Developer of SteriPEN dies

[llholmes1948]

https://bangordailynews.com/2019/02/20/ ... at-age-60/

[Sue Z]

On a connected subject, this article claims that backcountry water purification is unnecessary. I haven't had a chance to fact check it, but I do remember when giardia was rampant near me in PA and other states in the vicinity.. https://slate.trib.al/LtDYBnR

[PeteE]

On a connected subject, this article claims that backcountry water purification is unnecessary. I haven't had a chance to fact check it, but I do remember when giardia was rampant near me in PA and other states in the vicinity.. https://slate.trib.al/LtDYBnR

Well I can tell you for a "fact" giardia is still alive and well in the Bob Marshall. Husband of a gal I work with got giardia not once, but twice in the Bob.
He was WAY back in there too. He was leading a group of teens on a two week trip both times.
I asked his wife why he didn't treat his water. She said he grew up here in CFalls. Worked as a logger for 30 years and drank from streams all his life.

So drink untreated water if you want. I see people every year that do it in the park.
Kinda dumb though imo
It's so easy and cheap to treat water these days.

pete

[PeteE]

FWIW...I have two Steripens and I don't like them... Got one free from a guy who had same problem(s) I did.
Both have the same problem--random, intermittent errors that make them a pain in the neck to use. Batteries don't last and are expensive.
The Steripen would be a great device if it actually worked reliably.

Here's a gadget adaptation I made for my Sawyer filter that makes it a lot easier to use imo.

5 Minute video on how I made it and how it works
https://photos.smugmug.com/Lunch-Creek- ... r-1920.mp4






pete

[Sue Z]

Yeah, I'm sticking with the filter for now.

[teapot57]

Check this out, Pete:

https://cnocoutdoors.com/products/2018- ... -mm-orange

[Sue Z]

On a connected subject, this article claims that backcountry water purification is unnecessary. I haven't had a chance to fact check it, but I do remember when giardia was rampant near me in PA and other states in the vicinity.. https://slate.trib.al/LtDYBnR

I read through the studies that were cited in the Slate article. One was old, and targeted only one area in the Sierra Nevada. That's way too narrow for drawing broad conclusions about the whole country. The second was similarly weak - an analysis of some smaller studies, including one that didn't find alarming levels of pathogens in the Kings Canyon/Sequoia/Yosemite area in 2004, and one that found that an outbreak of giardiasis among a group of travelers in Utah was not caused by their water. The final citation was actually a 2004 editorial on the subject, not a study at all.

That's pretty thin evidence to declare all backcountry water in the US to be safe, IMHO. The absence of solid scientific evidence doesn't let me draw conclusions either way. The author of the article, however, did not hesitate to draw the very strong conclusion that filtering is unnecessary. It might be true, but I haven't seen enough evidence in this article to decide that.

In the meantime, I'll side with caution.

[tibber]

Check this out, Pete:

https://cnocoutdoors.com/products/2018- ... -mm-orange

this one just came up at our monthly ABC (Arizona Backpacking Club) meeting and I had already put it on my new gear list.
It will work much better for scooping water than the Sawyer bag. I was using a baggie to scoop water anyway; it seemed to work pretty well but I like this CNOC

[PeteE]

Check this out, Pete:

https://cnocoutdoors.com/products/2018- ... -mm-orange

Where were ya when I needed ya? LOLOLOL!!

I like it. So thanks for posting

I asked at the local places here about some sort of adapter for a Sawyer filter.
Nobody knew nothin' so I made mine.

pete

[paul]

I drank untreated water in the Glacier Park backcountry without getting sick. It was a one time thing when I was doing the Floral park traverse. The water that I drank was flowing directly out from under the Sperry glacier so I figured it was pretty clean.

I really wish I didn't have to treat the water in the glacier bc, it would be nice to not have to bring the filter and deal with all that.

[teapot57]

Where were ya when I needed ya? LOLOLOL!!

I just recently learned about the CNOC Vecto bag. Sounds like your adaption is working great for you, but this bag may be a good alternative.

A new thread on water filtration may be a good idea, since there are so many new alternatives on the market.

[llholmes1948]

When I worked in the Park in the 1970s we used to drink untreated water all the time on hikes. I never got sick or knew anyone who did. I wouldn't do that now but as I tell my kids, it was safe back at that time because giardia hadn't yet been invented.