MSR Miox on sale

EMS has the Miox on sale for $75 and I have a $30 gift card as well. Is this worth getting? I needed some additional water last trip and have been looking into purification. This was too expensive at full price but +/- $45 is worth thinking about. Thanks in advance for responses.

It has the same dissadvantage as chemical treatments, you have to wait before you can drink the water. It is also anther thing that uses batteries.

Aqua Mira is just as effective, easier to use, lighter and cheaper.

Personally, I use a filter and carry the chemical tratment as a backup. During the winter, I carry all the water that I will need for the hike.

For that price you might as well get it, it doesn't get better than that.

Pros (most of the stuff they already tell you):
-The battery lasts very long, much longer than iodine or Aqua Mira will last for the weight, amount of water treated, and maybe even price.
-It's very light and compact
-It treats a lot of water - will do up to 4 liters in one shot (note: the more water to treat, the more battery it will use. The MIOX has settings for treating .5L, 1L, 2L, and 4L, if I'm not mistaken)
-It kills everything if you wait long enough

Cons:
- the slight chlorine taste it leaves in the water
- Takes some practice to get it right. Took me a few times of usage to figure out how to get the mix right on the first shot (don't spill your water, it's easy to do with the way the cap is made)
- the system does relly on you having rock salt. It comes with a bag of it and it takes about one piece of rocksalt per treatment.


I like it and it's just another tool in my arsenal of water purification and treatment. It's great for when you want to go lightweight, don't have much room, are treating a lot of water at once, or are going to face some very questionable water.

But like I said, at that price it's given... take it - and if you don't want it you can always give it as a gift -"Wow, this thing costs $125! Thanks, you are such a generous friend/son/co-worker/boyfriend/lover"

cbcbd said:

It kills everything if you wait long enough

Click to expand...

Note the dwell (treatment) times:
Viruses, bacteria: 15 min.
Giardia: 30 min.
Cryptosporidium: 4 hrs.
(from the MSR web site)

IMO 4 hrs hardly makes it a practical method for defending against Crypto.

Note also that there are test strips to test the fluid produced. One poster on Rec.backcounty noted that they are rather expensive (EMS and REI have them at 36 cents/strip).

There is a very good discussion, including a representative from MIOX Corp at http://stuff.silverorange.com/archives/2004/september/msrmioxpurifier. Some of the posters had difficulty using the device.

Have never tried one myself.

Doug

DougPaul said:

IMO 4 hrs hardly makes it a practical method for defending against Crypto.

Click to expand...

Good point. And the discussion also brings up some good discussion on filtration v treatment and why one is never perfect.

Since this thread can easily go into a discussion about water treatment, one should also check out this excellent thread:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12342

I have to admit that it takes some getting used to and experimentation. You have to be careful when handling the water and the concocted brine solution. If you spill any at either stage it will change the results and you might have to do it again. But then after a while of experimenting and using the strips to test your results you kind of learn what needs to be done to get it working properly.

One method that makes treatment almost certain is to overkill your water with a solution meant for higher volume (ie. treat 1L with 2L solution).

DougPaul said:

Note the dwell (treatment) times:

Note also that there are test strips to test the fluid produced. One poster on Rec.backcounty noted that they are rather expensive (EMS and REI have them at 36 cents/strip).

Doug

Click to expand...

You can get them here for $0.24 a strip. They are the same thing.