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Posted: 8/14/2014 1:29:07 PM EDT
Anyone have first hand knowledge of a SteriPEN UV water filter? One of my co-workers showed me this and wanted my input.
I think with a filter AND one of these you would be good to go for everything except chemical contamination like in Toledo a few weeks back. So far I like that it uses CR123 batteries and is very travel friendly. My gear budget has been really used up this year, so I would like to see what the SF thinks of this before I add one to the list. 
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Posted: 8/14/2014 2:25:32 PM EDT
[#1]
They are known to break/not work/etc when you need them. Also, you need the water to be free of particulate matter for it to work.
I would recommend something like a Sawyer Squeeze Sawyer Squeeze at REI long life and hard to break unless you let it freeze with water in it. |
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Posted: 8/14/2014 3:38:28 PM EDT
[#2]
I would buy two, regardless of the reviews.
I am of the 2 is 1, and 1 is none school. As long as you know the wood is clean in your campfire, you can always charcoal filter water, and then steripen it i guess? |
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Posted: 8/14/2014 4:44:38 PM EDT
[#3]
Make sure they fit your bottles. I don't carry Nalgenes anymore and the one my friend gave me doesn't fit the mouth of the Gatorade bottle. Hard to beat the Sawyer Mini. Just 2 oz and no batteries.
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Posted: 8/14/2014 5:03:02 PM EDT
[#4]
When I was looking at one of them a year or two ago, someone here said purified shit is still shit.
With that said I do have a similar system from Camelbak. It has it's own bottle and a timer. Charges 4 times from my Goal Zero battery set up. But I also carry a Katadyn hiker and a survival straw and a few purification tablets. Is it too much? Ever had the shits from bad water? Well I have so no it's not too much. I don't use them all but pumping the water into the bottle and giving it 90 seconds to do its thing gives me a little peace of mind. I can't tell a difference without it but it makes me happy. 
I may have up to a 40 mile walk home through some back country farmland crossing several good sized streams and 2 rivers and I worry about chemicals and pesticides. I have been happy with mine but you mileage may vary. In short you should have a mechanical back up no matter what you go with. 
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Posted: 8/14/2014 5:10:20 PM EDT
[#5]
Personally, I prefer a gravity fed filter with no moving parts. I have the Sawyer mini for solo and the Platypus Gravityworks for group. The SteriPen will sterilize the water but it wont take out sand/dirt/leaves/particles.
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Posted: 8/14/2014 5:32:50 PM EDT
[#6]
I have a sawyer for the house. I guess I was thinking mobile unit.
I agree for long term. The simpler the better. Camping or just getting home was where my mind was. |
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Posted: 8/14/2014 6:53:18 PM EDT
[#7]
I don't like batteries. I know they are fine for short term stuff, but if one is serious about prepping, they are going to have long term reliability also, so why spend money on short term stuff like the steripen.
Chemicals have been mentioned a couple times. Just how do you get rid of chemicals? |
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Posted: 8/16/2014 9:01:44 PM EDT
[#8]
Use it for backpacking. Love it.
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Posted: 8/17/2014 2:26:32 PM EDT
[#9]
I am not a fan of them. Please see my reasoning in this post from several years ago.
Water! Contaminates and Treatment In short, UV will kill stuff (actually 'deactivate' which sometimes means it doesn't kill, but does render unable to thrive) that it reaches. If you have particulates in the water it will also have shadows where the UV doesn't reach, so you need to remove as much of the solid contaminates as possible for the UV to work effectively. If that's the case, just do your disinfection with something a lot more rubust, like MIOX. |
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Posted: 8/17/2014 4:18:46 PM EDT
[#10]
I have never used a Steripen but if you are worried about batteries, They make a SteriPen Sidewinder Hand Powered UV Water Purifier. |
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Posted: 8/17/2014 5:10:28 PM EDT
[#11]
I'm starting backpacking here, so got a steripen due to almost all water filters don't filter out leptospirosis.
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Posted: 8/17/2014 8:29:06 PM EDT
[#12]
+1 on the sawyer
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Posted: 8/17/2014 8:31:49 PM EDT
[#13]
Buy a Sawyer Squeeze at Walmart and be done with it.
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Posted: 8/18/2014 4:51:30 AM EDT
[#14]
Yes, I had one of the earlier models.
Yes, the principle is sound for killing germs but the shortfalls are just as noticeable. The water needs to be clear to work, their limited on not only how much at a time but in what shape/size, its electronic so fragile/subject to failure, and the biggie, it uses batteries. I don't even know where mine is now. Tj |
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Posted: 8/18/2014 6:30:58 PM EDT
[#15]
I have a SteriPen and have used it in the high mountains where the water is typically clear as can be so the particulate matter isn't an issue. When not using the SteriPen, I use a Katadyn Pocket. Both have worked well but the SteriPen requires that you bring a spare set of batteries as Murphy dictates that the set in the device will always be dead when you need them.
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Posted: 8/19/2014 9:21:46 AM EDT
[#16]
I was looking at this kit. Mainly because of the solar aspect.
But honestly I am just learning about filtering water to use while hiking. I have a MSR filter, and cant ever get a clear take on if if the water needs to be treated after it is filtered. |
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Posted: 8/19/2014 1:04:21 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I was looking at this kit. Mainly because of the solar aspect. But honestly I am just learning about filtering water to use while hiking. I have a MSR filter, and cant ever get a clear take on if if the water needs to be treated after it is filtered. I'm starting out using water filters too. You have to find out what type of water hazards are going to be in the location you are staying. In Hawaii, I'm concerned about leptospirosis which is common in freshwater here. It's a bacteria, but is so small at 0.1 microns that water filters won't work on it. Water filters will also not stop viruses either. So I'm going to use a combination of Katydyn water filter and Steripen to purify. As a backup, I have tablets and could also boil water. |
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Posted: 8/19/2014 1:30:56 PM EDT
[#18]
What is the advantage of the Steripen over using a few drops of something like MSR SweetWater or bleach?
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Posted: 8/19/2014 6:38:23 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What is the advantage of the Steripen over using a few drops of something like MSR SweetWater or bleach? Its a lot faster to use (90 seconds) and doesn't change the taste. |
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Posted: 8/20/2014 4:57:24 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They are known to break/not work/etc when you need them. Also, you need the water to be free of particulate matter for it to work. I would recommend something like a Sawyer Squeeze Sawyer Squeeze at REI long life and hard to break unless you let it freeze with water in it. QFT.... had one, hated it, sold it... KATADYN HIKER ordered... about a hundred gallons of happiness and still going strong... never seemed to work properly, batteries were always a problem, and difficult make sure the outside of the handle doesnt touch/contaminate water.... Its a nifty gadget, but I hated mine and sold it after 1 week of fiddling with it |
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Posted: 8/25/2014 12:40:32 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote History a lot faster to use (90 seconds) and doesn't change the taste. |
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Posted: 8/25/2014 4:21:33 PM EDT
[#22]
Some good points mentioned by others above. Define the mission, and then let the mission drive the gear selection. I backpack in the North Cascades. The water is clear. Steripen is extremely convenient and we don't get sick. Just used it this weekend, as a matter of fact.
And yes, bring spare batteries or install new ones before you depart. Duh. |
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Posted: 8/25/2014 5:59:27 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
QFT.... had one, hated it, sold it... KATADYN HIKER ordered... about a hundred gallons of happiness and still going strong... never seemed to work properly, batteries were always a problem, and difficult make sure the outside of the handle doesnt touch/contaminate water.... Its a nifty gadget, but I hated mine and sold it after 1 week of fiddling with it Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
They are known to break/not work/etc when you need them. Also, you need the water to be free of particulate matter for it to work. I would recommend something like a Sawyer Squeeze Sawyer Squeeze at REI long life and hard to break unless you let it freeze with water in it. QFT.... had one, hated it, sold it... KATADYN HIKER ordered... about a hundred gallons of happiness and still going strong... never seemed to work properly, batteries were always a problem, and difficult make sure the outside of the handle doesnt touch/contaminate water.... Its a nifty gadget, but I hated mine and sold it after 1 week of fiddling with it I've got a Hiker Pro and it's a great filter but pumping water gets old after a while, especially when you're thirsty. The Sawyer is more awesome.
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Posted: 8/25/2014 6:38:29 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Some good points mentioned by others above. Define the mission, and then let the mission drive the gear selection. I backpack in the North Cascades. The water is clear. Steripen is extremely convenient and we don't get sick. Just used it this weekend, as a matter of fact. And yes, bring spare batteries or install new ones before you depart. Duh. Will it work with a single 18650 battery instead of two CR123s? |
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Posted: 8/25/2014 9:54:57 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Will it work with a single 18650 battery instead of two CR123s? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Some good points mentioned by others above. Define the mission, and then let the mission drive the gear selection. I backpack in the North Cascades. The water is clear. Steripen is extremely convenient and we don't get sick. Just used it this weekend, as a matter of fact. And yes, bring spare batteries or install new ones before you depart. Duh. Will it work with a single 18650 battery instead of two CR123s? 2 CR123 cells in series = ~6 volts. 1 18650 [a single cell] = ~3 volts |
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Posted: 8/26/2014 2:22:15 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Personally, I prefer a gravity fed filter with no moving parts. I have the Sawyer mini for solo and the Platypus Gravityworks for group. The SteriPen will sterilize the water but it wont take out sand/dirt/leaves/particles. We used a Platypus gravity filter at Philmont this year. It clogged too easily when we pulled water from the creek. The only way to clean it is the backwash it with clean water, which leaves you in a catch 22. I have always used a First Need filter. I've had it for 25 years and never had a problem with it, but it's bulky and heavy. I have never felt comfortable with the UV purifiers. There is too much room for error. If I don't have a filter, I would rather use Micropur tablets. No batteries and nothing to break. |
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Posted: 8/26/2014 3:56:06 AM EDT
[#27]
I have a Steripen......I've used it on multiple backpacking trips, never had a problem with it.
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Posted: 8/26/2014 9:04:36 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I have a Steripen......I've used it on multiple backpacking trips, never had a problem with it. A Steripen is a tool or maybe a commodity. Having certain sorts of 'specialized' applications. Maybe like Teflon tape for sealing pipe threads. So many folks rag on Teflon tape, but when you ask them how it's supposed to be used, they don't understand in the least, and hate it because they are uniformed and incompetent in its use. A matter of 'ignorance' that there is a cure for, ---taking time to become informed. I see the same issue with Steripens. |
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Posted: 8/26/2014 3:32:49 PM EDT
[#29]
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