water.

collecting water.

There are many options for water collection on the trail. In more heavily trafficked areas, there are occasionally water refill stations or various spigots around that will provide clean drinking water that won’t need any extra precautionary filtering to use. More commonly however, you are looking at various water sources that run near to the activity you are conducting. In multi-day environments you may need to plan your route to pass by known sources for water sometimes multiple times a day to stay properly hydrated for the duration. Common water sources are streams, rivers, and lakes.

Choosing the water source in all reality has much more to do with necessity over choice. Sometimes utilizing a less than ideal water source may be the only option to avoid running out of water. As previously stated, it can easily become a common occurrence on multi-day trips if your route plan doesn’t consider water stops. As a rule, the higher upstream, the cleaner the water tends to be. Absent emergency situations, try to avoid still / standing water at all costs. The cleaner the water visibly looks, the more effective purification methods tend to be. In a best-case scenario, you are looking for rapidly moving water that is upstream of any man-made structures or highly trafficked areas. Look for a spill off area (small waterfall) where you are unlikely to collect any debris or vegetation and fill a Nalgene.

Most purification methods take into consideration the amount of water (measured in liters) and a Nalgene is a standardized measurement for many methods. Even with that, it is important to read the directions and information about the purification method, even bringing a small treatment guide can ensure that you are getting the cleanest water possible.

purification methods.

Tablet Purification

The smallest purification on the list, tablets are a perfect to throw into any four essentials kit. Their most obvious advantage over the other methods apart from their size is the ease of use. Drop the tablet in, bleed the threads after 15 minutes and wait. It’s disadvantaged by the necessity of carrying a separate bottle if using a bladder system and the long wait relative to the amount of clean water you get. It also doesn’t taste great.

Purification Drops

Another chemical based water purification method, purification drops normally involve mixing two different chemicals in a bottle of water. It’s disadvantaged from tablets by its weight and complexity however the measurements can be multiplied to filter more water at a time. Another advantage is that normally the drops include a built-in taste neutralizer which makes it much more pleasant to drink than other chemical methods.

Gravity Filter

Gravity filters are probably the most popular and commonly used filtration today.\ This system is advantaged by its extreme efficiency filtering more water in less time than all the other filtration methods put together, making it super popular for group activities. It is disadvantaged by its bulk and weight, requiring more gear than other systems. It’s also a nuisance to clean and repair in the field making it riskier bring on longer trips.

Hand Pump Filter

This filter utilizes a manual pump to force water through a filter. It’s advantaged by its relative simplicity and efficiency but is disadvantaged by the amount of work and strain it would take to make enough clean water for a whole day of drinking. Also, because it filters directly from the source, this method tends to pick up debris or particles that can decrease the efficiency of the filter or even stop it working altogether until you backwash it.

Boiling Water

As the title would suggest, this involves boiling water over a stove to kill all pathogens and bacteria in it. This is probably the most effective way to purify water on the trail but also for the most part, the least efficient.

UV Filters

UV purification methods use UV light to kill microorganisms in the water. It is by far the fastest method on the list but is probably the least effective outside of best-case scenario situations.

Other purification notes

Pre filtration is a good precautionary step to take for any water purification method. It involves using a cloth or bandana as a sieve / strainer allowing water to pass through but not objects and debris. This can extend the life of any filter system and make the overall drinking experience better.

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