[pct-l] steripen for water purification

[Craig Rice]

Hi Laura,

I've used the SteriPEN "Classic" the last two years as I did the  
SoCal, Oregon and Washington sections of the PCT. I could purify water  
daily for about a week and a half on a single set of Li batteries.  
While the "PEN" is heavier than a bottle of AquaMira, which previously  
was my purifier of choice, and has to be included in the "baseweight"  
of the "gram weenies", it's effective pack weight is less than  
AquaMire. Since water is ready in 90 sec for a liter, we ended up  
carrying less water than normal and would "camel up" when we got to  
water sources.

I wasn't a believer at first. My hiker buddy, Strider, showed up with  
one at the beginning of our Oregon/Washington trip. I long stated that  
I would never use a GPS versus a compass on the trail--"never trust  
your life with something that requires batteries". And here he is with  
a water purifier that needs batteries! Also being a scientist I was  
skeptical about the performance of the unit. After watching Strider  
use it for a week--he's drinking and I'm watching my watch to time the  
AquaMira--and getting hold of the original validation studies, I was  
willing to try. Two years later it's my purifier of choice. Note: just  
in case.... I usually bring along a few purifier tablets should I  
manage to break the PEN. It's actually pretty tough device with the  
storage cap on it.

Anecdotal data: For the rest of the Oregon/Washington trip three of us  
used the SteriPEN exclusively. The fourth member of the group used a  
filter. He got giardia; we didn't!

Mr. Wizard