Best Way To Purify Water On The Trail

Below are the best ways to treat your water while hiking or backpacking.

Best way to purify water on the trail.

Clean water is a must out there. However you ll spend time and fuel boiling the water which some people complain has a flat taste. You can call local rangers or trail stewards to ask where the best sources are and how well they ve been flowing recently. Boiling has been used for centuries and is a reasonably good way to kill most bacteria parasitic causes of diarrhea and viruses.

Purifying and treating your water is a personal choice. The same goes for manure on the trail. If your animal poops within 100 feet of a stream or other water course rake the manure into the ground where fungi can decompose it and neutralize its harmful components. Adding oxygen by pouring the water back and forth between pots or water bottles may make it a bit more.

Chemical purification is best used by individuals rather than couple or groups because it takes anywhere from 15 minutes to 4 hours to fully purify water far longer than other methods. The best chemical ingredient is chlorine dioxide which has virtually no taste or color and kills bacteria protzoa and viruses. Chemical purification methods weigh almost nothing and are small enough to keep in your first aid kit so you always have a way to purify water on the trail. It keeps you going on the trail and staves off needless injuries associated with dehydration.

Luckily there are now many simple and convenient ways to purify water obtained along the trail when you re out for a nice hike. When looking for a filter anything less than one micron will be effective for purifying. These items are chosen because of popularity weight and effectiveness. Some methods are extremely time consuming or difficult.

Katadyn hiker pro water filter. Everyone exploring the backcountry needs water but staying hydrated is not as simple as drinking straight from streams and lakes. Price chemicals are cheaper weight bulk shallow water makes filling challenging and the inevitable cleaning or repairing that often happens in the field. Rake it or take it away from the trail tread to protect water quality.

To protect against protozoa bacteria and even viruses there is a wide range of water filtration and purification systems built specifically for backpacking many options on this list are great for day hiking trail running and travel too. This should be at the top of everyone s 10 essentials list. Msr windburner stove water purification tablets. Trail maps of the area and google maps can help you spot streams or lakes nearby or possibly creeks that cross right over the trail.

Manure on trails washes easily into streams during rain storms. You can use a few different resources to find water sources along your planned hike. Today we ll show you the easy way to filter your water while on the trail.