UKC

Off to India later in the year so am thinking of a Steripen. Has anyone experience of them.
Cheers

In reply to GLUF:

Ideal if you have access to plenty of batteries but it depends on what you want to seterilise with it as it doesn't filter dirty water and isn't as effective in murky water.

In reply to GLUF:

its a great idea for india. Means you can drink tap water (clear but potentially lethal!) and avoid buying endless plastic bottles of water (plastic which invariably gets burnt!)
Make sure you take rechargeable batteries.

In reply to GLUF:

What are you doing in India? Personally I would go with a Katadyn filter bottle or similar. Very handy in the hills or hotels, and if you are stuck for water (so buy a bottle) you can filter that also.

I got Giardia in India, not far from a glacier, so definitely filter or sterilise ALL water!

I used to use iodine drops and still would if you could buy them anymore.

In reply to GLUF:

Thanks for the feedback. It is very much a Tourist Trip and not a Trekking Trip.
Re the advice to use Tap water, I was going to use bottled and Steripen that, but I suppose if the Steripen works as said Tap will be fine, just seems a bit too good to be true, like something you would see on Star Trek.
Have you Steripenned the Water Spock.
It was logical Jim.

In reply to GLUF:

Steripens are great on clear water, just make sure you swirl the water a couple of times to also wash down drops sitting at the neck of the bottle for their turn to be fried.
Also, use a bottle where the steripen sits tightly, and which is not UV transparent. One of my climbing partners once got severe snow blindness (one day bivy before he could see well enough to walk out) from either UV bleedthrough or light shining out the wide bottle neck.

CB

In reply to GLUF:

I would (and did) take a filter bottle such as Auqapure or Katadyn for a tourist trip. More practical than the steripen I think. If you are on a bus and stop at a roadside cafe they'll have jugs of water, you can just fill your bottle. Tap water is the same, quickly fill the bottle anywhere (at tourist spots for example). No waiting for it to work, no seperate item to carry. You need a bottle to use with the steripen anyway. Plus a filter bottle is lighter, cheaper, and won't draw as much attention when you're using it on a railway platform or train.

Just my thoughts (having traveled extensively in India).

In reply to GLUF:

Used one in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Providing you can get clear water they are good. 3 people, lots of water drunk at altitude 6 weeks, 1 and a half batteries.

In reply to GLUF:

Is there a benefit to these rather than just taking a bunch of chlorine dioxide tablets? They're tasteless, light and pretty effective.

In reply to GLUF:

I always used to use iodine (the prills in one of those little plastic 50ml bottles) but you can no longer buy them in the EU.

However, I bought a tub of pure iodine crystals from a chemical supplier and dumped a little in some of those medical piss sample pots (new!) and it works brilliantly. Plus it never runs out (used my old one for many years) and it is also useful for sterilizing wounds etc.

If you're in London you're welcome to have one.

In reply to GLUF:

I got one of these, which for £20 odd is excellent value.

www.watertogo.eu

If you want to have more than 750ml, then take another (any) bottle with you, fill them both up, drink out of the water to go bottle, and then fill that up from your other one. Don't do what I did, and try to squirt water but of your water to go bottle - the over pressure isn't good for it!

I used it wild camping in the Ecrin and loved the lack of waiting, nasty taste and hassle. I like being able to just top up whenever you find a stream.

In reply to Green Porridge:

Cheers looks good.