A Scout’s Campfire

Water Treatment Options - Part 3

November 22nd, 2006 spryken

In part 3 of my series on water treatment options, I want to cover Filters….

Filters come in many different forms. Some have prefilters to remove the “floaties” in the water prior to treating the water. What to keep in mind with filters is the pore size. Giardia cysts are about 6 microns in diameter while some bacteria is as small as 0.2 microns. Getting a filter with a nominal size of 0.1 or 0.2 should be best for removing bacteria. However, viruses are even smaller!!

Filters range in size and weight, so that is a factor when buying. How much space and weight do you want to devote to water treatment? DON’T forget to calculate in the water weight that will be added after you use the filter. You can dry it out immediately, so you will be carrying extra water.

Filters have to be cleaned and inspected. The actual filter has to be replaced eventually.

All of that said, filters work when properly tended. There is not a long wait time for chemicals to work. There is not the extra fuel required for boiling. Filters are convenient.

In Part 4, I will be covering some new methods of water treatment. Then in Part 5, I will summarize and draw my conclusions.

Technorati Tags: boy scouts, gear, water, hiking, backpacking, giardia

powered by performancing firefox

Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear, Hiking