On this planet of purifying consuming water, there are a lot of other ways of performing the bushwalker’s miracle of water into w… effectively, water… and making it protected to drink. The hiker’s alchemy of having the ability to cut back your backpack weight by amassing water alongside the best way and never find yourself with some type of gastro is a good revelation – it’s additionally straightforward to do. I’ve been utilizing a Grayl UltraPress water purification filter for a few months earlier than scripting this gear overview and right here’s what I discovered:
The commonest methods of treating consuming water for bushwalking and climbing are:
What to search for in water therapy
Not all strategies are equal OR do the identical job(s). There are 4 foremost bug varieties that consuming water remedies can take care of:
- Micro organism
- Viruses
- Protozoa
- Microparticles
Doing all your analysis to work out what explicit bugs are extra of a problem the place you intend on adventuring, might aid you make a clever alternative. Some filters or strategies solely take care of micro organism and protozoa, while others might solely do viruses. The satan is within the element… and within the spits at 2 am in a tent… within the rain… and, effectively, you get the thought.
What else?
The previous triad of price vs. bulk vs. weight is all the time going to be a balancing act for us people who like to hold all the things on our backs. In the event you’re a car-camper, day-hiker or slush-fund-recipient, then a few of these choices gained’t be as necessary.
The factor that actually struck me by the Grayl UltraPress air purifier just isn’t solely how straightforward it’s to make use of however that it offers with all 4 of the nasties that may very well be in water. Merely scoop up water, push the filter down (it takes a little bit of effort) and bingo – 500 ml of water that’s good to drink. No tricksy attaching hoses, rigging issues as much as hold or ready half-hour for it to work.
It’s additionally the form of easy system that I’d wish to take travelling anyplace I didn’t belief the water from a faucet.
The Professionals
- Easy
- Instantaneous
- Slimline Design
- Offers with all 4 of the water gremlins + others = virus, micro organism, protozoa, microplastic, silt, sediment, chemical compounds, heavy metals + odour
The Cons
The principle draw back for me is the load of the bottle at 354 g (additionally they do an Ultralight at 309 g).
The filters will final for 350 x 500 ml presses and you will have to eliminate the filter cartridge (80 g). Grayl are within the strategy of establishing a trade-in service with TerraCycle (as at March 2022), so fingers crossed that doesn’t take too lengthy to occur – I wouldn’t wish to see the filters having to go to landfill.
At round $140 AUD, you’ll wish to take excellent care of your filter bottle to get essentially the most out of it. There’s a wee little bit of stuff it’s good to know, just like the significance of drying out your filter and storing it (brief time period – on the observe and long run – at residence)
Grayl UltraPress Specs
- 500 ml
- 354 grams
- 25 cm x 7.5 cm (suits effectively in aspect pockets)
- Lifespan: 300 presses (ie. 150 litres)
- Filter methodology: ion alternate, extremely powdered activated carbon
- Movement charge: 3 litres per minute
- Removes: 99.99% of viruses, micro organism and protozoa, together with rotavirus, hepatitus A, norovirus, giardia, cryptosporidium, E.coli, cholera, salmonella, dysentery. Yech!
- Filters: particulates (sediment, microplastics) pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, flavour and odour
- Comprised of BPA-free polypropylene, TPA and ABS food-grade plastic
Purchase a Grayl UltraPress or different Grayl bottles now.