Anyone used this before? I didnt come up with anything with a search. Claims to remove dirt, cysts and pollutants; and kill bacteria and viruses- apparently within 30 minutes.

http://www.purpurifierofwater.com/product_background.html

One problem I see is that each package is sized to treat 2.5 gallons

Anyone think this would be a viable alternative to Micropur and the like?

Hi Philip,

This product was developed by Proctor & Gamble as an affordable water treatment for the third world. IIRC it was shown to reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases in field trials in places like Guatemala. The unit cost was really low, something like twenty cents per packet.

Where it differs from typical backpacker water treatments is the flocculant to settle out suspended particles and therefore, a lot of the bacteria load. Were I could easily see it adopted would be for float trips on silty/muddy rivers. For backpacking it might be a solution for larger parties but with the understanding that it's not for treatment on the go, due to the settling and decanting times. Again, it's targeted at cloudy water sources.

I do not know whether the powder can be divided up to dose smaller amounts of water.

Cheers,

Rick

Edited by halfturbo on 01/16/2010 10:02:04 MST.

Thanks for the reply Rick-

I thought it was interesting because of the potential to clear up cloudy water, such as the dirty/dark water here in Florida. Swamp water is not that appetizing.

I usually use both a filter and micropur here, I'll probably stick with that.

I might look into trying this as an experiment to see how well it works though

Philip

I just returned from a packrafting trip on the GIla River, and we found this stuff to be nothing short of amazing; a form of "white magic". If you're dealing with silty/high sediment load water this is definitely for you. The treatment time is only 30 minutes. Stir for 5 minutes, let sit for 5 more, decant, let sit for 20 minutes, drink.

We treated 1 gallon at at time by approximating 1/2 packet.

Edited by xclimber on 03/19/2010 12:48:18 MDT.

Thanks for the feedback Jerry- Does it add any taste to the water?

Phil

I detected a very slight chlorine flavor...