What system(s) do you use for your water needs and why? What are the advantages/disadvantages for you?

I can tolerate the taste of the tablets so when in camp that's what I use. On the water I think it's called a Katadyn xtreme water bottle filter. Just dunk, screw the top and filter assembly back on and use like a water bottle.

Advantages? Lightweight, small pack size, no pumping.
Disadvantages? Taste (tablets), volume (bottle).

Thanks, what tablets do you use?

I use the Katadyn Hiker Pro. That way I don't need tablets and their aftertaste unless something really goes bad on the filter. I don't need to supply a group just myself so the Hiker Pro fills the bill. Dislike - the life of the filter itself. Unless you draw water from a really clean source the filter may run the risk of clogging after relatively few uses. Likes - great taste of lake water is still there, reasonably light weight and very easy to use.

I do bring tablets as a backup but have not had to use them yet...

Sometimes tablets.

Sometimes on a solo my MSR Miniworks if I have a long portage planned where I might run out of water (my Dromedary holds 70 oz). The Miniworks can get water out of tiny streams.

We just got a MSR Autoflow gravity filter for tandem tripping and I might use it for solos as my need for light increases and my ability to portage decreases. But it does need trees to hang from.

I dip deep out in the lake water a ways. Fill up two Platypus bladders when I go solo. Over 38 years of tripping, I've never gotten sick from drinking the water directly out of the lake (don't take from streams, creeks, ponds or where Beavers are near, however).

I have an MSR AutoFlow Gravity system with a 4-liter drom bag for clean water. I like the ease and simplicity of use compared to my old PUR pump filter - I just fill, hang, and go about other camp chores while it filters 4 liters for me. I usually carry two 1-liter nalgenes with me during the day, but that's 4 lbs of water weight and sometimes 2 liters isn't really enough. I don't want to carry more (actually would like to carry less) but it's not real convenient to stop and hang up the gravity system to get another liter or two. The old pump filter would be better for that. The water bottle filters are an attractive option, but don't allow flavorings for the water...? Plus the whole outfit - filter, tubes, clean and dirty water bags, nalgenes - just seems a little heavy and bulky for a solo. But it is nice to just hang it up and have 4 liters of water without further effort.

Steri-Pen users...?

steri pen. i have had it for years and it is the one piece of gear i always bring in the backcountry.

quote jwartman59: "steri pen. i have had it for years and it is the one piece of gear i always bring in the backcountry."

So, tell me more, jwartman59 - it seems small and light. What do you put the water in, how much can you do at one time, how long does it take, uses batteries - how long do they last, what about filtering it as well as sterilizing it, etc?

i've had the steri pen for about seven years. between myself and my daughter it has been on at least fifty overnight + trips. it is still going strong although one of the notches on the battery cover is becoming worn. it uses 4 aa bateries. in the bw, where i typically get water from the middle of good lakes, i can go a week without replacing the batteries. my daughter (and I) used it a lot in yellowstone, all water had to be treated. her longest trip with the steri pen in yellowstone was a week, she had to replace the batteries once. it uses a 1000 ml nalgene and comes with a pre-filter, which i have never used. typically it takes about three minutes to treat water, you just hold it in the nalgene and let the magic happen. i super highly recommend this gear. i also own a sweetwater pump. i haven't touched that beast in years.

I'm interested, j, but do you just do 1 liter at a time? Then paddle out into the middle of the lake and get another liter? Or do you fill some sort of larger water container to refill the nalgene from or use multiple nalgenes?

To sterilize 4 liters I'd have to sit and hold it for 12 minutes ? vs just hanging the gravity filter and going about other things? One liter probably wouldn't get me through dinner, coffee, and breakfast, much less the next day's water.

But it certainly seems light, compact, and effective.

first need deluxe purifier (not a filter).

pros...crystal clear, tasteless water. high volume.

cons...its a little bulky and you cant clean the canister, you can only backwash it.

quote kanoes: "first need deluxe purifier (not a filter).

pros...crystal clear, tasteless water. high volume.

cons...its a little bulky and you cant clean the canister, you can only backwash it."

Same for me. Used to go with Potable Aqua, then switched to Polar Pure.
Went to a filter because I was traveling (hiking and canoe), deeper into shoulder seasons. Temp is an important factor in chemical water treatment.

The First Need delivers the cleanest tasting water and pumps faster than any other filter I have tried.

butthead

? for butthead and kanoes - how much water do you pump at a time? storage method? how much do you carry with you?

nalgenes. 2 32oz and a 48oz silo. ive used their 96oz bag too.

i carry 64oz when traveling.

I use a 100 oz. Camelbak Unbottle with quick snap fittings.
It will also screw onto Nalgene, bottles and bags, and has another smaller threaded screw to fit smaller necked bottles.

butthead

I use a Platypus gravity system



Pro's

Filters 4 liters of water fast
Weighs less than 11oz
system allows you to hold up to 8 liters of water in the bags. Filter can be back flushed at anytime bringing it back to near new flow rate.





Cons's

Can not be froze, have to be mindful when tripping in shoulder seasons, this is true of most filters.
No lifetime warranty on the filter





I also have the top end Steripen, the digital one, I never use it, water tastes better thru the filter and I don't like the little swimmers that you can often see in water up there. Also I like to have more than a liter on hand at a time so bringing extra containers would be the same as the gravity kit, 85% of its bulk on the bags/containers.

quote boonie: "I'm interested, j, but do you just do 1 liter at a time? Then paddle out into the middle of the lake and get another liter? Or do you fill some sort of larger water container to refill the nalgene from or use multiple nalgenes?


To sterilize 4 liters I'd have to sit and hold it for 12 minutes ? vs just hanging the gravity filter and going about other things? One liter probably wouldn't get me through dinner, coffee, and breakfast, much less the next day's water.


But it certainly seems light, compact, and effective."

water from the middle of 'good' lakes i drink untreated. i steri pen water that looks iffy. water that will be boiled for cooking does not need to be treated.

i use the steri pen on many wisconsin rivers that flow through semi populated places. it has worked so far.

i only filter water if it looks nasty,pollen and Daphnia "water fleas" are the two i'll pull out my Hiker Pro for.in the canoe i just toss the hose in the water and pump into a Nalgene bottle,quart size.
in camp i use a three quart pot haul the water to a better spot than the rocks by the shore to use the pump and filter it into Platypus water tanks,the heavy plastic bag which i'm glad i got years ago before the price went thru the roof.i have a loop of cord on the bag handles so i can hang them off the ground as i found they tip over easy.
i keep a plastic cup handy in the canoe and drink out of the lakes most times.Spring with the lakes full of pollen is the worst for finding clean water when you shore line your way along.
my East Coast Buddys always filter their water even deep in the Q's back lakes gin clear waters,i guess it's a habit from living where the water is just not clean.

quote kanoes: "first need deluxe purifier (not a filter)."

so if it isn't a filter, how does it purify the water?

Steripen User also...When on the trail.
How it works, it explodes the cell membrane's of the nasty creachers that live in the water that want in your gut, through ultraviolet lite. It works. I use it like I said when on the move during the day.
Otherwise I use a base camp filter, in camp, because I like the taste of filtered water, and it takes the "chunks" out :)
I take two nalgene's and a nalgene canteen that holds 96 oz for around camp for cooking and such.
In the morning I start with two full Nalgene's and through the day replenish with Steripen.

SunCatcher


Base Camp Filter

96 oz Nalgene next between Molly and the Canoe

A couple video's I did on water purification...sorry for the poor quality!

Steripen video I did in WCPP:

Steripen in WCPP

Hiker Pro Video I did in WCPP: (my old way of doing water)

Hiker Filter

SunCatcher

I use a steripen but when I'm on deep clear lakes I'll just get water and not filter. I did it that way for 2 decades with no problems so what the heck.

quote ZaraSp00k: "

quote kanoes: "first need deluxe purifier (not a filter)."

so if it isn't a filter, how does it purify the water?"

http://generalecology.com/info/why_are_we_different (add a link isnt working)

OK, so it is legally a purifier, but technically it is a filter
that is: it purifies by filtration

Steripen Adventurer when traveling, Katadyn Base Camp on layover days, iodine tabs as emergency backup, water straight from deep clear lakes as emergency emergency backup.

I still have my Classic SteriPen which I use for solo trips.

I forgot to take my SteriPen to South Africa where it would have come in handy. If you plan to someday travel to third-world countries, that is another reason to get a SteriPen.

Boil, and/or tablets. Simple, cheap, reliable.

Sawyer gravity filter with Nalgene bottles.

I have water filters.
I have a steri pen
I have aquamira and idione tablets.

On group trips I usally bring one of the filters so large amounts of water can be processed at once when in camp.

On solo trips I usually default to the steri pen and bring aqua mira asa back up.

During the day, while travelling - I either just drink water right from the lake or use the steripen. I'll add aquamira if I think it's a bit funky.