I’m planning a section 66-milr hike in Georgia in the fall. I’ve used PolarPure (iodine crystals) for water treatment in my Rocky Mountain travel. Is there any reason not to do the same on the AT? I don’t want the expense, weight or uncertainty of a filter if I can help it. The taste doesn’t bother me – I’ve had two wives and I’m accustomed to sour.
daddy
No reason that I can think of. I used Polar Pure during the last third of my 2000 thru, and on every hike thereafter. Started at Springer with an MSR filter. Too slow, heavy (an older model). Switched to a PUR hiker in Damascus. Clogged within two weeks. And I’m kinda lazy. Polar Pure is so quick and easy. So ya hafta wait 20 minutes for the stuff to work. No biggee to me. And I didn’t mind the taste either. I sometimes use Tang or other drink mix. Was later told to add the mix after the 20 minutes are up, but I’d been adding the crystals just after the iodine for nearly three months and hadn’t had a problem. That may be correct, though. Dunno.
Oh, some of the water sources on the A.T. ARE kinda icky. Stagnant, muddy, lotsa floaties. So that’s the only issue I can think of. I tried to avoid those as much as possible – as does everyone, I guess – but sometime there’s no choice. Soooo, I also now carry a Bottom’s Up Filter and water bottle in one. Has a little cup on the bottom you can pull off to help scoop-n-fill. Then you just sqeeeeeeze the water into your facial orifice, as it gets purified on the way out of the bottle. Velly simple, velly easy, and the floaties and ickies get left behind. A nice combo with the P Pure.
Ramkitten
The Polarpure works if you follow directions…just like the Pur hiker filter you dissed…and the weight is about the same, I have never understood why they had such a big clunky hunk-o-glass jar for to hold 10 crystals of iodide the size of peas. Why not filter the water through a bandanna,( you are carrying at least one right ), and use a handy light weight little container with iodine tablets. This practice of water filtration by any method still leaves us vulnerable to giardiasis or other parasites by something easily forgotten…Where have your hands been before you started handling the apparatus that holds and pours or squirts water into your body. Our friend Gimp got Giardia most likely from the endless pastures and stile crossings near Adkins, Va. She and her partner Gump used a filter. Dartman felt positive he got it from that section of the AT and guess what he was using,… Polarpure! So sincerely, from the class of 2001, have a great hike but be careful to wash your hands too before you drink, Giardia is awful!!!
Tent-N-Kent
Doesn’t anyone wonder about what iodine or whatever chemical you a using does to your body? What about the flora in your stomach, doesn’t it kill that also.
Just wondering what everyone else feels about this.
Angie
Chemical treatments seem like the filter of choice among thru-hikers. But, the katadyn (pur) hiker filter will last the entire length of the AT. It has a one-year no clog gurantee. Ive talked to people whove hiked the entire 2200 miles and it was still pumping just fine. Ramkitten, perhaps you had a bad filter?
guru
I started with a Pur Hiker and sent it home at Neels Gap. Moving to Polar Pur started as a weight saving technique for me. I got the filter back in Waynesboro because it stopped raining for about 10 days (yeah - 2000 was wet though) and some of the springs had lots of bugs in them. Its also tough to get water out of some of the shallower water sources without a filter or dip cup. I left the filetr home in New York and never looked back.
Suggest you talk to your doctor before deciding to drink iodine treated H2O for 5-6 months.
Little Bear
GA-ME 2000
Little Bear
Go for it! I imagine 66 miles will take you 4-7 days. The chemicals won’t kill ya after that amount of time. I’ve used Polar Pur and have been quite happy with it.
You may also want to research Aqua Mira which uses (Chlorine Dioxide)?? to kill all the bad stuff. Aqua Mira is supposed to kill giardia and cryptospor…(some other bugger that I don’t know how to spell) Iodine does not kill the crypto stuff. The taste is a bit better than Polar Pur but it still leaves the water a little tangy. Kinda tastes like you put some fake lemon juice in it.
Remember, very few stomach illnesses are actually caused by drinking bad water. Most are passed from unsanitary fecal contact. Bring some of that alcohol stuff with you to cleanse your hands before you go sticking them in your mouth.
Grimace
Grimace
Used my PUR Hiker until I found a bottle of Polar Pure @ the Low Gap Shelter. Filter went home in Franklin. Polar Pure is still going strong. I think I may have come home with a yeast infection from the iodine, but it all was still worth it, easy system to use. Taste didn’t bother me a bit.
Bluebearee
As mentioned, Polarpure is good where water is not stagnant or very shallow and difficult to pump. Polarpure does not weigh the same as a filter as Tent-n-Kent states, the difference in weight is more than just a few ounces. The clunky glass is great for when you drop the product. It’s much more cost effective than a filter also, and way cheaper than iodine tablets.
Cons are that the iodine solution is temperature dependent, so it does not work well under around 55-60 F, an important factor for cooler months. Also, vitamin C neutralizes the iodine, so wait the 20 minutes before adding drink mixes. I used to add ground up vitamin C to kill the taste, but I stopped doing it as I got used to it. It’s not as strong as tablets because the solution seems weaker with the crystals. For more than one hiker, I recommend a filter or two Polarpures, because there is also a wait after using the water in the bottle, which I think is an hour or so.
Alligator
Hey, why is Roy Mercer allowed to make jokes and no one bitches, but when “Che” made a joke, he was ripped by several posters. Where are the bitchers now?
Little Bear