well okay, lets give a scenario.

Will the steripen work for tap water in a hotel room in another country? yep! as long as the water is not turbid.

Will it out do mp1s? perhaps, provided the water is clear.

Will it work better than the mp1s in a river? Well, from my experience, nope. Why? I've yet to see mountain river water that was not turbid to some degree. Again, like you wrote prefiltering is recommended.

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Also, what soldier is going to wait around 4 hrs for a chemical treatment to do its magic i.e its 6 log reduction in bacteria(depending on the turbidity and temperature of the water). I suspect very few


Of course, there are many, many, many in combat situations that will not be able to make fire to purify water.

Will I use the steripen? you bet under ideal conditions. will I trust it better than chlorine dioxide? Nope! Will either one ever replace boiling? Not today they don't.