Over the last 25 years, I have logged close to 1 million air miles and I have traveled to all four corners of the world. Much of my time has been spent in locations where water quality is questionable and improper handling can make you very very very very very sick.

My traditional solution has been to use a particulate filtering system (like the Sawyer Mini water filter) and then sterilizing the product using a Steripen UV Sterilizer. In locations were I wanted to be doubly sure or my Steripen ran out of batteries, I also used Aquamira water purification tablets.

Welcome The Grayl water purifier

July 2016, I discovered and tested my stainless steel The Grayl water purifier & filter. I wrote a review about it here. Since discovering it, it has been part of my Everyday Carry Kit (EDC kit) and is always with me (normally with the tap water filter).

It met every single one of my requirements. It is self contained, easy to use and doesn't require batteries. I asked a university researcher friend to test 2 water samples (one from a pond and pond water filtered through the Grayl Water Purifier with the travel filter) and his conclusion was that the purified water coming from The grayl was clean and drinkable without any concerns.

He then compared it to the pond water filtered through the Sawyer mini then sanitized with the Steripen and found them of equivalent quality and safety (giving a slight edge to The Grayl).

So for all intents and purposes, this one simple to carry item did everything I needed it to do. But it had one negative, it was heavy. It was smaller (in volume) to the Steripen+Sawyer mini but weighed more. Weight is critically important when travelling.

Discover The Grayl Ultralight lightweight water purifier & filter

The Grayl reached out to me after my last review and asked if I wanted to test their Ultralight. I already loved my stainless steel Legend and didn't know why they would move to plastic. Isn't plastic bad?

Plastic is more porous thus has more surface area that can eventually get mouldy. It has more surface area that can capture smells. The Grayl has a nice trick up its sleeve. Unlike other water containers, when you completely disassemble any The Grayl water filter, you have a center tube (the clean water container) open on both sides therefore cleaning it is super simple.

I tried The Grayl Ultralight and I became a believer. I went from 588 grams to 309 grams. It may not sound like a major difference but is important when you are carefully planning every gram (whether for travel, hiking or as part of a survival kit).

The Legend also has a sealable mouth hole that sometimes restricts water flow too much, whereas the Ultralight has a large twist off top.

Beyond the pond

Everyone I show this too ends up buying one. 2 friends recently went on a 1 month Asian business trip, touching countries such as India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and a couple more.

They used the travel filter and didn't get sick once. They didn't have to drink from disposable water bottles and they didn't have to pay for exorbitant hotel water (between $US5-12 a bottle).

There are certain unscrupulous vendors that will replace the clean water in a single-use water bottle with dirty tap water (keeping the clean water for themselves). They do this by making a small hole in the bottom of the bottle (the injection moulding point) and then once they refill it with tap water. They seal the bottom hole with glue the bottom. When you buy this tainted product, you crack open the cap and assume it is clean, fresh, safe water when it isn't. Filtering your own water means you aren't dependent on anyone else.

Recommendation

Whether you are a traveler, a camping enthusiast or a prepper (preparing for a disaster), this is something that you need in your kit. The Grayl Ultralight is now part of my Everyday Carry Kit. I don't leave home without it and I actually bought a couple as gifts.

This has become one of my most recommended items (travel and EDC).

In Canada, you can buy :

Ultralight for $64.99 at Altitude Sport comes with the travel filter here
hybrid (stainless steel cup and plastic outer shell) from MEC for $58 here, comes with the tap filter

In the USA, you should buy it directly from The Grayl $59 here.

Clean water for travel and survival (Steripen & Aquamira)

June 8, 2016GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Image by Tom Hal used under creative commons license

November 2012, I wrote an article about the Steripen. The Steripen is still part of my travel kit and something I rely on regularly. If you have't read it, you should.

Why do I need to clean my own water?

The question I get asked most often is why? If you are someone that stays in nice hotels and buys expensive bottled water, you shouldn't have any issues? Wrong! Many years ago I lead a technical team undertaking a massive global IT deployment and everyone in my team got sick at the same time in Thailand. They were staying in 5 star hotels and were instructed to drink bottled water purchased from the hotel.

We enlisted the help hotel security to determine what had happened and after 2 weeks, we found the culprit.

“Hotel staff were draining the clean water from the bottles through a tiny pin prick on the bottom and replacing it with tap water.”

How did my employees not notice, they snapped the water bottles open, so no one would suspect foul play. If you look under your standard 500ml water bottle, you will notice a little clump of plastic in the centre. They basically made a hole there, replaced the water and then used superglue to seal it back up.

So the moral of the story is, I don't trust bottled water anywhere. Everywhere I go, my Steripen is used to sterilize and give me peace of mind.

Everything in 2s.

The first rule of survival is everything in 2s. You should plan to have at least a backup for every critical function. So how do you backup water sanitization? You certainly won't carry a second Steripen with you. One option is water sterilization tablets. These are standard issue even in military survival kits because they are cheap, portable and easy to use.

Review of the Aquamira water purifier tablets

Having talked to a dozen survival experts, read hundreds of comments on various forums and product review sites and tried out a handful myself in the field, the best water sanitization tablets are the Aquamira ones (I chose tablets because the liquid version isn't travel friendly). The tablets provide the benefits of liquid chlorine dioxide in an easy to carry format.

Each tablet can purify 1 liter of water and each tablet is individually sealed. Using them is super simple:

Fill a canteen with 1L of water
wipe off excess water from rim and the outside
drop in a tablet
wait the prescribed time

Each pack provides enough tabs to purify the recommended amount of water for 1 person for 5 days. The water will have a small taste but nothing too dramatic.

If you can boil water, that is still the preferred route (rolling boil for at least a minute) but that is typically not possible during a disaster or in a hotel room.

Other tabs like Potable Aqua, MSR Aquatabs and Katadyn Micropur are as effective but the Aquamira is small but not too small and therefore easier to use and carry.

Some survivalists recommend the use of household bleach, but bleach is messy, heavy and not practical for travel. Using pre-measured tablets is my first choice. Additionally many bleach products sold in retail are not pure and using bleach for extended periods of time is not healthy.

Over the last 2 years, I have had the honor of training with some of North America's best survival teachers and every single one of them recommended Aquamira when tablets were discussed.

Do you use a Steripen and Aquamira?

The answer is no. My primary method of water disinfection is the Steripen. It is fast, easy and doesn't change the taste. If my Steripen fails, the tablets are my backup plan.

Remember that neither of these will remove contaminants from water such as fuel, metal or chemicals. You have to make sure your water doesn't contain these types of contaminants otherwise you will have to use a water filter (article coming in a couple of weeks).

Review of The Grayl Ultralight water filter & purifier