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Thread: Fresh Water - I'm surprised there's no threads on this...

  1. #41
    Senior Member Pennsylvania Mike's Avatar
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    Thanks for the nice review on the Sawyer water filter, I purchased my first Sawyer water Filter on 1/25/11 to use at the campground on a daily bases connected to the campground water supply, the filter was .02 micron Purifier and it worked great. One work of advice on all the water filters, when you are done with them , back flush with the syringe supplied and a solution of water and plain Clorox as per the instruction on the Sawyer nomenclature, if you don't it may produce a real bad tasting water the next time is used, I know. By the way Sawyer just came out with new bags that are a lot better than the ones that came with your filter, I guess too many complaints. One thing that I added to my filtering system in the field is a Platypus carbon filter if I suspect the water may have chemical contaminants such as pesticides or other chemicals, specially found in farm area streams. I now carry a filter just like the one you have as an emergency, all I do are short hikes anymore and I usually carry enough water with me, but you never know when you may need it.


  2. #42
    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    Nice review.
    Yeah... I actually posted that review here in 2012.
    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...sawyer+squeeze

    I was kinda going off the OP that no threads mention it or talk about water purification.
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  3. #43

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    When I camp in AZ I only treat the water if it is standing. So long as the water is flowing, even subterranean flow thru the sand process, I drink it untreated. After 4 years in Mexico, rabies, parasites, overseas innoculations, military innoculations, gamaglobulin, and Montezuma's revenge, I fear no American bugs.

    But you have to keep in mind that AZ is still a wilderness state, and I am generally drinking from mountain springs where the water was delivered as rain that filled up the rocky water shelves. No farming runoff, this is water that goes from God to the Earth to me. We have one spot we camp where the water literally springs out of the side of an embankment...it don't get any fresher than that.

    Sux to live in one of the highly urbanized states. Sure is nice being able to find remote camp sites almost everywhere you look.
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  4. #44
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Uh huh. You bet. From God to you.

    This is a picture of an underwater cave. That cloudy stuff? Bacteria. Just because it is flowing or comes out of the ground is no assurance that it is pure no matter where you are.

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  5. #45
    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    When I drink from mountain springs, I don't filter. Best tasting water I ever had. But down stream, I filter. Sure, there is probably an almost 0 chance of getting crypto, but why play the chance game? Crypto won't kill you, but you will wish it did!
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  6. #46

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    " Lifestraw is good for one year of water for one person, 1,000 liters, and it is good for 99.9999%of the contaminants. " This is NOT correct. It filters out viruses, bacteria and protozoas. It will not filter out ANY contaminants

  7. #47
    Senior Member WalkingTree's Avatar
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    Hope nobody has posted about this already and I just missed it.



    Doesn't filter though. They claim they're coming up with a filter feature. But looks to be good anyway - if the air you're in isn't filthy, I can't imagine you're getting much of anything bad.
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  8. #48
    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WalkingTree View Post
    Hope nobody has posted about this already and I just missed it.



    Doesn't filter though. They claim they're coming up with a filter feature. But looks to be good anyway - if the air you're in isn't filthy, I can't imagine you're getting much of anything bad.
    It doesn't need to filter. It just needs humid air. It won't really work out here in the Rockies. Air is too dry. It probably works great in Houston, you need gills to live there.
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  9. #49
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    You can say that again...Rocky Mountain air really, really dry....
    You take a canteen and your sidearm to the latrine...or when ever you leave camp.

    Open up a dead elk and in 2 minutes every freaking bug, fly, bee, hornet.....will be on the moist guts.
    Bears take a while longer.......
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  10. #50
    Alaska, The Madness! 1stimestar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ralph Rotten View Post

    But you have to keep in mind that AZ is still a wilderness state, and I am generally drinking from mountain springs where the water was delivered as rain that filled up the rocky water shelves. No farming runoff, this is water that goes from God to the Earth to me. We have one spot we camp where the water literally springs out of the side of an embankment...it don't get any fresher than that.

    Sux to live in one of the highly urbanized states. Sure is nice being able to find remote camp sites almost everywhere you look.
    Alaska, least urbanized state by far. We have beaver though. I filter my water. Don't want to be out in the wilderness with Giardia!
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  11. #51
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    I usually just boil my water, but I'm trying something different on my next hiking trip (Appalachian Trail!).

    I've got the sawyer mini, sawyer squeeze, and aquamira drops on the way in the mail - planning on using the mini on the go, the squeeze as a gravity system when I'm stopped, and the drops as backup. Those plus my rollable water reservoir should weigh under a pound. And of course, I can still boil the water if I need to.

  12. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wise Old Owl View Post
    Huge fan of lightweight sawyer squeeze - takes very little room in a pack
    Me too, just save enough filtered water to back flush it with when needed - never back flush with tainted water. I also keep some paper coffee filters in my pack to pre-filter the sediment out and other larger debris before using the Sawyer.
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  13. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by ande View Post
    I usually just boil my water, but I'm trying something different on my next hiking trip (Appalachian Trail!).

    I've got the sawyer mini, sawyer squeeze, and aquamira drops on the way in the mail - planning on using the mini on the go, the squeeze as a gravity system when I'm stopped, and the drops as backup. Those plus my rollable water reservoir should weigh under a pound. And of course, I can still boil the water if I need to.
    Cut it down to one system for use on the AT. You will wind up abandoning every nonessential item anyway. You could start a good hiking store with the equipment that litters the shelters and trail for the first three days.

    Water is a problem on the AT. Does not seem like it should be but it is. There are several "dry camp" shelters on the route and it is possible to hike for a full day without seeing water available. All of it must be treated since the AT is never far from industrial and residential reality.

    You are going to need more than you can boil. Plan on at least 3 liters and closer to 4 liters daily. No back packer carries a pot that big or enough fuel. Open fires are frowned on. The southern stretch from GA to PA is hot and extremely humid, you will sweat gallons daily and need instant replacement.

    You will learn to fill your bottles at every chance as if you were in the desert. The largest part of my AT load was water.
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  14. #54
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    Thanks for the advice, kyrat. I'll certainly review my water plan.

  15. #55

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    Boiling water which has run off from Agricultural fields or Industrial run off will make you one sick puppy. Boiling will do nothing to dispel chemicals, especially industrial strength chemicals. Fact is we live in a chemical soup. One must do everything one can in order to safeguard contamination. Learning what is upstream is the most important information you might have. While one must do the best they can, charcoal filtering and ceramic filtering then boiling may be all you can do. In this day and age it is probably going to be harder and harder to find a truly pure water source, especially with all the fracking going on.

  16. #56
    Senior Member WalkingTree's Avatar
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    Heck I'm hearing that even water deep down is getting bad in places.
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    The optimist expects it to change;
    The realist adjusts the sails.

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  17. #57

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    Its true, bad water...everywhere. It is a travesty that our government allows so much polluting of something there is a finite resource of and is absolute in terms of life

  18. #58
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    You young guys don't know what pollution is!

    There was a time that Lake Erie was considered a dead zone and rivers would catch fire and burn on a regular basis.

    I remember one fish kill that took out everything on the Mississippi River from Memphis to the Gulf of Mexico. No kidding, every living thing in the Mississippi River died right down to crawdads in the bayous of Louisiana.

    Heavy metals and pesticides are controlled now to almost ridiculous levels. West Nile, Malaria and the present Zika Virus could be controlled completely if they would allow a couple of years application of DDT, but that is not going to happen. Save the eagles, sacrifice the people.

    The pollution we see most today is from agricultural run off and you get to trade good food at a reasonable price for cow $h!% and a bit of left over fertilizer in the water. It is the trade off we get for feeding our population.

    Yes, there was a time when people drank from every river and stream, but they died in droves from cholera, typhoid, diphtheria and a host of diseases they did not know were water borne.

    They were also living a preindustrial existence we would today describe as abject poverty, half the children died before the end of their first year and life expectancy was 35. Many of those deaths were due to the water in the family well.

    Things are much better now, not worse.

    Do as has been recommended for the past 100 years, treat your water. It is not a new concept. Boil it, filter it, treat it chemically.
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  19. #59
    Senior Member WalkingTree's Avatar
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    Shoot, kyratshooter is right.

    And hey
    You young guys don't know what pollution is!
    Young guy? Why, thank you. Thank you very much.
    The pessimist complains about the wind;
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    The realist adjusts the sails.

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  20. #60
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    Honestly, that hasn't been all that long ago. My dad contracted malaria as a kid in Illinois! We've come a long way from open garbage yard burning to clay based and closely monitored landfills to protect both surface and subsurface water. You can even check your DNR website for the waterways in your state in which the fish are safe to eat. We know that because the fat levels are monitored for heavy metals. The water is cleaner today than in was in the 60's.

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