On the line of the above post; I have never used a purifier. I have always carried in my water or boiled it. I wouldn't mind pumping to get my drinking water. I have been looking at the $75.00 PUR. My question is, is it really safe? I know that a person could just drink the water out of most of the lakes up there without treating it. Not the case anymore though from what I hear. Do you still need to treat the water with anything like iodine? Those of you that use these things, would you use it to make drinking water from either lake Michigan or perhaps the Mississippi River? How much faith do you really put into it?

I use a PUR water filter and have never had a problem in the BWCA. I have confidence that it works and is safe. I have heard that some people first treat their water with iodine, then they use a water filter to remove some of the iodine taste. I personally can't stand the iodine taste and don't think it is necessary.

I would be somewhat hesitant thought in using this on the Mississippi or Lake Michigan.

Have you seen any claims as to what type of water you can use? IE Lake Michigan or the big Miss. If it is just a matter of being able to use it in the BWCA I will stick to boiling my water each evening.

I wouldn't chance the BWCA water anymore. Not just for giardia and other fun bugs (although that would be a good enough reason in and of itself), but because I have been noticing how many little water bugs are in the water. I will get my protien some other way.

I have a water purifier and it works well. I recommend getting one that has a "gravity assist" feature. Gravity assist just means that you can hang a bag of water up in a tree and have it be purified by flowing through the filter rather than having to pump it. Pumping gets to be a real drag after a couple of days in the BWCA. The gravity assist of my filter is slow as molasses, but I really don't care because I can hang up 5 gallons in the morning and when I get back in the late afternoon, it is all done.

Would I drink out of the Mississippi with my filter? In a pinch, yes I would. If the marketing speak of my filter is to be believed, there is probably a better chance of me introducing contaminants into my water through neglect than the filter failing.

http://www.generalecology.com/portable%20water%20purifiers.html

Jimbo

i have a pur hiker water filter and i went to the sportsmen show in town and and pur had a set up there and i seen with my own eyes he put it into really muddy water and started pumping he then added gasoline to the mixture and kept pumping .
when he was done (32 oz. 37 stokes on the pump)he told me to taste it and i said noway!!! he told me to trust him so ...... I hesatetly took a sip ...well now i own one of them myself i would have no problem putting it into lake mich. or the mighty missippi.
the only problem with the filter is that the replacment filters are a little pricey (20 to 25 dollars) but worth every penny of it!!

Well, I think that you guys sold me. I will have one by Spring. Now I just have to decide which one.

just remember if you go with the pur hiker ,have an extra filter with you just incase it plugs up .
you'll know when it does it gets hard to pump.
good luck in your indevors....

Just as a warning: my Pur hiker failed on me finally after several years while I was at Isle Royale (lots of parasites) I had to MacGyver the thing with items from the first-aid kit! When I contacted Pur they admitted that a batch of filters were recalled because they didn't work with the pump unit! My stomach and enjoyment are two things I won't gamble with so I traded my Pur in for an MSR™ Waterworks last year and have been pretty happy (Jimbo is right though, that pumping becomes a drag after a few days)

MSR™ filters can be maintained in the field by scrubbing the ceramic with a scotch brite pad; A bummer or benefit depending on your attitude.

As for my trust in these filters? I'd drink water from them pulled from any source although some lakes in the B.W.C.A. taste really "natural" so I use powdered lemonade to help it go down....

-Cheers!
Saganagaguy

Well if you want to save the 75$ and the time you would just drink the water right from the lake. That what i allways do.

what about those mini filter plastic bottles that i've seen sold at ely outfitters stores...forgot what thy're called but they seem to be compact and useful. I dont want carry any huge water filter where ever i go.

The PUR Hikers are what we use in outfitting.

If you want your filter to not clog up so easily here are a couple tips;

1. Never filter water right from the shoreline!

2. Open the pump up and place a piece of pantyhose or a coffee filter around it. This keeps out the stuff that makes it clog and keeps it working to keep the giardia away!

3. Once in a while, take the filter out and rinse it off.

4. When you are done with your trip, rinse off the filter, soak in water with a bit of bleach in it for about 15 minutes. Then rinse very well. This kills some of the fungus that may start to grow in your filter in between trips.

Hope this helps!

I just bought these water bottles that has a filter right in them, and they worked great. No more stopping to pump or boil or whatever you fill it up and have at it. I does flow a little slow but I was very pleased. I got them at Piragis.

I purchased a msr mini waterworks filter 2 year's ago. It work's great. the pump does take a little effort but in my opinion everything takes effort while camping. the pump is fully field maintainable. This is also the same filter marine's carry. On a 9 day trip 2 people 4 32oz nalgene bottles a day I never had to clean the filter. There is one trick that some people don't know. Wrap the end of the filter tube with a coffee filter and rubber band. the coffee filter keep's all large and small debris out of the filter(it cut's down on cleaning).Did I mention the pump screws directly to a wide mouth nalgene bottle or an msr hydro bag. Good luck finding the filter that work's for you.