Backcountry Water Sources and Purification, by Jason Brooks

[Justin Crossley]

Please welcome guest contributor Jason Brooks as he gives us his thoughts on some options and some things to watch out for when it comes to water in the backcountry. Jason is a freelance writer and photographer and has been published in many other hunting and outdoor publications. We are glad to have him here on the Rok and look forward to more of his writing and photos.

Read Jason's first article on Rokslide here:
Backcountry Water Sources and Purification

 

[NYSKIER]

Hi Justin great article. Would you suggest carrying both a hand pump type filter and a gravity filter as the an efficient system for use in the backcountry?

 

[Jason Brooks]

NYSKIER,

I would not suggest carrying double of anything that you don't have too...if you are planning on staying at one location, near a water source, then the filter bag system is perfect. It is light, foolproof, and convenient. But it also means you need to fill up your water bottles and carry them full with you during the day and only get water when you return to camp. If you are doing a loop hike/hunt or would rather not carry a lot of heavy water during the day, and you have multiple water sources, then maybe take the hand pump and keep it with you, as this is the lightest "all day" method but also means you will need to stop and fill up during the hunt.

Jason Brooks

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Good stuff. Being from the east, with many "clean" springs where I mostly hunt, the info was a reminder to start playing it safe. I've drank out of them for decades with no filtering and, not one problem yet. However, it only makes sense to get a steripen and be sure about it. Plus, it gives an eastern guy like me, with very little experience of hunting in an areas with limited water, an idea what to get for his out west hunts. God Bless men

 

[Josh Boyd]

Great info on water sources in the backcountry. Thanks for putting this together.

 

[MtnHunter]

Great article! A solid way to purify is a must. A hunter doesn't last long when rationing water!

 

[airlocksniffer]

I know I shouldn't but I will still drink raw water from high elevation springs, etc. Of course I'll regret this if I ever get sick but I've been doing it for 20 years and haven't yet. I've been eyeing the gravity systems (namely the Playpus GravityWorks) for base camp. I carry a Sawyer during the day but not a big fan of how slow it is. I also keep some AquaTabs with me at all times. I'll carry an empty 2L Platypus and if I'm at a point where water may be hard to find then I'll fill that up and drop in a tab. Those don't kill crypto but are effective with everything else in about 20 minutes.

 

[wooduckman]

My dad and I are going on a 10 day drop camp/backpack hunt in Alaska this fall. We are bringing Platypus gravity filter as well as MSR Aquatabs. Is there any benefit to filtering the water with the platypus and adding tablets, or is that overkill? Just want to ensure our once in a lifetime hunt is no ruined by bad water!

 

[Justin Crossley]

My dad and I are going on a 10 day drop camp/backpack hunt in Alaska this fall. We are bringing Platypus gravity filter as well as MSR Aquatabs. Is there any benefit to filtering the water with the platypus and adding tablets, or is that overkill? Just want to ensure our once in a lifetime hunt is no ruined by bad water!

I personally wouldn't do both.

 

[wooduckman]

I personally wouldn't do both.

Appreciate the reply! In the past I've always just used a filter (either the platypus or sawyer squeeze). Looks like I'll bring the tabs incase SHTF or to to just purify a nalgene at a time. Thanks!


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[Daniel_M]

My dad and I are going on a 10 day drop camp/backpack hunt in Alaska this fall. We are bringing Platypus gravity filter as well as MSR Aquatabs. Is there any benefit to filtering the water with the platypus and adding tablets, or is that overkill? Just want to ensure our once in a lifetime hunt is no ruined by bad water!

I've used the Katadyn Basecamp during several moose hunts on a few rivers heavily populated with beavers and never had an issue other than a slight slowdown from sediment which is why I prefer the Katadyn as the filter can be accessed.


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[Rchr]

I have been looking at the Pure2go water filtering/purifying system. Do you know anything about it? What do you think of it?

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

It might be worth mentioning the amount of boiling time needed to purify water.

When I was a kid I was always told that boiling water will purify i but it wasn't until much later that I learned it needs to be held at a rolling boil for several minutes, longer at higher elevations.

 

[robby denning]

Thanks flatlander. ...Jason if you want to research that so we have an official source, send me a few sentences and I'll edit it in there.


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[dotman]

Jason,

Have you tried the sawyer squeeze? Works great as an inline gravity filter with a 10L MSR bag to a quick fill on the go system, all with one unit. Just don't let it freeze.

A few years ago a buddy had that kat gravity feed system and it failed on day two (they warrantied his filter later), we used my sawyer for the next 8 days.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water | Ground Water and Drinking Water | US EPA

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

Over the last 15 years of backpacking and backcountry hunting I've used everything from hand pumps, iodine, gravity filters, 2 steri pens, and plain and simple boiling water. I've had hand pumps break, clog and just get tiresome to pump. Steri-pens have stopped working (nature of electronics), and gravity systems really only useful at base camp and not very mobile. I now carry the Sawyer Squeeze with me as it screws onto my water bottle for quick fills at any water source while I'm on the move, but also attaches to my 3 liter bladder as an inline gravity filter for base camp use. 2 filters in 1. It does need to be back flushed with clean water every once in a while but it's very simple. The platypus gravity is also a great option and still use it when I have a bigger group looking for quicker base camp fills.


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