> I have read rhe review of the Steripen, and I do not believe that tetster evaluated the micirobiolgigal effiency of the purifiers.
You are quite right: I did not do microbiological tests myself. But there are several lab reports on the SteriPEN web site covering such tests, and I relied on those. I do not believe such reports get forged (the EPA would be on them big time!).

> If someone has any field use data which would confirm the efficeancy of the Steripen then please enighten us.
I am not sure what you mean here. Are you asking people to do microbiology tests in the field? Hum...

> General Ecoolgy First Need Deluxeu purifer offers the best pepeformance
Oh, it works fine: I have one. But the filter cartridge has a quite short life and the system is quite heavy - heavier than I am willing to carry if there are lighter suitable alternatives.

But, ymmv

PJ and Robert,

Thanx for the info. Better answers than both sales reps I called. Now I don't say that virii are as resilliant as I mentioned in my previous post. I just like to ask these sales reps difficult questions to see if they can give me a good answer, so enhancing my knowledge, making it easier for me to help my customers.

Eins

The army report doesn't list Potable Aqua chlorine dioxide tabs, is it safe to assume they are equally as effective as the MicroPur tabs? Someone above in the thread said that all the tablets are made by the same manufacturer so if that's true it would stand to reason they're identical or nearly so.

Also is there any concern using chlorine dioxide on water with lots of tannins?

I doubt the tablets are made by the same manufacturer. I bought some potable aqua tablets. The packaging is not as good to me and my tablets began to crumble in the packaging before I used them. Maybe I had a bad batch, but I won't be using them anymore.

These are the exact items I use based on careful research. I'm so proud of myself. :)

Great system, David!

Some people can't detect or don't mind the swimming pool taste of Micropur (or Aqua Mira). Others believe the chemicals actually improve water taste. But for those (like me) who can't stand the chemical taste -- you can reverse the order by first treating the water, wait 15 minutes, then filter the treated water through any inline filter -- such as the el cheapo Aqua Mira Frontier Pro.

Taste and gunk removal aside, one other major benefit of pairing chemicals and filter is the elimination of the long waiting period. It takes chlorine dioxide 15 minutes to kill/neutralize bacteria and viruses -- regardless of water temperature. However, cold water requires longer treatment time to kill protozoa (e.g. crypto) -- anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours if water if just above freezing!

With a filter, all you need is wait 15 minutes for the chemicals to kill off viruses and bacteria -- and your filter can then block out the larger protozoa. NOTE that the Frontier Pro by itself is ineffective in delivering biologically safe water because the pore size is too big to block bacteria (never mind the even smaller viruses)!

Edited by ben2world on 05/14/2008 09:39:20 MDT.

Lately I have just been using the Sweetwater purifier on its own. Is this useless for the particular purifier since the filtration is part of the two-step process?

I don't like to use a filter -- too bulky and takes too long to gather water. Is there a best solution for those of us that do not filter our water? I'm about due up for some new purifier solution.

I have to agre with Roger Caffin (for once).

The SteriPen is light, fast and, with CLEAR water, kills all pathogens.

When I have somewhat cloudy water I do the following treatment:

1. Pour raw water into my 1 liter bottle through a #2 coffee filter in a funnel.

2. Sterlize TWICE W/ the SteriPen

3. Pour the water into my hydration bag and drop in the correct number of Katadyn tablets then wait 45 minutes.

PROBLEM: Water suspect of chemical contamination REQUIRES carbon filtration. Nothing less will do.

Eric

The Sweetwater purifying solution is meant to neutralize viruses -- since they are way too small to be filtered out by MSR or most other filters. Since viruses are supposedly uncommon out in the wilds of Canada and the US (unless you filter at a pond frequented by many other hikers and/or animals) -- a lot of people just use the pump filter and skip the chemical solution altogether.

As for the other two classes of baddies -- bacteria and protozoa -- I am unsure of the chemical's efficacy since MSR is silent about the chemical's make up. Maybe those who know can comment.

Finally, using only chemicals is of course completely useless in terms of removing particulates. If the water looks and tastes yucky, chemicals can make it biologically safe to drink -- but it will still look and taste yucky.

Hi Eric

> I have to agre with Roger Caffin (for once).
Thank you! I am honoured.

Cheers