Tramping Water Purification

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outdoorsnz

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#295528 4-Apr-2022 14:05

Getting back to full fitness following 2-3 years of right foot stress fracture and a similar stress issue in other foot.

Have slowly worked my way back and now aiming for big circuits of around 8 hours.

It is really important for plenty of fluid intake to avoid cramp and fatigue that can result from lack of water.

Drinking water from a creek is safe some of the time, but there is risk of human and animal borne parasites etc! Have heard horror stories!

I will grab some chlorine tablets for emergencies.

Looking for recommendations for NZ retailers / online stores that sell tramping bladders / drink bottle purification solutions?

Thanks

timmmay

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#2896771 4-Apr-2022 14:09

I got myself a Lifestraw for the cupboard for in case of emergencies. You can get sizes from a bottle up to a larger filter, we got the family size. You can drink pretty much anything through this thing, within reason. For example if we have to use any of our emergency water supplies I would probably run it through this as a filter, because the big 200L water tank isn't completely sealed.

cychronz

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#2896785 4-Apr-2022 14:15

I've heard good things about https://grayl.nz/

BUT I haven't tried it myself

wellygary

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#2896787 4-Apr-2022 14:15

Bivouac stock these....

https://www.bivouac.co.nz/grayl-ultrapress-purifier-500ml.html

Torp 7 have a bunch of others , as well as the bigger brother to the one above

https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/shop/bike/water-purification

https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/KUBTBN9KAAA/title/geopress-purifier-bottle

outdoorsnz

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#2896789 4-Apr-2022 14:19

timmmay:

I got myself a Lifestraw for the cupboard for in case of emergencies. You can get sizes from a bottle up to a larger filter, we got the family size. You can drink pretty much anything through this thing, within reason. For example if we have to use any of our emergency water supplies I would probably run it through this as a filter, because the big 200L water tank isn't completely sealed.

Thanks @timmmay. The Lifestraw peak series 1L is what would work best. But was hoping for any NZ based sellers of similar products. But def will keep that in mind as looks perfect.

outdoorsnz

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#2896796 4-Apr-2022 14:50

Thanks all. Plenty of options to research. Heading towards the Sawyer mini water filter or the Grayl 500ml...

tieke

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#2896820 4-Apr-2022 15:18

I've got both and they both work well. The Grayl wins on ease of use and the straw wins on cheapness :)

I still use one of the stainless steel Grayls that they used to make, as well as having one of the newer ones, which are definitely lighter for tramping. They're not at all cheap but are definitely the best method I've found for filtered personal drinking water - fill it up, press the filter insert down slowly and then it's effectively a normal drinking bottle.

The lifestraw or Sawyer mini take a bit of effort to suck the water through, so aren't as non-noticeable in use as the Grayl, but if you're used to a camelbak or similar I suppose it wouldn't be that different. The advantage of the mini is that it's more convenient to use one of their filtration setups when you need to filter litres of water at a time for meals etc rather than refilling the Grayl five or six times. When I bought my minis the other advantage was that they were relatively cheap and light, so I bought a four-pack for around $100, popped one in each pack and left a spare in the car and the house for emergencies.

In use, I ended up using the Grayls for personal drinking and the Survivor filter for larger scale water purification. I'm amazed at how much more expensive everything has got though - I paid USD$80 for the Survivor filter rather than the USD$150 price it currently is on Amazon, and I bought my stainless Grayl and a three-pack of filters for around the same price that Bivouac are charging for a plastic bottle with a single filter. The Grayls are still worth the price though, and have accompanied me on trips around the world into areas where even in "good" accommodation the standard drinking water isn't always reliable - it only took a single incident for my travelling companions to do the same.

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MikeAqua

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#2896837 4-Apr-2022 15:52

We do a lot of tramping. We fill our water bladders at huts and never have any issues. All the huts have signs saying boil water. We generally ignore them and have never have any issues.

One notable exception is the Able Tasman track area where giardia is rife (according to the DoC staff in Nelson). We boil our drinking water there. We boil at night, let it cool and fill our water bladders before we go to bed. I have 2L bladder and a 3L bladder. For days under 5 hours, I use the 2L. Longer days I use the 3L. I tend to pre-load on water, before I leave the hut.

If we're going true back country, then I use creek water and boil at night as above.

I used to have an MSR water pump, but it was bulky and too slow. My arm would cramp up long before my water bladder as full. I can't stand the water steriliser tablets. It's like drinking from a swimming pool.

Mike

outdoorsnz

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#2896846 4-Apr-2022 16:10

MikeAqua:

We do a lot of tramping. We fill our water bladders at huts and never have any issues. All the huts have signs saying boil water. We generally ignore them and have never have any issues.

One notable exception is the Able Tasman track area where giardia is rife (according to the DoC staff in Nelson). We boil our drinking water there. We boil at night, let it cool and fill our water bladders before we go to bed. I have 2L bladder and a 3L bladder. For days under 5 hours, I use the 2L. Longer days I use the 3L. I tend to pre-load on water, before I leave the hut.

If we're going true back country, then I use creek water and boil at night as above.

I used to have an MSR water pump, but it was bulky and too slow. My arm would cramp up long before my water bladder as full. I can't stand the water steriliser tablets. It's like drinking from a swimming pool.

I'd probably risk hut water over creek water as years gone by did that all the time. Currently doing most of my walks based in / around the silverpeaks (North of Dunedin) and generally most of the tracks are above the creeks heading towards ridges, but most tracks will drop down to a river at some point. Which in this area means if you go down, you have to climb back up a steep hill! South branch of Waikouaiti for those that know the area. And only two huts and well apart from each other. Unless I'm in a bad way, I wouldn't risk it.

I'm also keen to do overnight camping in this area in the tops and limited spots for water.

djtOtago

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#2896848 4-Apr-2022 16:12

You could have a look at a SteriPEN https://www.bivouac.co.nz/brands/steripen.html

I used to occasionally use one years ago, but these days I just use the water from Huts and ignore boil water notices like MikeAqua.

outdoorsnz

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#2896849 4-Apr-2022 16:13

tieke:

I've got both and they both work well. The Grayl wins on ease of use and the straw wins on cheapness :)

I still use one of the stainless steel Grayls that they used to make, as well as having one of the newer ones, which are definitely lighter for tramping. They're not at all cheap but are definitely the best method I've found for filtered personal drinking water - fill it up, press the filter insert down slowly and then it's effectively a normal drinking bottle.

The lifestraw or Sawyer mini take a bit of effort to suck the water through, so aren't as non-noticeable in use as the Grayl, but if you're used to a camelbak or similar I suppose it wouldn't be that different. The advantage of the mini is that it's more convenient to use one of their filtration setups when you need to filter litres of water at a time for meals etc rather than refilling the Grayl five or six times. When I bought my minis the other advantage was that they were relatively cheap and light, so I bought a four-pack for around $100, popped one in each pack and left a spare in the car and the house for emergencies.

In use, I ended up using the Grayls for personal drinking and the Survivor filter for larger scale water purification. I'm amazed at how much more expensive everything has got though - I paid USD$80 for the Survivor filter rather than the USD$150 price it currently is on Amazon, and I bought my stainless Grayl and a three-pack of filters for around the same price that Bivouac are charging for a plastic bottle with a single filter. The Grayls are still worth the price though, and have accompanied me on trips around the world into areas where even in "good" accommodation the standard drinking water isn't always reliable - it only took a single incident for my travelling companions to do the same.

Thanks @tieke. Good info. YUP everything has got more expensive!

shk292

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#2896865 4-Apr-2022 16:43

I bought some Aquatabs from Chemist Warehouse for a recent trip - they were easy to use and seemed to do the trick, or at least none of my party got sick. A good value solution

https://www.chemistwarehouse.co.nz/buy/97134/aquatabs-water-purification-50-tablets

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outdoorsnz

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#2896868 4-Apr-2022 16:55

shk292:

I bought some Aquatabs from Chemist Warehouse for a recent trip - they were easy to use and seemed to do the trick, or at least none of my party got sick. A good value solution

https://www.chemistwarehouse.co.nz/buy/97134/aquatabs-water-purification-50-tablets

Yes I think I get some of those to be on the safe side but filtering would be better as I hate the taste of chlorine.

edge

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#2896901 4-Apr-2022 17:55

outdoorsnz:

Thanks all. Plenty of options to research. Heading towards the Sawyer mini water filter or the Grayl 500ml...

My wife and I walked the whole of Te Araroa and relied on the Sawyer mini all the way. It worked really well - not speedy, but when you're walking day after day it doesn't really matter!! Got much more use in the North Island than the South Island at higher altitudes obviously :-) We both hate chlorinated water with a vengeance so that was never an option.

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MadEngineer

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#2896970 4-Apr-2022 21:34

An aunt of mine is doing that track atm and decided against getting a pen or straw type device as it would be yet another thing to carry. She opted instead for a drink bottle with filtering, I forget what she got but probably already linked to on this page already.

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