[StellaP]

Hello all,

Not wanting to add to the plastic bottle mountain, and being a fan of convenience, I'd like to get hold of a flask that has a water purifier built in. However, as my budget is spiralling out of control the £50 or so I've found so far is a bit steep. Anyone found any bargain water purifier sites?

Cheers
S

Apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere obvious!

[Seventies'Neil]

Hi Stella, I came across these Survival Straws just the other day, they might be an alternative for you,,,,,,,,,,

[kidsan]

StellaP, on May 10 2006, 06:38 PM, said:

Hello all,

Not wanting to add to the plastic bottle mountain, and being a fan of convenience, I'd like to get hold of a flask that has a water purifier built in. However, as my budget is spiralling out of control the £50 or so I've found so far is a bit steep. Anyone found any bargain water purifier sites?

Cheers
S

Apologies if this has already been discussed somewhere obvious!

With purifiers, you pay for what you get! There are cheaper options but you tend to end up with rather vile tasting water. There is a purifier made by MSR that seems quite revolutionary but again it is quite expensive. I would advise you to check out Neil's straw suggestion, either that or get an electric immersion coil and start boilin!!

[Lindakka]

Hi Stella,

The Survival Straw is apparently getting good reviews...protects from giardia, e coli and other nasty things. You can take a look at it at  www.SurvivalStraw.com   For a larger container for purification there is the Katadyn system - Katadyn.com  It is similar in size to a large sports bottle with filters that are replaceable when the chemicals are depleted. It runs about $50.00 with one cartridge. Look at Katadyn.com  I just bought my first Katadyn purifier and expect that my next trip to India will be diarrhea free.

Lindakka

[deathbydalbhat]

This link: http://www.high-alti....com/water.html is a discussion of various water treatment methods by a specialist in high altitude medicine. For short-term use he recommends treating water with iodine - on my last 2 trips (3 wks-1 month) I used iodine tablets and didn't get sick. You can also use iodine solution such as Betadine - useful to bring along because you can use it as a topical antiseptic as well.

[vistet]

Lindakka, on May 11 2006, 05:27 PM, said:

Hi Stella,

The Survival Straw is apparently getting good reviews...protects from giardia, e coli and other nasty things. You can take a look at it at  www.SurvivalStraw.com ...

Sorry , that link doesnt work for me.


Some point , preferences and lore :

Iodine is also known & sold in S Asia as Lugols Solution, but it seems  a lot easier to find in Nepal than in India.As the high altitude page ponts out (as well as my favorite doc , Peter Hackett) with clear water and longer time the iodine concentration can be reduced to at least half of the standard dose. This is a principle used by the Katadyn bottle , but any filter will make chemical methods more effective , since the chemicals won´t bond to suspended particles. I use a simple multiuse coffee filter. (coffee filters are also great when you buy kerosene, but try to remember which is used for what    )

Prefiltering will also add more mileage to the filters,  giving an advantage to models  that suck the water thru tubes fitted with a spongy thing at the end.

Any filter that canم lay a serious claim to trap bacterias will trap amobae , giardia etc which are a lot bigger.

Nalgene bottles.. hate them with a passion , big and heavy. Only advantage that you can fill them directly with boiling water. I used a two liter PLatypus on top of my pack on my latest trip ; the UV may add some extra safety factor , esp. at altitudes. For the same reason I´d prefer clear over tinted water bottles.

[Hyderabadi]

Seventies, on May 10 2006, 01:46 PM, said:

Hi Stella, I came across these Survival Straws just the other day, they might be an alternative for you,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks for that!

I was also looking at  SteriPEN, which I have been seeing on sale, anywhere between the full price of $149.00 to about $80.00.

This is way cheaper though, and I just called them to order and they were closed for the day. Will call them tomorrow.

[vistet]

Found a user review for SteriPen, there are  other reviews for filters if u backtrack.

One aspect with SteriPen to consider on high altitude treks would be cold batteries (one more thing in the sleeping bag) .

[hfot2]

Magellan's  <www.magellans.com>  sells the SteriPEN.  The catalogue specifies that it "should not be used on dirty, discolored water"  With 4 AA batteries it weighs 8 oz.

Also check out aquamira at <http://www.mcnett.com>
We've used it in Platypi and Nalgene bottles.  

We've also traveled with the large size Katadyn water bottles with filter.

[Hyderabadi]

Just ordered the Survival Straw.

[justmakebelieve]

The Steripen sounds really good - however, for some reason it seems to retail at $149 in the US, and £149 in the UK... ($149 is only about £80...)

Hyderabadi - where did you find the steripen for $80? might ship it over from the states.

hfot2, how did you find the Katadyn water bottles with filter? Think thats what I might go for this trip, though I'm away for 6 months so will need replacement filters.

Edited by justmakebelieve, 12 May 2006 - 10:20 PM.

[Hyderabadi]

Quote

Hyderabadi - where did you find the steripen for $80? might ship it over from the states.

I remember seeing it in the local mall, about a year ago when my wife dragged me there. They have weekly sales on various items and if you are in luck what you are looking for may just be in the sale paper that week. I don't think that was the regular price though.

[hfot2]

justmakebelieve-

I picked my words carefully - "We've also traveled with the large size Katadyn water bottles with filter" - in fact, that's what we did- TRAVELED with the bottles.  We purchased bottled water, trusting the ICI logo for "purity" and filled our bottles, but didn't use the filter.  

We hated adding to the supply of used plastic bottles and yet we did.

What we do now - still adding to that plastic bottle waste in India, but recycling here at home - is use a plastic flask recycled from a Colgate mouthwash bottle that is the size and shape of a 500 ml hip flask.  My husband has fashioned a clip-on holder for the flask to attach it to a belt loop.  He sewed a loop of narrow ribbon/webbing onto a small plumbing o-ring and put that around the neck of the flask; then he put a small caribineer through the webbing loop and attached it to a belt loop.  [This too can be purchased at travel stores and outdoor equipment stores, but at an outrageously high price.]

[Poiple Shadow]

Just buy 5ltr bottles that you just exchange, saves on the plastic mountain a little, also saves money, although does weight an extra kilo or two.  You can also get 20litre versions, very good if you're planning to stay in one place a while, just have a small bottle that yoou can fill up and take with you during the day...  leave the 20ltr in your room....

[StellaP]

Poiple Shadow, on May 16 2006, 04:02 AM, said:

Just buy 5ltr bottles that you just exchange, saves on the plastic mountain a little, also saves money, although does weight an extra kilo or two.  You can also get 20litre versions, very good if you're planning to stay in one place a while, just have a small bottle that yoou can fill up and take with you during the day...  leave the 20ltr in your room....

Thank you poiple shadow. sounds like a great idea - are these larger bottles readily available?

[Poiple Shadow]

StellaP, on May 19 2006, 01:56 AM, said:

Thank you poiple shadow. sounds like a great idea - are these larger bottles readily available?

5 ltrs are normally more widely available than the 20 ltrs...  I haven't been round that much of India, I tend to stay in Goa all year (never enough time to do the whole travel thing...     )  But I'm sure they should be available throughout India, I've seen them in Kerela, Karnataka and Marahastra.

Kingfisher do a 5ltr, Bisleri (if I've spelt it correctly) is the one I go for as I think it tastes the best.  Actually I don't think they recylce the Kingfisher ones...  So go for Bisleri....