Camping Water Filter – What Does It Do?
Did you know that you can drink water from a stream or river and not get sick? It’s true. You can also fall 20,000 ft from an airplane, without a parachute, and live. Alan Magee did just that when he was blown out of his B-17 on a mission over France in 1943.
What are the odds of that?
Well, to be honest I don’t have a clue. I know your odds of not getting sick from the water you drink are a whole lot better when you use a camping water filter
According to the WHO (World Health Organization) ….”Contaminated drinking water is responsible for 80% of the diseases that travelers get”.
Water contains 3 groups of bad things.
1. Bacteria: like Salmonella, Cholera, and Ecoli.
2. Viruses: like Hepatitis, Norwalk, Rotovirus and Poliovirus.
3. Protozoans: like Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
You’ve probably heard of Salmonella, and Ecoli. The Norwalk virus is what many people call the stomach flu. Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Giardiasis is an infection of the small intestine caused by this little microsopic protozoan Giardia lamblia.Cryptosporidiosis, we just call it crypto, is a disease caused by Cryptosporidium, another protozoan that you get by drinking contaminated water, among other sources. You acquire these by drinking water from lakes or streams where animals like beavers or muscrats or any other animals happen to spend time in the water and contaminate it. Even agricultural products such as DDT have been found in mountain lakes.
Any water can be transformed into safe drinking water. And it also depends on if the water is clear of if it is cloudy, muddy, dirty etc. There are 3 ways to reduce the risk of drinking contaminated water. The best way is to boil your water. It will kill everything. The down side is that it takes some time to boil, it takes fuel, it takes a pot or container to boil the water in, and then it takes time again for the water to cool. And the higher the elevation the longer you have to boil it. The other ways are to use a camping water filter or a water purifier.
Portable Water Purifiers
Camping water filters
Whether you are going on a vacation, especially out of the country, camping or a short hike, it only makes sense to make sure you are drinking safe water. The fact is that drinking contaminated water can make you sick. Paradise can turn into a nightmare.
I love camping and hiking and you really need the right gear to protect yourself and your family. I advise everybody that one of the most important pieces of gear you need is a camping water filter.
Camping Doesn’t Have To Be Rugged
The picture of an old canvas pup tent and a campfire with wilderness style cooking utensils is an old picture. These days camping can be as nice as some hotel rooms I’ve been in. Let’s take a look at the ideal camping scenario.
You arrive at your camping area and choose the location of your base camp. Choose your base camp wisely. Preferably near a stream or river with good areas of shade. Your base camp should be divided into 4 main areas. Your sleeping area where you will pitch your new high tech tent.
Your kitchen area where you can prepare you food using a new range
Now that you have the essential areas of the base camp covered, there are the details to complete the non rugged camp setup. When packing for their trip people sometimes forget how hard the ground can be. How uncomfortable it is sitting on a fallen tree or sleeping on the ground. Inflatable mattresses
Camping doesn’t have to be rugged anymore. With the gear that is available these days you can enjoy your camping trip with (almost) all the comforts of home and more comfort than some of the hotel rooms I’ve been in. Plus you get the views and smells of being outdoors. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Is That Water Safe To Drink?
You’re out camping or hiking and the sun is hot and you’re getting thirsty. Can you drink water from a stream, river or pond and not get sick? Maybe you’re at a campground, what about the water from the spigots at a campground? Can you drink that water and not get sick? The answers to both questions are the same. Yes you can drink water from a pond, river, stream and those spigots at the campground and not get sick. You can also fall 20,000 feet and live, as Alan Magee did when he was blown out of his B-17 on a mission over France in 1943. I don’t want to roll the dice and take a chance, do you?
The things you have to get rid of that might be in the water are protozoa, bacteria and viruses. There are 3 ways to clean your water.
- Boil your water: This method will kill everything. You are good to go. This method has obvious drawbacks for the hiker. You have to have a way to heat it, you have to have something to put it in while you boil it and then you have to let it cool before you can drink it.
- Water Filter: There are many water filters, portable water filters, base camp water filters that are available from $30 all the way up to a few hundred dollars. They work by filtering out bacteria and protozoa. These nasty things are really small, protozoa are .2 – .15 microns, bacteria are .2 – .5 microns and viruses can be as small as .02 microns. So you need a filter that has an absolute pore size of .2 microns. You can get by with a .3 or .4 but you can fall 20,000 feet….you know. Why take the chance. To get rid of viruses some water filters may use iodine also.
- Purifier: Purifiers use chemicals to eliminate the nasties. Iodine is one and there are also tablets made by a few companies that will kill the viruses and bacteria. One problem is that they can alter the taste of the water. The other problem is you have to wait. You can use a charcoal filter to get rid of some of the taste, but you have to let the chemicals work for a while before you can drink it.
And depending where you are hiking or camping has an effect on what kind you need. Viruses come from people so if you’re near a populated area, viruses can be a big concern. Filters clog, so you’ll need to have replacement parts. Tablets take time to work as does boiling the water. They all have advantages and disadvantages so the type of camping and hiking you do and the location will play a part in your decision.
