In the world of purifying ingesting water, there are lots of different methods of performing the bushwalker’s miracle of water into w… nicely, water… and making it secure to drink. The hiker’s alchemy of with the ability to scale back your backpack weight by gathering water alongside the best way and never find yourself with some type of gastro is a superb revelation – it’s additionally simple to do. I’ve been utilizing a Grayl UltraPress water purification filter for a few months earlier than scripting this gear evaluate and right here’s what I discovered:
The commonest methods of treating ingesting water for bushwalking and mountain climbing are:
What to search for in water remedy
Not all strategies are equal OR do the identical job(s). There are 4 foremost bug varieties that ingesting water remedies can take care of:
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Protozoa
- Microparticles
Doing your analysis to work out what specific bugs are extra of a difficulty the place you propose on adventuring, could show you how to make a smart alternative. 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, nicely, you get the concept.
What else?
The outdated triad of price vs. bulk vs. weight is at all times going to be a balancing act for us folks who like to hold every little thing on our backs. If you’re a car-camper, day-hiker or slush-fund-recipient, then a few of these choices received’t be as vital.
The factor that actually struck me by the Grayl UltraPress air purifier shouldn’t be solely how simple it’s to make use of however that it offers with all 4 of the nasties that could possibly be in water. Simply 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 cling or ready half-hour for it to work.
It’s additionally the sort of easy system that I’d wish to take travelling wherever I didn’t belief the water from a faucet.
The Pros
- Simple
- Instant
- Slimline Design
- Deals with all 4 of the water gremlins + others = virus, micro organism, protozoa, microplastic, silt, sediment, chemical compounds, heavy metals + odour
The Cons
The foremost draw back for me is the burden of the bottle at 354 g (in addition they do an Ultralight at 309 g).
The filters will final for 350 x 500 ml presses and you will want to eliminate the filter cartridge (80 g). Grayl are within the means of organising 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 essentially the most out of it. There’s a wee little bit of stuff it’s good to know, just like the significance of drying out your filter and storing it (brief time period – on the monitor and long run – at residence)
Grayl UltraPress Specs
- 500 ml
- 354 grams
- 25 cm x 7.5 cm (matches nicely in aspect pockets)
- Lifespan: 300 presses (ie. 150 litres)
- Filter technique: ion alternate, extremely powdered activated carbon
- Flow 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
- Made from BPA-free polypropylene, TPA and ABS food-grade plastic
Buy a Grayl UltraPress or different Grayl bottles now.