managing your water filter so it does not freeze during cold weather

[darcytribe]

I would be interested to hear how you manage your water filter in cold weather so that it doesn't freeze. Last year my sawyer mini froze and was ruined.

 

[RustyHazen]

Put it in a ziplock in your pocket, and in your bag at night.

 

[zeroforhire]

I would be interested to hear how you manage your water filter in cold weather so that it doesn't freeze. Last year my sawyer mini froze and was ruined.

This is why I switched to steripen. The batteries can be finicky in cold weather though. Mine sleeps in my bag with me.

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[Grunt-N-Gobble]

put it in a ziplock in your pocket, and in your bag at night.

This!!

 

[dreamingbig]

Yep. Ziplock bag in your sleeping bag at night. I think it works... Used it last year in September with overnight temps in the 20s and had it in the sleeping bag. Have to go on a little faith and assume it kept from freezing because you can’t really check.


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[Poser]

I should probably replace mine because I’ve had it out in enough questionable temps that it may have frozen. I usually put it under my sleeping pad.


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[FlyGuy]

This is why I switched to steripen. The batteries can be finicky in cold weather though. Mine sleeps in my bag with me.

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Yep. Same here. I'm hoping the steripen will be the answer for me. I actually went to the Sawyer last year after having a total failure on my pump in 2016. Most of my mountain hunting is in September when super low temps aren't too much of a problem, but last year it was low 20's most nights. I was using the Sawyer squeeze for the 1st time but I kept forgetting to put it in my bag at night. It was ruined by about day 4. I used it even though I knew it was busted b/c it was all I had and I figured that was better than nothing. I picked up the Steripen right after but I haven't used it yet.

Funny story. One day near the end of that same trip last year my hunting partner and I were low on water so we dropped way down into a steep, steep canyon creek to fill up. Chugged a bunch of that fresh (semi)filtered stream water from my busted sawyer, then found a dead, rotting elk submerged in that same creek about 200 yards upstream. About lost my cookies right there.

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[duchntr]

Yup, put it in your bag at night. For late season trips the steripen comes out.

 

[Boxerboxer]

Putting the filter in ziploc how do you protect the clean end from the dirty end?


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[Superkodiak38]

Putting the filter in ziploc how do you protect the clean end from the dirty end?


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Take the cap off a Smart Water bottle it should fit the "clean" end of the filter

 

[Don K]

Last year I just put mine in a ziplock and in my bag like the others have mentioned. My buddy had a steripen and it didn't work at all on our trip, had new batteries and all. Needless to say I wasn't impressed

 

[mtnrunner260]

What about a small down bag for it?
I've done the sleeping bag and it's no big deal but have some extra material so...

 

[Boxerboxer]

What about a small down bag for it?
I've done the sleeping bag and it's no big deal but have some extra material so...

What would you do with it? Unless you put it in your sleeping bag with you it would do nothing except make it take slightly longer for it to freeze. If you put it in your bag with you inside the little down bag you put insulation between you and the filter which seems counter-productive if you want to use your body heat to keep it warm.


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[ellsworb]

I use pills year round. Haven't carried a filter in years.

 

[Fishhead]

I use pills year round. Haven't carried a filter in years.

Ditto... Pills don't freeze

 

[Boxerboxer]

I use pills year round. Haven't carried a filter in years.

Are you pulling water out of elk wallows and the like? I’m curious what role the sources you have near by play in the choice.


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[mcseal2]

Just curious what model Steripen are you guys having trouble with in cold weather? I read some negative reviews on the Adventurer and heard Aron from Kifaru saying one of his buddies had issues with that model. I picked one up myself and got the re-chargeable one. I carry a battery pack for my phone in my pack anyway since I use it as my GPS. I have used the Sawyer for warm temps and got a MSR Trailshot to supplement my Steripen on hunts where I might have to pump water from a small shallow source. It's like the Sawyer though it can't freeze.

I plan to take the Steripen and a Katadyn Base Camp Ultra on our September AK moose hunt this fall. I plan to use the Steripen as I re-fill my water bottle during the day's hunt and the Katadyn for camp water. I'm taking several battery packs to ensure I have power for this and my phone. My emergency kit always has some pills in it too, but not enough for a 10 day hunt.

Thanks for the help.

 

[530Chukar]

Just curious what model Steripen are you guys having trouble with in cold weather? I read some negative reviews on the Adventurer and heard Aron from Kifaru saying one of his buddies had issues with that model. I picked one up myself and got the re-chargeable one. I carry a battery pack for my phone in my pack anyway since I use it as my GPS. I have used the Sawyer for warm temps and got a MSR Trailshot to supplement my Steripen on hunts where I might have to pump water from a small shallow source. It's like the Sawyer though it can't freeze.

I plan to take the Steripen and a Katadyn Base Camp Ultra on our September AK moose hunt this fall. I plan to use the Steripen as I re-fill my water bottle during the day's hunt and the Katadyn for camp water. I'm taking several battery packs to ensure I have power for this and my phone. My emergency kit always has some pills in it too, but not enough for a 10 day hunt.

Thanks for the help.

I have the Steripen Classic 3. It was very finiky during my mid-October hunt this past year but only from dusk til dawn at temperatures below freezing. This was mostly due to carrying the filter in my pack. I carried it in a cargo pocket one day and didn't have issues but was kind of annoying. I carry tabs as a backup and would use that to treat camp water in the evenings so it wasn't as big of an issue as it could have been. Also had the Katadyn Basecamp in camp for the same hunt and it was pretty handy. We would bring it in and hang it from the center pole in the tent at night to keep it from freezing. If I recall it still did get a little icy on nights when we didn't keep the stove going.

 

[bluetick78]

I use a Katadyn hiker pro. I sleep with it and my phone in my bag at night, then put it in my sleeping bag when I get out in the morning. It stays there all day while I'm hunting. If the Temps are getting down into the teens, I'll put it in my pack with a handwarmer packet next to it. I'll sandwich the hand warmer between my water bladder and my filter. That way my water and my filter stay warm. Never had a filter freeze, but sometimes I'll pack a brand new, never been wet, filter cartridge if I know that it will not get above freezing on late hunts. Never needed the extra cartridge, but it's worth it to me for peace of mind. My essentials bag always has purification tabs too.

 

[Akicita]

Ditto... Pills don't freeze

I use pills year round. Haven't carried a filter in years.

Beware of Cryptosporidium gentlemen. . . Iodine and chlorine are virtually ineffective against this nasty parasite. I've had it twice in Colorado treating with chlorine (2 to 4 drops per liter).