. We've been pulling our water from the middle of the lake for nearly all of our forty years of canoe tripping in Quetico. BWCA water isn't any different.

In reality, we're all kind of guessing that the water filter is doing it's job, too. Right? I know what it says on the box and they wouldn't put it on the market if it couldn't do the proper filtering as advertised, but things happen during usage that can change things. One never truly knows.

It's not like we've never carried a water filter with us and used it. It's just quicker and easier to fill a bucket from the lake. The water tastes good and we've never had a problem.

Saying "we've always drunk straight from the lake and nobody's gotten sick yet!" is exactly the same as someone saying "I've never worn a seat belt and I'm still alive and kicking!" Or, more pertinent to this forum, "I never wear a life jacket and I haven't drowned yet!"

Of course you can dip and drink, but why would you, when filtering is objectively safer and so easy to do?

I've always gravity filtered in camp and, on long travel days, would dip (wisely, I told myself) from the middle of lakes following all the advice above. It worked great for dozens of trips up until the first time it didn't, and after that I added a Katadyn Steripen for the thwart bag in front of me so I can dip a water bottle and treat it while on the move.

(there are good ways and not good ways to lose a lot of weight; this was a not good way)

We have a gravity filter in camp using a Sawyer mini. We also have the Sawyer water bottle so that we can readily get water when out on lakes. I have zero complaints for either of those. The in camp filter is a little slow sometimes, but we can compensate with the water bottles. All it takes is a back flush and we're back in business

NEIowapaddler: "Saying "we've always drunk straight from the lake and nobody's gotten sick yet!" is exactly the same as someone saying "I've never worn a seat belt and I'm still alive and kicking!" Or, more pertinent to this forum, "I never wear a life jacket and I haven't drowned yet!" "

Hardly the same thing, but that's ok. And for the record, I wear my seatbelt and my PFD 100% of the time.

Jackfish: "

anthonylane: "The folks claiming that mid-lake water is safe are just guessing and taking a calculated risk. In my opinion, it’s not a risk that has really any meaningful upside unless you were in danger or lost your gear.


Filtering water is simply too easy and almost guaranteed to keep you from getting a bad bug."

Guessing? I suppose there's some truth to that, but it's definitely an educated guess. We've been pulling our water from the middle of the lake for nearly all of our forty years of canoe tripping in Quetico. BWCA water isn't any different.


In reality, we're all kind of guessing that the water filter is doing it's job, too. Right? I know what it says on the box and they wouldn't put it on the market if it couldn't do the proper filtering as advertised, but things happen during usage that can change things. One never truly knows.


It's not like we've never carried a water filter with us and used it. It's just quicker and easier to fill a bucket from the lake. The water tastes good and we've never had a problem. "

To say dipping is easier is simply not true. My guys all have Lifestraw filter bottles. They dip them the same way you are talking about, and have filtered water to drink without the risk.

Why would someone not use the filter when it is the same as using a Naglene bottle to dip? And costs only about $25?

Gotta point out that saying 40 years of never getting sick by dipping and trusting that a water filter is doing its job is anecdote vs. scientific testing. There are plenty of people with anecdotes of getting sick from dipping and now a high probability they now use filters. I have dipped plenty in my life and still do occasionally, but I would never claim it is safer or even the same as using a filter without scientific evidence. And in this day and age, there are so many easy ways to treat your water.

Always dipped…totally never an issue :) Filter smilter…








Please note my wife made me make this post as a joke

timatkn: "Always dipped…totally never an issue :) Filter smilter…





Please note my wife made me make this post as a joke"

Now that’s funny

I love having a gravity filter at camp. It has a 1 gallon plastic bottle under it. It is so nice to always have quick, easy access to filtered water.

I had katadyn filters fail too many times. So I modified my basecamp with this thread years ago...

basecamp mod

It works great.

On the go, we usually just have filtered water from camp. We'll occasionally dip from the middle of deep lakes.

Why not dip with one of these? Don't understand the reluctance. Lifestraw filter bottle

ockycamper: "Why not dip with one of these? Don't understand the reluctance. Lifestraw filter bottle "

I tried a lifestraw once. It was way too hard to suck through...

Thru hikers use Smartwater bottle and sawyer minis/squeeze. That setup easier, lighter, and more reliable

Our groups have using the Lifestraw bottles, and Sawyer bottles before that for many years. No complaints. We also just fill up bottles from the gravity filters before going out. I bought 3 6 litre Platypus filters when they went on sale a couple of years ago for $60 each. My camp of 8 guys typically goes through two 6 litre bags each day. (We use filtered water for coffee, drinking water, washing dishes, etc. We do not use lake water for any purpose but holding fish!)

If you're having trouble getting water from a Lifestraw bottle, there is probably something wrong with the filter. It should not be difficult at all to suck water through it when it's functioning correctly.

I use a gravity filter bag in camp. On the water I just dip and sip. Some folks I go with have the water bottles with the filters.

Only dip and sip from deeper lakes away from the shore and make sure it's non-turbid. For MOST people, if you get giardia or cryptosporidium, it probably won't manifest itself until you are back home after your trip.

I wouldn't suggest dipping and sipping if: 1) you are young 2) you are old, 3)immunocompromised, 4) you have something really important coming up the week or two following your trip back that you absolutely can't miss because you've got the sh**s, or 5) you are early into a multi-week trip. Otherwise, if you're relatively healthy, I wouldn't sweat dipping and sipping.

Just bring as many gravity fed systems as you need for your group. I use Platypus. Excellent.

If you are speaking about daily drinking water and you don’t have time to filter en route, consider Grayl bottles. They can be filled and filtered from the canoe.