Lightweight and Ultralightweight Backpacking:


The View from Here



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The 10 Essentials

Water

If you have specific "local knowledge" the spring, or the creek, has good drinking water, nevertheless look upstream for dead animals, sewage, or possible leaking septic tanks. I only drink from springs and streams I know, and I check each time I get water.

I have also had giardia. One and one half years later, I was rid of it. Even so, I could be a carrier. I do not share drinking or eating utensils, or containers. Giardia is bad. The drug treatment is bad. Be careful.

There are a number of reasonably convenient means of having good drinking water:

  • Carry Water: I have Platypus brand Holster 1-liter flat water carriers for drinking water. The carriers are insulated, to an extent. They have a comfortable shoulder strap I don't mind. The drinking water is at hand. I have two. Both start out, having fresh drinking water. Then, one becomes my water treatment receptacle. This is a minimum. If I am going out for more than one day and if I plan an overnight, of course, I have a larger Platypus Water Tank, for carrying water and for water for cooking.


  • Treat water: I use a Seychelle In-Line Filter (Eliminator Model) water filter. Nowadays, Platypus "Clean Stream" filter cartridge is available. I "prefilter" with a cloth. The inline water filter is suspended between the Platypus containers, for gravity feed. I do this during lunch break, or at the end of the day. I treat the water, inside the container by adding the right amount, and no more, of McNett AquaMira 2 part water treatment drops in plastic Microdrop dropper bottles. I wait for the amount of time for the water temperature. This is why I have two drinking water containers. One is ready for drinking, while the other is getting ready for drinking. I have the larger Platypus water container full overnight, and ready for drinking and using the next morning.

I do not recommend iodine water treatments. No one should have iodine, very often.
I have seen hikers, using the Katadyn Exstream XR Purifier water bottle. If ultralight is for you, and if you do not mind a miniscule trace of iodine, I would use this product, by using a coffee filter or a cloth as an additional prefilter.

My ultralight backpacking setup is McNett Aquamira 2-part water treatment drops in plastic Microdrop dropper bottles or Katadyn Micropur MP1 Purification Tablets.

I do recommend water filtration, if the standard is 2 microns or less. However, I don't like to carry either the Katadyn Pocket or SweetWater Guardian water filters I have seen in use: they are heavier and bulkier than the system I prefer to use. If you always like to carry a rucksack, or a small pack, a water filter may be your choice.

My international adventure travel trekking friends insist the Katadyn Pocket water filter kept them healthy.







copyright © 2008 Connie Dodson. All Rights Reserved.