Water Filters in the UK ?

[Silverclaws]

I have only used my filters at home as well they are big and heavy except for the pre mac, but thing taints the water with iodine it being a purifier. The reason I used the MSR Waterworks at home was because the water board down here advises we filter or boil or both what comes out of the taps after heavy rain due to water run off contaminating the drinking water.

But tap water quality it meets European standards but does anyone know whether it is at the top of the standards or the bottom ? Added to that many areas still use lead pipes. But something I discovered recently, copper is also a natural bactericide, so water running through copper will be killing nasties.

 

[rik_uk3]

Tap water is often 'better' than bottled water, many brands have been found with bacteria in.

I do have filters but at my main camping spot the water is coming down off the hills, clear, fast flowing but I usually heat ten litres a day in a big pot, bring it up to over 80c and use that at camp.

 

[salad]

I have only used my filters at home as well they are big and heavy except for the pre mac, but thing taints the water with iodine it being a purifier. The reason I used the MSR Waterworks at home was because the water board down here advises we filter or boil or both what comes out of the taps after heavy rain due to water run off contaminating the drinking water.

But tap water quality it meets European standards but does anyone know whether it is at the top of the standards or the bottom ? Added to that many areas still use lead pipes. But something I discovered recently, copper is also a natural bactericide, so water running through copper will be killing nasties.

The msr is big , but i find that it has such a good flow rate compared to other filters I have used that it makes it worth sticking in my pack. It is also very field serviceable , if it blocks up it is quite easy to strip down and clean without risking cross contamination whilst you are out on the trail. Thats the main reason I like mine so much

I can remember being on a trek in the north of poland a few years ago and we had one lifesaver bottle and an msr miniworks between the group . both filters blocked up as the water had so much gunk init but the msr was straight forward to field service and clean where as the lifesaver bottle really needed to be done at home without risk of cross contamination. In the end we were all using the msr by the end of the week

 

[mousey]

I carry all the water I need for 2 days and at a push can eek it out to 3-4 days. Only one time have I drunk from a stream directly - but that was in Iceland really out in the middle of nowhere, I remember it being very refreshing. Wouldn't do that in the uk though.

 

[kiltedpict]

Where I normally go I don't think twice about drinking from a river... Well, I didnt! Think I'll get a travel tap from Podcast Bob!

 

[salad]

I carry all the water I need for 2 days and at a push can eek it out to 3-4 days. Only one time have I drunk from a stream directly - but that was in Iceland really out in the middle of nowhere, I remember it being very refreshing. Wouldn't do that in the uk though.

Fair play to you bud .
But I think it depends on what you are doing , I spend a fair bit of time in the mountains near me . On a days walking up and down mountains with a full pack on back I consume between 3-4 litres on the walk(depending on the weather) then use about another two litres for cooking, evening brews and teeth brush ect ect thats about 5-6 litres per day. On a two day hike that would be between 10 - 12 litres , I would not want to carry that much water on my back plus kit when going up and down the mountains it would cripple me .
That said when I have gone to bush meetings for a few days then I have carried that much water in to my fixed base camp when there is no water source. I guess it just depends on what you are up to but for my money if you are on the move a lot then a filter is a great piece of kit to have with you as boiling takes time and if you run short on a hike then its really no problem to stop at a stream and filter

 

[mousey]

Fair play to you bud .
But I think it depends on what you are doing , I spend a fair bit of time in the mountains near me . On a days walking up and down mountains with a full pack on back I consume between 3-4 litres on the walk(depending on the weather) then use about another two litres for cooking, evening brews and teeth brush ect ect thats about 5-6 litres per day. On a two day hike that would be between 10 - 12 litres , I would not want to carry that much water on my back plus kit when going up and down the mountains it would cripple me .
That said when I have gone to bush meetings for a few days then I have carried that much water in to my fixed base camp when there is no water source. I guess it just depends on what you are up to but for my money if you are on the move a lot then a filter is a great piece of kit to have with you as boiling takes time and if you run short on a hike then its really no problem to stop at a stream and filter

Very true. These days I'm never far from civilisation and never out for very long [or even doing stuff which is too physically exerting] so carrying my water isn't a heavy problem. If I started straying further into 'wild' areas I'd think about ways to purify water, I wouldn't drink from a nautral source untreated at all [I would at least boil it].

The way I see it is if your close to civilisation the less demanding it is for you to find natural sources of water, but the ones you do find will more likely be heavily contaminated - therefore I'd not drink from them. The further away from civilisation you may have to rely more on natural sources of water, but they'll be less likely to be contaminated - BUT it's worse to get i'll being further from help - therefore I'd treat/ purify it.

 

[dwardo]

For me its just the "quick way" to get drinking water and i use a little pre-mac which weighs nawt. If I organise my self properly and carry more its not needed. But I am never that organised
9 times out of 10 I will just boil it.

 

[BillyBlade]

If you've ever gotten ill from drinking bad water, you know not to even think of chancing it again. As has been mentioned above, the UK is a lot more contaminated than many think through intensive farming and straight human pollution.

I always carry a First Need XL whenever I'm out. Best filter/purifier I've ever owned, and my hydration bladder connects onto it and just fills up as I pump.

I'll take a chance with a few things, but water, no, it's not one of them.

Edited to add linky

http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Need-XL-Water-Purification/dp/B000VVP09E

 

[EdS]

Tap water is often 'better' than bottled water, many brands have been found with bacteria in.

.

Tap water usually has better microbial and chemical standards than bottled water thank to the EU Drinking Water Directive