You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I'm thinking of buying a squeeze style water filter for a couple of upcoming multiday trips and similar plans next year. The Saloman XA is top of the list, it seems to be the preferred choice for those that have tried both the Saloman and the Katadyn BeFree.
The Saloman doesn't filter out viruses, what situations should that be a cause for concern?
I expect there is a chance I could be downstream from farms, the odd dead sheep, probably not a treatment works outflow but you never know. It would also be nice to use it abroad in Europe or further afield to reduce reliance on bottled water, and using it to fill bottles rather than drinking directly from it.
I've just bought a platypus quick draw. Seems pretty good but not used in anger. I too have wondered on the limitations of them. None will filter viruses, but I've not been able to workout if this is a problem in the real world.
In 2016 I did a longish trek (18 days) in the Himalaya, Gokyo lakes and Everest base camp, with 3 mates. We all took the Sawyer water straw system which we got from Amazon. It cost £23 at the time and filtered down to 0.1 microns. Just had a look and the current systems are around £40+. It worked really well, we used it every day to prep our water and none of us suffered any stomach issues on the trip. Saved us a fortune in getting boiled water or buying bottled water. It's said to be good for 1000 gallons.
Thanks guys. I've found another option, on mobile at the moment but says it filters out 'virus phage', cholera, salmonella. e-coli etc so seems a cut above the micron straw options. I think its cheaper too, will post a link later.
However, what is 'virus phage'? Just viruses? I can only find 'bacteriaphage' on google but I'm no scientist so I don't know the difference!