I did a quick search and didn't see any threads on this. Does anyone talk about portable water filter pumps here?
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I did a quick search and didn't see any threads on this. Does anyone talk about portable water filter pumps here?
You bet. Scads of threads on them.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...archid=3162554
Strange thing, I get no matches when I click that link. I can see a ton of other posts and stuff though when I look around the forum.
Well what the? Do a search in the search box on "water filters" and you'll get a ton of links come up.
I fixed the original. It should come up now.
Honestly never used them.. we either use the water purifying drops or tablets.. or we filter and boil the water.. we go very old school out here in Africa... although I heard good thing of the life straw
I did a search on the forum "water+filter" and this is what turned up.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...archid=3165967
The like says "no file found?
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...archid=3167999
Just plug in the name of a water filter and it will take you to some of the discussions that might have included any of the popular filters on the market as well as other purification methods.
I keep a Lifestraw in each of my vehicles and have a Sawyer Mini available for general purpose use.
I think I have stated before that I have several friends that are missionaries that I have gifted the Sawyer Mini to. They have been used all over Africa, the mid-east and South America by my friends and have never let the users down. They usually leave the filters with the last host they visit while in country and buy a new one before each trip.
Their high filtration capacity is a huge benefit when out of touch with any Bass Pro or REI that might happen to have the filter cartridge you need when your pump filter stops working half way through a trip to Tanzania.
I tried one of the mini-sawyers last spring, brought to my attention on this site. It didn't get as much use as I had hoped but I suffered no ill effects from the trip. For the money and ease of use I'd say that should make the short list.
I drank a lot of wild waters,
and for the most part boiling and filtering it with a cotton shirt or buff.. works..
the water drops work, the tablets work (but have a weird taste)
I havent used a water filter system yet...
But yeah I can see the benifit of a small portable water filter like a life straw....
I carry both a Life Straw and a Katadyn Hiker Pro in my pack. To be candid though, I don't often use them any more. My back pack camping days are gone. With car camping, I carry 4 or 6 gallons of water from the casa, and rarely need more.
I have two of those nice bag to bag Aquamira sets, and they are pretty effective. Still have the big Katadyn three filter ltr set also. It is really the best I have ever used.
Anyone know how to get crushed ice through a Sawyer mini-filter?
All the water in my part of the woods is in its solid state right now.
Send it to Florida. You should be good.
Water filter technology has come a long way in recent years, this is good if your in the market for one.
I personally don't always carry a filter, since where I live it's fairly safe to drink water untreated (as long as it's not from standing water). But I do use a Katadyn hiker while on extended hunting trips into new territory. My buddy picked up a Sawyer mini and, while not a pump filter, it's really simple. For about $20 you can filter 100,000 gallons!
If your not in a hurry you can always boil the water too, but this is not always as convenient as a filter.
I have never found boiling to be anything but a last resort.
Unless you are planning for boiling most hikers/campers will not have a container large enough to boil enough water for proper hydration. A little 2 quart pot, canteen cup or the 1 liter pot from the backpacking cook set is not going to do the job.
I used to carry at least 4 liters of water while long distance hiking and toting a one gallon cook-pot hanging from the pack is past most people's tolerance levels. Add to that the need to carry extra fuel in areas where fires can not be built and the choice becomes carry a filter, or carry more than the filter's weight in fuel.
Add to that the fact that most people are not inclined to stop, build a fire and boil water at every canteen fill up during the day and you have the recipe for water born illness due to someone running short and getting dehydrated, coming across water that looks ok but is not, drinking it raw due to being in a hurry, and getting sick.
Kyratshooter makes a good point about boiling. You need a bigger pot than usual and factor in cooling the water. A lesson learned on our first Pot and Machete.
I did say it was not convienent. I feel like boiling water is a perfectly viable option, but you have to be willing to stop and build a fire and kill an hour at least. You also have to do it [I]before[I] you actually run out, otherwise your drinking warm water, not always pleasant. I'm a tea drinker so I always have a small pot with me so when I stop I can boil up some water for tea.
I live in an area where I can build a fire anywhere, so carrying extra fuel (unless of course isobutane canisters or the like) is foreign to me. This would certainly be a consideration in those kinds of places.
Boiling is not a perfect or fast option, but it IS an option.
Filters are far more convenient, and they have advanced to the point that there is really no good reason not to have at least one.
I just remember that when I was hiking I drank an exceptionally great amount of water. Two gallons daily was common. Besides the regular one liter water bottles everyone carried I had two, 2 liter plastic bottles in my pack and I topped them up whenever possible. I was known to fill a third if headed into a dry camp for the night, or if the weather was very hot and I was going to be sweating a lot.
And being in the south "cool" water was unknown. After you carried it for an hour it was all at air temp, which was usually above 90f.
Water was often the largest part of my pack weight each morning when I started the daily jaunt through the woods.
Back in those days we did not have the nice filters at a price point that I could afford, so either purification tablets or drops were my standard.
Lord only knows how much chlorine and iodine I have consumed over the decades.
But like most of the others here, my backpacking days are over. If I can not paddle, peddle, or motor into the campsite I will just have to pass. Fortunately my area has a lot of good places to motor in without being restricted to public campgrounds.
I drink a lot of water. My back packing days may come back some day, but for now I can carry all the water I need. Day hikes I carry a few bottles with a filter as a back up.