Endorsement for Aquamira drops

[redrob]

At the gathering this past weekend, I consumed a liter of water treated with Aquamira ClO2 drops. I have not succumbed to Giardia or Cryptosporidium or anything else after 4 days. I know Jesse has been known to drink that water straight, but he also doesn't wear shoes. I picked this stuff up for a couple of reasons. One is that it only takes about 1/2 hour to treat the water versus 4 hours for ClO2 tablets. Unlike boiling (still my preferred method), you can treat your water on the go if need be. Unlike filters, straight chlorine and iodine, ClO2 gets rid of protozoans, bacteria AND viruses. Also, and this hasn't happened to me, I understand that the tablets can degrade to powder in your kit which isn't an issue with the drops. Additionally, the river water was a bit smelly, but the drops significantly improved the taste. Jesse could still taste it, but remarked that it was not nearly as bad as it would be straight up. I don't think it's anything a little Gatorade can't fix.

Here is a link if you are interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Aquamira-Water-Tr ... mira+water

I also developed a technique for collecting water in an empty Gatorade bottle that I normally use for, ahem, other purposes. Faced with a steep bank and not really wanting to get wet, I tied a piece of cord to the neck of the bottle and tossed it in. It would fill about halfway and then just bob there. I found that by sticking the tip of my hiking staff into the bottle, I could completely submerge the mouth of the bottle and get the air out.

For what it's worth,
Rob

[saustin1967]

What's ahem?


Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

[BigJesse]

Do you know if the tablets disintegration affect whether or not it will work?

[redrob]

No idea. On the channel where I saw it mentioned, I think the presenter was using straight chlorine tabs. Don't know if that would make a difference. For me, the biggest thing is having water that is ready to drink in 1/2 hour. BTW, still not sick. Maybe it takes a while for the brain parasites to kick in.

Scott, all you need to know is not to drink straight from the Gatorade bottles.

[Seeker]

I've used them too, and like them well enough except for the mixing part... My brother claims he gets an aftertaste, but I never did... I've since moved on to iodine crystals (Polar Pure), since it's simpler and I don't mind the iodine taste (drink mix kills it completely for me, but even on its own, I don't taste if after the first 3 quarts or so.)

The tablets work well too, but are much more expensive per gallon, though they would be good for a PSK.

[Pointman]

I think I will keep my Aquamira tabs in my PSK and move to the Drops for general use. My question is has anyone tried the military issued Chloro-floc which removes turbidity as well as purifying? I would really like to know what the taste testers think about this one.

[redrob]

I haven't tried it, but IIRC, it doesn't work on Cryptosporidium, so it would need to be filtered as well.

Seeker, regarding Polar Pure, I was under the impression that it was no longer sold (apparently, it's used in the manufacture of methamphetamine). Is that accurate?

Thanks,
Rob

[Seeker]

Technically, it's not, but I still have some left from before (treats roughly one person for 6 months). What makes it work is prilled iodine... you can buy those from a bunch of different places on ebay and amazon for about $10 shipped and refill the old bottle. You can still get the special bottle for about $16 shipped from the polar pure guy... and the iodine prills are only "illegal" in California... the US DEA isn't banning them from international sale... go figure.

[redrob]

I think I will keep my Aquamira tabs in my PSK and move to the Drops for general use. My question is has anyone tried the military issued Chloro-floc which removes turbidity as well as purifying? I would really like to know what the taste testers think about this one.

I was reading some comments on the backpacking light forum and one poster who claimed to design water treatment plants noted that the flocculating agent was alum and that a little pinch would clarify turbid stuff in about 1/2 hour. You would still need to treat it of course, but it seems to me that you could use alum to roll your own.

FWIW,
Rob

[Pointman]

Sounds like the drops are the way to go then.