The chlorine tablets taste like ass IMO getting a good filter is the way to go.
Comment on Anon goes camping
hovercat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks agoBoiling isn’t necessary. They make antimicrobial tablets you can add as well. We used them when I was on a 2 week backpacking trip and basically just used a bandana folded over 4 times for sediment, fill at the top of the water with the neck facing downstream, and then add a disinfectant tab and let it sit for however long it says. It tasted a bit like pool water if you drank it immediately, but if you filled all your bottles at once, they usually didn’t taste very chlorinated and it was pretty amazing water.
WolfLink@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I mean, everything that kills the bad stuff works. If you had a strong portable radioactivity source, that would probably work just fine, too. Sadly, the people at the airport don’t like it when I bring my enriched uranium to the camping vacation.
Jokes aside, I would say that chlorine tabs are nice for an emergency, but for a planned trip I’d assume I’d have access to heat anyway. Or, just bring a filter.
hovercat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
When we’re hiking 15 miles per day and were drinking 4 gallons of water per person in the New Mexico heat, stopping to set up a fire and boil ~40 gallons of water in the middle of the hike wasn’t really an option. I also appreciated not having to carry 32lbs of water on me all day long.
LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Fair point. My last camping trip was in mid-temperature weather, and rather relaxed, so I basically lived off instant coffee and tea. Plus, the water was really clean, so in some cases I just risked filling my bottle from like the middle of a lake without treatment. But a filter is definitely on my to-buy list.