Outdoor enthusiasts and even the savvy traveler know that having good drinking water is essential. However, water is heavy and can take up valuable space in backpacks. It can often be extremely difficult to carry enough water for yourself and everyone in the group.
These days, however, you no longer need to carry those tons of water needed to stay hydrated when you’re out of town and away from drinking water sources because you can carry a portable water purifier instead.
These purifiers are often referred to as point-of-use (POU) water treatment systems and field water disinfection sources and have been used by survivors and the military for several years.
These are typically fairly small units that have been designed to provide viable drinking water when not in close proximity to a treated water source (untreated water sources include lakes, rivers, streams, etc.). Its entire purpose is to provide you with chlorine-free drinking water wherever you are.
If you’re camping in the woods, hiking in the mountains, traveling through a developing country, or even stuck on the side of the road, you may be standing by a river or stream and need water. It is not safe to drink directly from that river or stream for various reasons.
Most natural water sources are contaminated in some way, whether through sewage, surface runoff, animal waste, or other pathogens. If you have a lot of time and resources, the simplest portable water purifier is to boil the water, but that would require having the time and equipment to build a safe fire, boil the water for at least 30 minutes, and then allow it to cool sufficiently. like to drink
A much faster and definitely easier method would be to simply carry a small backpacking water purifier. Many of these units are the size of a one liter water bottle and simply require you to fill the reservoir with water and allow it to trickle down through the filter until it enters the next chamber where the water is safe to drink… this process usually takes less than 15 minutes to fill an entire bottle.
Most portable water purifiers, like the Katadyn Hiker microfilter, use more than one purification stage. Most include activated charcoal at some point because activated charcoal absorbs many compounds and pathogens. They may also include the use of iodine to further cleanse the water, which is usually followed by filtering the water through vitamin C or some type of ascorbic acid to counteract the bad taste of the iodine. The end result is nice, clean drinking water that you’ve created on the spot without having to carry 30 pounds of water on your back plus any other equipment you might need.
Some of the newer models of backpacking water purifiers use ultraviolet (UV) purification. These systems rely on the sun’s heat and rays to help make untreated water safe to drink. The problem with these systems is that you cannot leave the purified water exposed to direct sunlight for a long time or else the purification process can be reversed.
Whichever portable water purifier you select, you’ll save yourself having to make sure you carry large amounts of water and take up much-needed space in your backpack.
