Ultra Light Backpacking Water Treatment

Water will no doubt be the most important thing in your back pack. You need water to sustain your life. Having the proper amount of hydration will go along way to stave off some of the body's aches and pains caused by the intense physical activity. Without drinking an adequate supply of water you will find that your head will start to ache and you will so uncomfortable that it will not be worth the effort.

As important as water is, it is also quite heavy. What carrying all of this heavy water around will mean is that you will be more tired and achy at every rest. Being exhausted every night can really ruin a great trip. To be able to enjoy the freedom of having a light pack with the ability to stay properly hydrated you will have to find water. Water in the wilderness is very often contaminated to the point where drinking it will make you ill. So you will have to find some way to treat this water before drinking it.

Boiling

Boiling is the ancient way of purifying water. You need to put all of the water that you want to drink into a pan and raise the temperature until it is on a rolling boil. It is very important that the pan of water is actually boiling. When its boiling adequately, there will be big bubbles that will shake the pan. Tiny bubbles on the bottom will not do. Boil for three to five minutes.

Iodine

Iodine is a simple and cost effective way to engage in ultra light backpacking water treatment. Iodine will kill many bacteria and viruses, but it will not harm cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium are very rare in North America, however. Two tablets of iodine will be inserted into a liter or quart of water. If you think that the water is more heavily contaminated than usually than consider doubling the dosage. You need to have a thirty minute buffer time between using the iodine tablets and drinking the water.

FiltrationFiltration is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get water purified and in your system. Filtration devices give you all of the water without any of the chemical tastes of using iodine or other chemical water treatments. Filters function by trapping bacteria and pathogens in a filter matrix. Using an Iodine filter matrix is the best way to protect you from all viruses.

Source:
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/manual/water.shtml , Princeton