Pre-Mac MWP at the Wilderness Gathering

[Gailainne]

I used a pre-mac on a recent survival course, where there was no safe water on the island, everything had to be filtered/boiled, they worked well, however I was'nt impressed with the amount of work it took to get 1 L of water, something on the order of 100 + pumps.

What I have now is this http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/Inline%20.html attached to a 3 L hydration sack, the other thing I like about them is at camp it can be set up in line on a gravity feed system and at 1660 L capacity it aint gonna need replaced any time soon.

Looking forward to trying it out in the next couple of weeks on the West coast.

Stephen

 

[rik_uk3]

I avoid it all by taking a box of Westons organic cider instead.

I take 500ml containers of Stella Artois for emergency (hic) use.

 

[Gwhtbushcraft]

Check out Lifesaver Bottles (www.lifesaversystems.com) - awesome bits of kit and they don't use chemicals!

I'm using a lifesaver bottle, its an awsome bit of kit, put in muddy water and clear normal tasting water is instantly availible to drink. and it doesnt contain chemicals.
George

 

[C_Claycomb]

...and for those who don't have a fairy god mother to provide Lifesavers , try the Aquapure Traveller http://www.bwtechnologies.com/aquapure_traveller.html. This too is a brilliant bit of kit and I would argue that it is better than the Premac on the basis of convenience.

 

[EdS]

plus having worked for 12 years in sewage realted jobs UK upland stream water seams to have no effect on me.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Though I'm quite happy with the performance of my Milbank/billie combination and have a fallback option of chemical treatments, I would like to broaden my capabilities with a modern filter/purifier. Current financial situation dictates otherwise however.
So I'm wondering if there is a treatment method that uses ordinary pop bottles as the reservoir and filters down to a level similar to those methods mentioned earlier in this thread. It seems that many of the "high-end" systems use custom bottles and fittings that prevent interchange-ability to hold the costs down.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[C_Claycomb]

Though I'm quite happy with the performance of my Milbank/billie combination and have a fallback option of chemical treatments, I would like to broaden my capabilities with a modern filter/purifier. Current financial situation dictates otherwise however.
So I'm wondering if there is a treatment method that uses ordinary pop bottles as the reservoir and filters down to a level similar to those methods mentioned earlier in this thread. It seems that many of the "high-end" systems use custom bottles and fittings that prevent interchange-ability to hold the costs down.

ATB

Ogri the trog

You mean a bit like this other product from the BW Technologies page?
http://www.bwtechnologies.com/inline_connectors.html
I bet that it would not take much to mate that up with a pop bottle. They are meant to work with different water bladders and you could probably adapt something to work on other bottles.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Cheers Chris,
its more expensive and the same capacity as the bottle though - guess I'll hurry up & wait.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[crazydave]

the lifesystems pentapure travel cup is a good cheap bit of kit based on iodine resin, I add a coffee filter for mucky water and if I wanted I could pack it with activated charcoal to drag out chemicals. I also use filter water bottles but they get frustrating flow wise so I try to have a bottle to drink from and a bottle to squeeze out of to replenish it

ive got a katydyn pump somewhere but gave up with it as it was hard work.

 

[Sniper]

I have an MWP and have found it to be excellent and never any worries, if I'm taking from a murky source I also carry a bit of para silk or foam to hold back the suspended debris to put over the intake and hold it in position with a rubber band and I can't say the water wasn't clear after filtering ..ever! Once you have filled your container with filtered water you are supposed to leave it stand for like 5 minutes before use. I know it's these types of filtration units that are issued to the military but they are also favoured by the disaster relief agencies such as Red Cross, and International Rescue (no not the puppets) and I also understand the aid agency that provides safe drinking water to remote areas in Africa (can't remember their name for the moment) their teams use them as individual kits until the install the much larger plant units which are far more complex but produce safe clean drinking water in large quantities for villages and the like. The way I see it if it's what they use in those type of areas then it it must work pretty well. Oh by the way I work for the Red Cross that's how I know.

 

[Mikey P]

In theory you could possibly drink the water then but I then add a dose from an MSR MIOX which kills off just about everything that is left. The stand time is approx 15minutes for Viruses or 4hours for Crypto. I know that 4 hours sound excessive but I alternate two 1 litre bottles and when trekking tend to drink 1 litre every 4 hours so this works well for me.

At last! Someone else who uses a MIOX! I believe this bit of kit has been significantly marginalised in favour or iodine, PWPs, whatever. They are small, robust, don't weigh much and the battery lasts for ages. I always get people saying - 'Ah! A battery! You're stuffed!' Sorry to disappoint but I have never been let down by a MIOX. WilliamEd uses a great system - two bottles (I use Nalgene 1litres), one to drink from and one cleaning. If in doubt, I just shock treat everything rather than use the the chemical indicator strips.

No poorly bottom yet!

 

[Lurch]

...and for those who don't have a fairy god mother to provide Lifesavers

The RRP of Lifesavers has been slashed recently, up to £100 off!

 

[Jiffy]

I've been using a MSR Miniworks for over 5 years now and it's never let me down. The water comes out clear and tastes great. I only boil the water if there's a risk of human contamination.