Heeeyho Readers! Have you ever wondered how to obtain drinkable water on adventures?
You are cycling way out in the wilderness, away from any help, your water bottles are empty, and the sun is blazing over your head. What do you do?
In my last post, we mused about the importance of water and learned that 0.5% of the earth's water is available freshwater, which came as a shock for me and many readers. Does that mean all that freshwater is readily drinkable? I have my doubts.
Let's talk about water treatment today. I won't deep dive into the teeny-weeny details of freshwater filtration methods, but rather show a quick, effective, and lightweight system to turn non-drinkable water into cristal clear drinkable water.
Whenever I go adventuring outdoors, a water filter is the one item that is always on my backpack. Boiling water is not always an option; it takes time and consumes propane, which is crucial for prolonged days away from civilization. On the other hand, having something lightweight, easy-to-use, and effective saves a lot of time.
There are different brands and models in the market. All work perfectly well. I picked the Sawyer Mini for the weight (~40 grams) and because it was available in a nearby store. Price ranged around 35 British pounds in 2019.
Sawyer says the mini filters up to 100,000 gallons and removes 7 log (99.99999%) of all bacteria (like salmonella) as well as other harmful bacteria which causes cholera and E. coli and 6 log (99.9999%) of all protozoa such as giardia and cryptosporidium. No mentions of killing viruses — I'll present a secondary process to counter that at the end of this article.
I'm not getting paid to market Sawyer here (although it would be awesome), so let's jump to the tests I conducted and you decide how valuable this little beast is.
Testing the Sawyer Mini
The Mini comes with a squeeze bag that attaches to the filter, the same thread as soda bottles. It requires some pressure to push water through the fiber. I first collected muddy water from our pond to see how bad it looked. See below.
The squeeze bag comes with instructions for the clumsy souls out there. I noticed the bag wears out rapidly, but that's not an issue when we can attach standard plastic bottles to the filter (remember to have one in hand).
Now it's just a matter of squeeeeeezin' water through the fiber to obtain clean water on the other end. Dripping also works, though it takes way longer to fill a camelback, for example. See below how impressive the result is; no bad taste at all (yes, I tried).
How about viruses?
Water-transmitted viral pathogens that are classified as having a moderate to high health significance by the World Health Organization (WHO) include adenovirus, astrovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, norovirus and other caliciviruses, and enteroviruses, including coxsackieviruses and polioviruses.
Sawyer doesn't kill such pathogens. To make sure the water is 100% safe to drink I'd add chlorine tablets, making a second layer of protection to the process. Chlorine tables are available in any outdoors store. You add, generally, one tablet per 1L of water and wait a few minutes to an hour before drinking.
Conclusion
I've used the Mini on my adventures and have never suffered any misfortune from consuming bad water. I chose to boil my water when out camping, more to spare the filter than anything else. It is also in my cycling backpack at all times. At such a low price, it's even an alternative to have around at home, though we have another ceramic filter to drink water from our well. The conclusion is straightforward: get one if you can.
I've added a short video of my tests. Check down below.
I hope you've enjoyed this post.
Peace.
Did you know that I have a book out? Check this!
Access Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/6500272773?
If you enjoyed this post consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrprofessor_
~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
