[pct-l] water straw; SODIS water disinfection

[ruffwork]

First year section hiking I used chemicals (Micropur) and they worked OK but (1) the taste (so I had to carry Gatorade to help hide the flavor) and (2) had to wait for at least 1 hour before drinking (so I'd get to water and sit there at the stream several times milking my warm existing H20 waiting for my clod fresh H20 to finish treatment - NO fun).  Waiting was the thing that I could not stand.  Also sometimes the water sure didn't look good (taken from a mirky water source).

Second year I used straws (Aquamira Frontier and Frontier Pro) and they worked faster - so I never had to wait for water (sooo nice) but it always seemed I was not getting enough - and sometimes a few big gulps of water would have been nice!  As one hiker put it: with a straw you really have to WORK to get your water.  Nicer then chemicals for primary H2O but still not perfect (and you can't have ANY Gatorade).

This year I'm trying a pump: MSR HyperFlow.  I'll take a Aquamira Frontier and a pack of Micropur as backups).

ruffwork

The road goes ever on and on...

> Good morning, Mad Hatter,
> 
> I have not used the straw filter, but a hiking friend tried one – for a
> short while.  He said -- as Dan Africk mentioned – that the effort to draw
> water through the straw was disturbing.  It worked, but he never could get
> the satisfaction of a good, big gulp.  As a result he usually didn’t drink
> as much as he should have.  It might have worked better in a sip-hose from a
> hydration bladder, but he didn't try that.
> 
> 
> 
> I don’t know what they cost, but I’ve thought of getting one just to keep in
> my car.
> 
> 
> 
> Welcome to the PCT and enjoy your hike,
> 
> 
> 
> Steel-Eye
> 
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965