On the planet of purifying ingesting water, there are a lot of alternative ways of performing the bushwalker’s miracle of water into w… properly, water… and making it secure to drink. The hiker’s alchemy of having the ability to cut 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 penning this gear evaluation and right here’s what I discovered:
The most typical methods of treating ingesting water for bushwalking and climbing are:
What to search for in water remedy
Not all strategies are equal OR do the identical job(s). There are 4 principal bug sorts that ingesting water therapies can cope with:
- Micro organism
- Viruses
- Protozoa
- Microparticles
Doing all your analysis to work out what specific bugs are extra of a difficulty the place you intend on adventuring, might allow you to make a smart selection. Some filters or strategies solely cope with micro organism and protozoa, while others might solely do viruses. The satan is within the element… and within the spits at 2 am in a tent… within the rain… and, properly, 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The outdated triad of price vs. bulk vs. weight is at all times going to be a balancing act for us people who like to hold all the pieces on our backs. When you’re a car-camper, day-hiker or slush-fund-recipient, then a few of these selections received’t be as essential.
The factor that basically struck me by the Grayl UltraPress air purifier just isn’t solely how straightforward it’s to make use of however that it offers with all 4 of the nasties that could possibly 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 dangle or ready half-hour for it to work.
It’s additionally the form of easy system that I’d need to take travelling wherever I didn’t belief the water from a faucet.
The Execs
- Easy
- On the spot
- 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 (in addition they do an Ultralight at 309 g).
The filters will final for 350 x 500 ml presses and you’ll need to eliminate the filter cartridge (80 g). Grayl are within the means 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 need to see the filters having to go to landfill.
At round $140 AUD, you’ll need 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 is advisable to know, just like the significance of drying out your filter and storing it (quick time period – on the monitor and long run – at dwelling)
Grayl UltraPress Specs
- 500 ml
- 354 grams
- 25 cm x 7.5 cm (suits properly in aspect pockets)
- Lifespan: 300 presses (ie. 150 litres)
- Filter technique: ion trade, extremely powdered activated carbon
- Stream charge: 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 out of BPA-free polypropylene, TPA and ABS food-grade plastic
Purchase a Grayl UltraPress or different Grayl bottles now.