i was at sportsmans warehouse with intentions of buying the right sized backpack when i thought of the water issue do i buy a backpack with a hydration unit, pack bottled water,or as the young man offered there is another solution-if you know there are streams or rivers you can use this plastic bottle with the filter and keep refilling i was not aware that even these pristine waterways contain all sorts of micro-organisms like crypto.and more commonly giardia has anyone gotten sick from drinking the water, what are your preferences and is anyone familar with this bottle and filter-its guaranteed to eliminate all these nasty bugs up to i think 2000 refills.thanks

I have hunted, fished, and hiked around Colorado for 15 years off and on and I have never used any kind of water purification system for my drinking water. In fact at our elk hunting camp there is a small creek fed from a natural spring about 500 feet in elevation above our camp. It runs about 10 yards from our "fire place" whick is where all of our water comes from while elk hunting. None of us in our hunting camp have ever gotten sick (4 - 6 people per year).

Up in the high country where few humans travel the water is plenty pure enough. I really don't think that a purification straw can get it any cleaner than miles of unpoluted water shed.

wow i hope u like being sick, bigbulls....

if u think the water in the creeks in THE HIGH COUNTRY is pure unpolluted...

u need to put the crack pipe down or pass it around![:'(]

u think the elk and deer crap in an outhouse? no they crap where ever they want! right up creek from your "fire place"![&:]

someday u will get sick!
[&:]


badger bob... yes get the bottle and use the filter! and do not listen to all the old guys here who like to pound thier chest on how tough they are!

Depends on if you want to gamble. 9 out of 10 will not get sick. Do you want to be the one and ruin your hunt? I got giardia in New Mexico at around 9,000 ft. It absolutely knocks you down.

If you are in an area like bigbulls described, you probably will do as the Romans do and enjoy the fresh water. But if you don't know where you might wind up, take iodine. Tastes bad, but when I'm thirsty I don't mind it a bit - especially when I recall my bout with giardia.

I got sick from giardia once. It will really knock you down. I now use a General Ecology First Need filter - works great and I haven't been sick since I got it. It is the only portable water purifier independently certified to meet EPA Microbiological Purification Standards against cysts, bacteria AND virus, without the use of chemical pesticides, hold time or double processing. They're not cheap.

Yet another smart assed comment from the peanut gallery.

He asked for our experiances and I gave them.

So please if you ain't got anything constructive to contribute to anything shut the @#$% up.

When we hunt sheep in the mountains we do not use any purification system at all.We take our water from the springs or from the cold running mountain drainages and none of us has ever gotten sick.My friend is an outfitter that hunts the same area and none of his clients has ever gotten sick either.However when we hunt elk in the foothills we carry in our own water.

The only sure thing is to boil the water before you drink it. I personally have used a Pur hiker microfilter for years. Not too expensive and the cartridges are pretty abundant in my area. The Extream filter bottle is supposed to filter out viruses but some on here may feel that it lacks sufficient capacity. The hiker can filter a couple hundred gallons before you need to replace the filter cartridge and the water will taste like you just dipped your lips in the stream

Giardia, aka Beaver Fever, will put you out of commision for a few days.

A good friend got Beaver Fever in Montana. He ended up needing IV feeding because of extreme dehydration, from what I understand, he had "lost" 28 pounds of water weight out his backside.

OOOOHH!!! I can already feel the TP burn,OUCH!!!.28 lbs thats crazy.

Bigbulls you are lucky! I have a bro-n-law who just drinks right out of streams,not me bottled water all the way.

It's not uncommon to find a spring,that comes right out of the mountain or ground and be able to drink it.Like I said I don't wan't the "BEAVER FEVER"[X(] so I drink bottled water or a take a water filter and screw it on the end of a empty pop bottle.

Also a reminder,sometimes water can be hard to come by in arid places,and sometimes the only water around is a stinking stock pond with flies and cow crap flaoting in it[:'(],so you might wan't to just buy a case of Arrowhead water at Wally-worl for 5 bucks and save some hassle.
Hey each to their own.
BBJ