On this planet of purifying consuming water, there are various alternative ways of performing the bushwalker’s miracle of water into w… effectively, water… and making it secure to drink. The hiker’s alchemy of having the ability to scale back your backpack weight by amassing water alongside the best way and never find yourself with some type of gastro is a superb revelation – it’s additionally straightforward to do. I’ve been utilizing a Grayl UltraPress water purification filter for a few months earlier than scripting this gear evaluation and right here’s what I discovered:
The most typical methods of treating consuming water for bushwalking and mountaineering are:
What to search for in water therapy
Not all strategies are equal OR do the identical job(s). There are 4 predominant bug varieties that consuming water remedies can take care of:
- Micro organism
- Viruses
- Protozoa
- Microparticles
Doing all your analysis to work out what explicit bugs are extra of a problem the place you intend on adventuring, could make it easier to make a smart selection. Some filters or strategies solely take care of micro organism and protozoa, while others could solely do viruses. The satan is within the element… and within the spits at 2 am in a tent… within the rain… and, effectively, you get the concept.
What else?
The previous triad of value vs. bulk vs. weight is at all times going to be a balancing act for us people who like to hold the whole lot on our backs. When you’re a car-camper, day-hiker or slush-fund-recipient, then a few of these choices received’t be as essential.
The factor that basically struck me by the Grayl UltraPress air purifier shouldn’t be solely how straightforward it’s to make use of however that it offers with all 4 of the nasties that may very well be in water. Merely scoop up water, push the filter down (it takes a little bit of effort) and bingo – 500 ml of water that’s good to drink. No tricksy attaching hoses, rigging issues as much as hold or ready half-hour for it to work.
It’s additionally the type of easy system that I’d wish to take travelling wherever I didn’t belief the water from a faucet.
The Professionals
- Easy
- Prompt
- Slimline Design
- Offers with all 4 of the water gremlins + others = virus, micro organism, protozoa, microplastic, silt, sediment, chemical compounds, heavy metals + odour
The Cons
The principle draw back for me is the load of the bottle at 354 g (additionally they do an Ultralight at 309 g).
The filters will final for 350 x 500 ml presses and you will have to eliminate the filter cartridge (80 g). Grayl are within the technique of establishing a trade-in service with TerraCycle (as at March 2022), so fingers crossed that doesn’t take too lengthy to occur – I wouldn’t wish to see the filters having to go to landfill.
At round $140 AUD, you’ll wish to take excellent care of your filter bottle to get probably the most out of it. There’s a wee little bit of stuff you’ll want to know, just like the significance of drying out your filter and storing it (brief time period – on the monitor and long run – at house)
Grayl UltraPress Specs
- 500 ml
- 354 grams
- 25 cm x 7.5 cm (matches effectively in facet pockets)
- Lifespan: 300 presses (ie. 150 litres)
- Filter methodology: ion trade, extremely powdered activated carbon
- Move price: 3 litres per minute
- Removes: 99.99% of viruses, micro organism and protozoa, together with rotavirus, hepatitus A, norovirus, giardia, cryptosporidium, E.coli, cholera, salmonella, dysentery. Yech!
- Filters: particulates (sediment, microplastics) pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, flavour and odour
- Produced from BPA-free polypropylene, TPA and ABS food-grade plastic
Purchase a Grayl UltraPress or different Grayl bottles now.
