I was planning this as a post for the near future. But after a Facebook question on a Kelly Kettle page I am a member of about what people did for water while out and about, and my long reply. I thought I’d expand on that reply here.
We all know that filtering requirements change not only depending on country in, but also location within that country.
This post is UK centric. That’s where I’m based. How I filter is what makes me feel safe to drink the water I source. This works for me! It may not work for you or you prefer some different filter, etc. That’s fine. I repeat This works for me!
I’m not an expert.
In the UK in the decades since a Tory government privatised the water industry, and especially since leaving the European Union. Our water quality of rivers and beaches has gone downhill drastically. The amount of sewage dumped by the water companies into our water ways is criminal. And I won’t even go into the lack of investment, repairs, no new reservoirs, increasing water bills and shareholder profits taking out billions.
The bottom line is our water ways are not the idylic pure sources we picture of old, where you could dip your cup and drink straight from the source. Before we drink the water from whatever source we will need to treat it somehow.
How you treat your water depends on your assessment of the source and the surrounding area. Is it fast flowing? Any dead animals up stream? Is the surrounding land farmland? You get the idea.
Based on my assessment of the source I will adjust my filtering process.
So what makes up my water filtration kit?
I’m going to start with the Forest Fundamentals Millbank bag.
If the water source I’m going to use has debris in it like twigs, dirt particles, bits of leaves. Then this is my way of removing them. It’s not going to remove bacteria, parasites, viruses, or chemicals.
Removing the debris also means that the sawyer squeeze will last longer between back flushes.
Next up is the Cnoc Vecto. I use either a 1 litre or 2 litre capacity. They work for me.
I don’t take both. I select the one based on what I think my needs will be on the trip.
Both are the 28mm thread so they can be used with the Sawyer squeeze.
The Cnoc is only ever used with contaminated water that I collect with it or from the Millbank bag.
I use the Sawyer squeeze filter.
I have modified mine!
The modification is to replace the washer going into the filter with a plumbers washer that has a micro metal filter on it (see the photo below). This stops any debris getting into the filter. Once again prolonging the time between back washes.
The squeeze uses these hollow micro tubes that are “Rated to 0.1 micron absolute filtration, it removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, leptospirosis, cholera and E.coli, , removes 99.9999% of all protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium), and it also removes 100% of microplastics.” (Taken off the sawyer website)
Now what about viruses? That’s interesting because in an interview with Dan Becker on YouTube the owner discussed this, and in paraphrasing now. Apparently they can’t get approved for viruses because the test uses dead viruses which they can’t stop. However live viruses attach to stuff that they do stop! Now I do not know how true this is. I have neither the time or the expertise to judge how accurate that statement is. I also don’t know an expert to ask.
So why bring it up? Well you may have seen the interview and being saying “but Darren…”
For me the assumption should be it doesn’t stop them. Best to be on the safe side.
The final step part to my “system” is a Katadyn Active Carbon Water Filter Bottle Adaptor.
The Katadyn reduces chemicals, heavy metals, and improves odour and taste of the water.
Unlike the squeeze this only does about 200 litres before the active carbon needs replacing.
And then you have some adapters and tubing that allow me to jury rig the Katadyn into the process, or attach the squeeze to a water bottle.
Why I like this system is because it allows me to adjust depending on the water source what is used. If I’m high up using streams, I’d probably just use the squeeze. On the other hand if I’m in an area with lots of farmland next to the source I’d use the squeeze and Katadyn.
Yes, as far as I’m concerned this setup doesn’t remove viruses. If that was a major concern for me I have options. The easiest, even cheapest for me is to use a purification tablet. However I could get a filter that uses reverse osmosis or ultraviolet light.
Backup
Naturally things fail for whatever reason. They can even get lost.
So it’s handy to have a backup. Luckily for making water safe to drink the options are not heavy or bulky.
I normally have water purification tablets on me (with my water canteen and lid of my rucksack). I use the ones from the British Army ration packs.
I like them because they come in handy little packets of four. Which makes them easy to carry and put with other stuff, not taking up much room.
And a major bonus is they can be picked up relatively cheaply. And I do mean cheap. Often from these Army Surplus retailers you can pick up British Army ration pack accessory packets for less than 50p (I think I’ve picked them up for 20p each in the past).
These accessory packs come with plastic sporks, wipes, tissue, tea, coffee, water purification tablets, etc. You get a lot of useful stuff on top of them water purification tablets that you want.
I did the maths and it works out much cheaper than buying just the tablets for similar quantities. Plus you are getting other stuff you can use.
The final backup for getting drinking water is boiling it.
Obviously the major drawback with this method is if you want a cold drink you have to wait for the water to cool down.
Both of the above will not remove debris from the water so having a shemagh, also known as a keffiyeh or ghutra, or even a bandana is handy for doing that. Before treating your water with the water purification tablet or boiling it, using something like a bandana or shemagh to filter out the debris is a must.
Boiling and using the water purification tablets will kill bacteria or parasites, even viruses. They do not remove dissolved chemicals or remove micro plastics.
I hope this has helped.