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<DIV> I've had 2 Steripens, and have a 3rd: #1 I let the
battery compartment get wet, when the directions clearly say not to; Steripen
replaced, not repaired, it for $10, and I'm guessing a short like that
can't be fixed, probably damaging the lamp as there was water inside the glass
tube.</DIV>
<DIV> #2, the replacement above, got wet again when I
just about drowned in the Middle Fork Gila last April; I ordered another one,
but also got #2 repaired (actually replaced, again, w/#3) for $15. I now
have #3 in my bounce box and #4 new in my pack. Just bear in mind
that means there have been NO failures that weren't my fault, and Steripen say
it's working on that gasket problem. Course they bin doin that for at
least 2 years; that's the failure from my point of view - an item that's
used around water that doesn't have a waterproof battery compartment. BTW, both
of mine now have o-ring gaskets from my local hardware store.</DIV>
<DIV> I love, & haved, loved, all of mine: they're
less than half the weight of any pump filter; they last a long time on just 1
set of lithium batteries; and I've never been sick backpacking, even though last
year I treated very little h2o all summer. </DIV>
<DIV> I don't know about cloudy water, as I've never, so
far, had to treat any. However, I use narrow neck bottles, so I tilt and rotate
the bottle w/the Steripen jammed against the neck while the light is on; this
gets all the water close to the light I figure. I think that with cloudy water
I'd just take the time to treat it 2-3 times to get all the h2o near the light
several times.</DIV>
<DIV> There is absolutely no doubt that the time and
effort in using a Steripen is less than any pump filter! I'd guess 15 minutes
per gallon, without using much energy.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Bob "Trekker"
Brewer<BR>Big Bend Desert Denizen, and...<BR>Naturalized Citizen - Republic of
Texas<BR><BR>"Government cripples you, then hands you a crutch and says, 'See,
if it wasn't for us, you couldn't walk.' " -- Harry Browne<BR><BR>"If you think
health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when its free."
-- P J O'Rourke<BR><BR>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 2/4/2011 12:31:00 P.M. Central Standard Time,
csilla.tabor@gmail.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>I'd love
to hear some stories (bad or good) about the use of Steripens for<BR>water
purification. I'm considering getting one instead of resupplying Aqua<BR>Mira
or iodine over and
over.<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pct-L mailing
list<BR>Pct-L@backcountry.net<BR>To unsubcribe, or change options
visit:<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<BR><BR>List
Archives:<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>