Water filter vs water purification tablets

unkel

On an overnight hike in the warm weather this week I used over 4l of water in less than 20 hours. I carried 2.5l water with me

Going for more than one night, I would not be able to carry all that water with me and I would be reluctant to drink water from a stream and boiling it would be fine for cooking / coffee, but impractical to use as drinking water.

So would you recommend a filter system (like this Sawyer Mini SP128 €25 incl shipping - linky)

Or water purification tablets like this, about €3 for 50

What are the pros and cons? Would pretty much any source of water on or around Irish mountains (including lakes) be ok for either? Any health hazards?

my3cents

I won't go recommending anything but you must try the water purification tablets for yourself to know if they are going to work for you. Some people don't mind the taste, others hate it and a very strange few even like it.

BarryD

I think your concerns re stream water are possibly a little over cautious. Look at this way - if you live in Dublin, where does the water come from that comes out of your tap? Depending on where you live, it either comes from Bohernabreena, Roundwood or Poulaphuca reservoirs. All are fed by mountain streams and rivers - run off from the Dublin & Wicklow hills. The water is allowed to settle in various ponds and filter beds to get rid of any sediment, flouride is added and I'm sure routine tests are made for Cryptosporidium and bugs like that. But at the end of the day, what you're happy to drink straight from the tap is just a version of what'll you get in any mountain stream.

In bigger cities in the UK, I believe they drink recycled water - it goes round the system a few times before it gets back to the sea. I think I'd prefer the mountain streams!!

unkel

BarryD wrote: »

The water is allowed to settle in various ponds and filter beds to get rid of any sediment, flouride is added

They do a lot more than that at the Ballymore Eustace treatment plant

I agree with you though that I'm probably a bit over cautious. That one would be unlucky to get sick from drinking water from a high stream. That said, isn't it our responsibility to make an effort not to have to call mountain rescue when we go out hiking?

I'm careful where I place my feet, don't go charging down a hill. I don't walk on cliff edges, I bring a few kg extra of water / a purification system. I bring the right gear. Obviously I could still break my ankle or become sick other wise, but shouldn't I minimise the chances of that happening?

FrostyJack

The main concern with drinking from streams is chemical/mineral pollution. If farmland is above the stream fertilizers etc can seep into it. Same goes for any industry. I think Wicklow is fairly safe except if the trees in some forest sections are sprayed for plight etc which they do in some countries. Boiling or purifying it should be fine. I wouldn't be mad on lakes but fast moving streams would be ideal.

unkel

How about fecal matter? There can be deer / sheep on every summit in Wicklow, so their fecal matter by definition is in every single stream?

FrostyJack

unkel wrote: »

How about fecal matter? There can be deer / sheep on every summit in Wicklow, so their fecal matter by definition is in every single stream?

If it is brown, drink it down Yes it will be in every river, but so will fish waste if you think about it. I think of it as a drop in the ocean though so the parts per million would be negligible unless a farmer was dropping tons of it in. I would be more worried about a deer/sheep carcass up stream.

my3cents

unkel wrote: »

How about fecal matter? There can be deer / sheep on every summit in Wicklow, so their fecal matter by definition is in every single stream?

Most of the solids just sink to the bottom of the river so its the living bits and the chemicals that you need to worry about. There won't be many chemicals as they are as already mentioned well diluted so that leaves the living nastys which you can kill off with "purification" tablets.

Another approach is UV light Steripen is one well know brand http://www.steripen.com/ but not cheap.

unkel

UV? Now that's an interesting solution. Gets pretty good reviews on Amazon too.

my3cents

And UV sterilization for free if you live near enough the equator that is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection

my3cents

That leaves Disinfection of Drinking Water with Bleach. More a survivalist method than a camping one but useful all the same plus its cheap. Don't forget you might want water for more than one use and bleach sterilized water is ideal for washing in, washing veg and cleaning up after cooking yet still safe to drink.

BarryD

my3cents wrote: »

That leaves Disinfection of Drinking Water with Bleach. More a survivalist method than a camping one but useful all the same plus its cheap. Don't forget you might want water for more than one use and bleach sterilized water is ideal for washing in, washing veg and cleaning up after cooking yet still safe to drink.

Not sure if I fancy drinking bleach in my water. Then again we swim in the stuff in most swimming pools....

my3cents

BarryD wrote: »

Not sure if I fancy drinking bleach in my water. Then again we swim in the stuff in most swimming pools....

Two drops to a litre of clear water and its thin bleach without any chemical smells added that you use. I don't know the measurements but the Sodium Hyperchlorite they use in swimming pools is supposed to be as good or better than bleach for purifying water.

I think the reason we bother with purifying tablets at all is because of the difficulties in handling bleach. If you use it when backpacking you hardly want to carry a one litre bottle of it around so can end up with an unlabeled bottle of liquid in your pack, not ideal and why I offered it a more of a survivalists method.

Mad Englishman

I am not an expert, but if it was me I would get the Sawyer Mini SP128 to filter the water and go on. But if you can bring the water to a rolling boil that will disinfect it, let it cool and it is ready to drink.
If boiling is not an option you could use purification tablets/liquids to kill anything under the 0.1 micron size. To remove any "Bad taste" an activated charcoal filter along with the Sawyer mini "SHOULD" do the trick. (Similar to the Britas water filters!)

Mike from MCQBushcraft Youtube channel (Search for him on Youtube,) then go to his channel and go to his videos and you "should" see the episodes in his a series called "Bushcraft Basics".
Ep08: Water Contaminants & Pathogens (A good one to know what you'll be up against)
Ep09: Water Filtration & Disinfection (Shows various filtration devices and a short segment on chemical purification)
These episode should help you to decide what is best for you. I found them to be very informative.

I hope this all helps, stay safe and enjoy! :-)

The Mad Englishman.

unkel

That's a great resource, thank you Mad Englishman!

Watched those eps and like yourself I've decided that the Sawyer Mini is indeed what I need (not worried about industrial waste / fertilizers / herbicides etc. when taking water from mountains in Ireland)

Mad Englishman

Sorry I could not post direct links to the videos, it is because I am a new member. Glad you found them useful, I have learned quite a few things from MCQBushcraft and others on Youtube.
the only things I have come across with the water in the mountains is when it is carved a way through the peat and you really have to filter it, but a fast moving rocky bedded river poses less problems.

Glad they were useful, have fun, stay safe and remember the wet weather gear! LOL! :-P

Carawaystick

There's always betadine or iodine drops for killing cryptosporidium, as chlorine doesn't really work on them.

Mad Englishman

I have heard/read Chlorine Dioxide has a better chance of killing Giardia and Cryptosporidium, that or boiling! "Lifesystems" Neutralising Tablets (They also do the Chlorine Dioxide tabs and drops.) apparently "effectively remove the taste and smell of chlorine from treated water, making it more palatable for drinking." But I have also heard/read that most bacteria are larger than 0.1 micron?!? As I said before, I am no expert, but after watching the video's in my last post, I would feel confident enough to filter with the "Sawyer Mini" and go on, especially if I were up in the mountains and hill's of Ireland.
There are other types of filters out there, and can filter a lot better, but, they will cost WAY MORE! And for a few days in the wild I would not personally use more than a Sawyer Mini (At 0.1 micron absolute) filter and perhaps boiling after. I have been in the mountains around Killarney and drank may times directly from rock bed, fast flowing rivers with no adverse affect, well, yet in any case! LOL! :-P

The Mad English! :-)

duckysauce

last months Trail mag has a great piece on this subject