UKC

hi all im looking for a nice bottle to purify water from streams in the alps to hopefully save me carrying too much heavy water,, or just so i can have an extra drink when i find a stream. anyone know of a good bottle? dont want to get sick..

thanks

In reply to lachy773: Not really a bottle, but I use an MSR Miniworks filter which weighs in at 500g. The Miniworks uses a Nalgene compatible thread which allows it to be connected directly to a Nalgene bottle, Source hydration bladder, Ortlieb water bag, or other compatible system. This works well if you're back packing as you can carry as little as a litre in your pack (1kg) if you plan your route well. If you intend spending some time in one place, you can filter 5 litres into an Ortlieb bag in one go for convenience, which can then, when empty, be rolled up and stowed away before you strike camp. The Miniworks can also be stripped and cleaned in the field without tools. Love mine.

In reply to lachy773: I had the katadyn bottle. Worked well and was convenient.

The only problem was you never really knew if it was working. I mean there was no indication of if it was still working or not and you had to count the number of liters it had been used for.

I was confident with it at first but after a month or so began to wonder.

Switched to iodine drops after that. Much better as you know they are working and can be used in any bottle. Much cheaper as well I reckon. Now, and for the alps, I'd just go with chlorine dioxide tablets and a piece muslin wrapped around your bottle with an elastic band for keeping big bits out when filling.

In reply to lachy773: I never use anything as the Alpine streams are pristine. Just avoid glacial melt and you should be fine. There are far fewer animals in the mountains to contaminate the water

In reply to lachy773:

Greetings from Islamabad. I am presently using the Camelbak All clear. Extremely easy system to use. Just fill your bottle up, press the switch and shake for 60 seconds.

In reply to radson:

I've been using 'Drinksafe AQUAGUARD Micro '3 in 1' system' for a few years. A mate has also been using this - we've drunk out of some pretty manky water sources and it's been fine (including the Basingstoke Canal which is not, shall we say, a pristine mountain stream!). Used it all last week in the alps drank piste melt, streams, all kinds. I appear to be fine.

In reply to ewanjp:

Link.... http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php#Cartridge

In reply to radson:

If it's drinking from streams I wouldn't bother. However, the Drinksafe Travel Tap is very good:

http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php

Added advantage of auto shutting down when the filter has expired.

In reply to wilkesley:


In the alps I absolutely would bother.

In reply to Removed User:

Doesn't that rather depend upon where you are?

In reply to lachy773: The drinksafe bottle is great - I've filled it from muddy puddles and some right skanky looking lakes.

In reply to andyathome:

I guess so, but how are you going to know? The Alps are pretty high usage over most of the range and people shit right at the top. It isn't like the Scottish highlands and there are some nasty little organisms in many alpine streams.

Can I ask why no one uses tablets? Surely they are lighter, more compact, simpler and more reliable to use?

In reply to lachy773:

I would rather have a filter as sometimes the only thing is a small pond/lake of melt water. You often don't have the luxury of a stream, and so it's nice to be able to strain the lumps out as well as kill the nasties.

In reply to Martin1978:
cos the Aquaguard stuff filters water too, so no floaty things or sediment in it as well as no bugs.

Understand that part I guess, I find a small muslin cloth held over the opening when filling keeps most the muck/floaty bits out unless, as you say, the water is a stagnent pool or something.

I did take a katadyn bottle to India with me but not sure I would again.

In reply to Removed User:

agreed, there are some bugs (eg.threadworms) but you can actually see them.
if you drink them they give you a few hours of stomach ache - not very pleasant but harmless...

glacier water is fine if you avoid the grit.
so i would not bother carrying a filter.

In reply to lachy773:

I've used a Katadyn filter bottle. Took that and some regular bottles with tablets so that we could always be sure of getting at least a minimum of drinkable water out of the Katadyn bottle. We did well, right up to the point when a momentary loss of reason over a drink with ice in it lead to gastric chaos.

I wouldn't bother in the Alps though, as long as you apply lashings of common sense.

In reply to lachy773: thanks for the info everyone!

In reply to lachy773:

The Bobble Bottles along with purifying tablets are very popular for mountain walking in South Africa at the moment & I was given a couple while on hols there last year. Haven't seen them in outdoor shops here yet, but Amazon seems to sell them http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bobble-BPA-Free-Water-Bottle-Black/dp/B003LTFSAE/re...

My only bugbear with them is the top part that screws onto the bottle easily splits, so don't over tighten them & don't fill to the top if there's a chance of freezing. Other than that they seem to work pretty well!