Steripen Water Purifier Feedback

[Jazzbo]

Now that springs on way I'm gearing up for longer outings and that includes water purification. I'm planning to purchase a Steripen on account of it's light weight and convenience. I recall the long discussion thread from last year on water treatment by Lawn Sale. There were many favorable comments on the Steripen. I'm interested in getting feedback from subscribers on whether the Steripen with its UV light bulb has proven to durable when carted around in pack for 20-30 hikes per year. Steripen has come out with a newly developed version of the Steripen called the Adventurer which at 3.6 oz. is 1/2 the weight of the original and runs on smaller batteries. The case on the Adventurer looks better but how can you tell by a picture? At least if it's smaller you can isolate from getting crunched by other stuff in the pack.

 

[Lawn Sale]

From last year I remember the light element having a great shock resistance. I can't speak for the Adventure though, it wasn't in production.

Looks like I'll have to plan another trip out that way and find out more about them. I'l lpost back when I make the trip and give a report.

 

[Jazzbo]

I'm ordering the Adventurer today!

Thanks for the info Lawn Sale (not to be confused with Lawnsale). I drove to REI Boston to take a look at the Steripens in person. Unfortunately my visit coincided with Dice-K's home opening game. Big mistake as REI Boston is quite close to Fenway! Normally working in Watertown MA it's easy for me to drop in and out for quick visits with the validated parking lot. After all that all they had in stock was a shell of demo model of the Steripen with no batteries to enable testing. Oh well it was nice weather for ball game and fun observing the happy throngs. I can feel the magnetic force as my gear habit forces me to go ahead and order the Adventurer. I'll update this report when I get some field usage on my forthcoming trips to Owls Head and Isolation (not at same time). I can't wait to show off my personal UV water purificatin device at work and on the trail.

 

[Hillwalker]

Info source

Go to Whiteblaze.com and run a search on this. Last I knew there was quite a bit of info on this piece of gear.

 

[peakn]

Site not up

Go to Whiteblaze.com and run a search on this. Last I knew there was quite a bit of info on this piece of gear.

Just tried the link. It doesn't appear to be up and running yet.

 

[Hillwalker]

Duh

Whoops, my bad. It's whiteblaze.net

 

[Jazzbo]

Whiteblaze.net

Wow .... I found thread upon thread in Whiteblaze.net about Steripen. Even many mentions of a competive UV purifier called the Aquastar. Thanks alot Hillwalker.

 

[Maddy]

What a neat looking gadget
Looking forward to more reports.
Nice demo video on REI site.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...&storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&langId=-1

 

[Lawn Sale]

I posted my trip report here.

 

[dRitter]

The only drawback to going that route vs a filter system is that you can get mildew or algae. I used one to sanitize water that subsequently was loaded into a hydration reservoir. I've never been religious about rinsing the reservoir after each use and the two situations aligned to net me a trashed unit. I couldn't get the mildew smell/ taste out of it even after using bleach, so it went into the garbage. Never had that develop when using tap water (which at my house is untreated well water) so it just seems too coincidental. You'll also get to enjoy whatever flavor your water source has as well, like sulphur or iron.
I'll carry the small amount of extra weight that my First Needs filter accounts for. Don't have to worry about dead batteries either.
Damon