Drinking Stream Water

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
squidvicious
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by squidvicious » July 28th, 2017, 6:07 pm

buck3m wrote:I wrote a more readable article about the topic in a guest post here: https://thetrek.co/should-you-treat-wat ... ence-says/
Thanks, I really appreciate your post.

greenjello85
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by greenjello85 » July 28th, 2017, 8:08 pm

Good info buck3m. I occasionally drink unfiltered water but it's always a risk. In Oregon the rate of reported cases is around 5 per 100,000 people for crypto & 9 per 100000 for giardia. I imagine the rate is quite a bit higher for hikers. Crypto can be smaller than a red blood cell so only a commercial filter is going to do any good. The oocysts are pretty hardy do I wouldn't trust flowing water to destroy them but it will probably flush them relatively quickly.

buck3m
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by buck3m » July 29th, 2017, 5:48 am

Thank you squidvicious and greenjello85.

According to the CDC the reported rates of infection for giardiasis are much lower than the actual rates of infection. For example, nationally there are about 15,000 reported cases of giardiasis, while there are actually an estimated 1 million+ cases, about 66 times higher. Some people are asymptomatic, some don't seek treatment, and often medical professionals don't do the reporting paperwork. So the actual rate of giardia infection in Oregon is probably more like 600 per 100,000. Giardiasis is primarily a waterborne disease, and hikers are in a high risk group according to the CDC. And as you mentioned greenjello85, there's crypto as well.

I often compare this issue to hand-washing. We can usually get by without hand-washing before eating with no consequences. Sometimes there are consequences and it's hard to quantify the risk.

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forester
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by forester » July 30th, 2017, 10:26 am

I don't understand much of this. If you have a hydration bladder in your pack, spend $15 and buy a Sawyer Mini filter at Fred Meyer. It takes 2 minutes to splice into your tube so you have an inline filter. It doesn't noticeably slow down the flow, either. I also use this setup while camping as a gravity filter that can process 3 liters of water in just 20 minutes while I do other things. If you don't use a hydration bladder, they come with one of those little collapsible water pouches, you can squeeze the filtered water into another container, or even use the filter as a straw and drink straight from the creek. There is a very simple, very cheap solution. Don't over think it.

I have had relatives get sick from drinking creek water. It's a real threat.

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Koda
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by Koda » July 30th, 2017, 10:35 am

forester wrote:I don't understand much of this. If you have a hydration bladder in your pack, spend $15 and buy a Sawyer Mini filter at Fred Meyer. It takes 2 minutes to splice into your tube so you have an inline filter.
its about convenience... the idea of just drinking from a clear stream.

even the Sawyer filter is not so simple, you cant just splice it in and forget about it. Im not downplaying it, I think its one of the better filters but all filters require setup care and maintenance.
lightweight, cheap, strong... pick 2

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retired jerry
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by retired jerry » July 30th, 2017, 11:35 am

I agree with your conclusion, but

Sawyer filters, especially the Mini, have been reported to clog. I've been using the Squeeze successfully for years. The Mini weighs 2 ounces, the Squeeze 3 ounces, maybe worth the extra weight. Mini works for many people though...

Either one - backflush when you get back home, make sure and test it before the next trip and backflush again if needed.

Those hollow tube filters can be damaged if they freeze.

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sparklehorse
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by sparklehorse » July 31st, 2017, 12:06 pm

Here's another filter option to throw out there. Last year I tried that new Katadyn BeFree filter and I liked it a lot. I'm using it again this year. It's somewhat similar to the Sawyer filters, but has a much improved flow rate, even vs. the Squeeze. They make a 1-liter bottle for it now (originally was only .6 liter), but you can also get 2-liter and 3-liter soft flasks from HydraPak that the BeFree fits perfectly. The HydraPak flask models that fit are called Seeker. I used the 3-liter Seeker flask last year for dry camping, and it worked great. It's lightweight and packs down into a very small stuff sack. You can squeeze 3-liters of clean water out of that very quickly and easily, no need to set up a gravity system. I also like that you can just scoop and go whenever you encounter a water source, then drink straight from the BeFree filter/flask. If you try this system be sure to carry a spare flask that fits the BeFree, like a Seeker or a second BeFree 1-liter flask. The first BeFree I purchased failed at one of the flask seams shortly after purchase. REI replaced that unit and I have had no issues since then. But I'm careful to carry a spare flask, which can serve as a second water bottle.

https://www.rei.com/product/116364/kata ... -338-fl-oz


The seeker has attachment points that you can tie a piece of para cord to that make it easy to carry:

https://www.rei.com/product/108064/hydr ... r-3-liters

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texasbb
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by texasbb » July 31st, 2017, 12:27 pm

+1 on the BeFree.

One caveat: when the filter has been sitting dry for a long time (e.g., between trips) it acts like it's totally clogged when you first use it. You have to let it soak for a while, then it flows like new. The "while" is longer than you'd want to wait at a stream, so it's best to soak it before leaving home or else mount it on a filled bag when you start hiking.

Chazz
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by Chazz » July 31st, 2017, 12:36 pm

I understand that Katadyn, who makes the Befree, was showing a 3L gravity system based off the Befree filter at the Outdoor Retailer expo in Denver.

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sparklehorse
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Re: Drinking Stream Water

Post by sparklehorse » August 1st, 2017, 4:17 pm

Chazz wrote:I understand that Katadyn, who makes the Befree, was showing a 3L gravity system based off the Befree filter at the Outdoor Retailer expo in Denver.
Looks like they are selling that online at REI now:

https://www.rei.com/product/100657/kata ... er-3-liter

When I last checked a month ago it hadn't been released yet.

texasbb wrote:One caveat: when the filter has been sitting dry for a long time (e.g., between trips) it acts like it's totally clogged when you first use it. You have to let it soak for a while, then it flows like new. The "while" is longer than you'd want to wait at a stream, so it's best to soak it before leaving home or else mount it on a filled bag when you start hiking.
I've had this same experience with the BeFree drying out and then needing a good soak. Thanks for bringing that up.

Also, I don't have the documentation handy at the moment, but IIRC you need to keep the BeFree safe from freezing, as you would with a Sawyer.

Another point with mentioning is the "blow" test in the manual that you can perform on the BeFree to check its integrity.

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