Hi everyone.

I just read 'results of the great water container test'. Some really great work was done there. I've just got a thought though...

If a PSK is AIMED at short term survival and water-borne bacteria takes a few days to affect the body (please correct me, I'm not too sure if this is right), are water purification tablets really neccesary for SURVIVAL. their were some good ideas about the food procuring items in a PSK in conection with short term survival. Now, if you don't include anything to help you obtain food (long term survival), doesn't it follow that water purification tablets (also long term survival???) can bee substituted for, maybe another water container?

Anything that you pick up in survival situation can surely be treated when you rescued. If you don't get rescued within a week, aren't the chances of being rescued drastically lessoned? and if you aren't rescued, your supply will quickly be used up.

I know that my thinking is going against the grain, But i am certain that i am missing a very important aspect here. In south afrca, I never carry water tablets, and i've never hada problem.

I know that i'm missing something, and its really bugging me <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

most bacteria takes a wile before they affect you, but personally i prefere to drink biological safe water. i even boil tab water first at home ( habit i got from my parents ). Purfication tabs doesnt take much space and gives you less to concern about ( the phycological stuff ) in a survival situation, if you get stranded for long periodes you wont be able to treat diseases caused by some waterborn bacteria. and yes purfication water will run out if you have to survive for longer periodes, but most of use got alluminium foil with's can boil water to make it biological save.....

Woft,

I guess it all depends on where you live or where you're travelling. Back in Pennsylvania I have never treated water because I've been drinking it out of mountain streams all my life and never had a problem. I still carry tablets there just in case but I never did use them.

Here in Brazil you can get sick from water in short order and they WON'T be able to cure you once you're rescued. I treat even the clearest running mountain stream water here. I have only once risked drinking untreated water here but it was a truly desperate situation. I have since never gone on even a day hike without the means to treat water.

Dysentary can strike over the course of a few hours, easily developing over night. Serious dehydration can set in the next day. Just the indignity of it all is enough for me to squeeze in a bottle of Potable Aqua. Mac

WOFT,

It's an interesting thought, and I too would like to hear the opinions of others.

Back in the '70s I rarely treated water in the wilderness, only when I was unsure if there might be development or camps upstream- any digestive problems I had were almost certainly normal for freeze-dried food, not the result of the water. Into the '80s and '90s I became more and more paranoid about the water as the press assured me that vitually all of it was contaminated with Giardia. There seems little consensus as to how serious that situation really is, and many people seem to be immune, possibly from exposure. These days, I always carry a filter on overnight trips or longer. Unlike most, I favor those by Katadyn, and have three.

In contrast to my attitude about food, I'm VERY concerned about water, and I often have a vial of Potable Aqua even in my "urban" kit, which may be silly. The vials that some of us got from Barry at Blue Line are quite small, though- much smaller than the factory bottle, about the diameter and half the length of one AA cell. The "cost" of carrying one of these is relatively small.

Giardiosis takes some days to develop, I think, but I'm under the impression that water contaminated with E. coli can easily make you very sick in hours, or overnight. If true, that my be the justification you're looking for. In the US, even some cities have had problems with contamination of the water supply by E. coli. After you've had the authorities caution you against drinking tap water where you work a couple of times, you start to wonder about the incidents you're NOT hearing about... for the time being, I drink bottled water and carry the little pills.

Having water is more important than having food. You can go for weeks without food. Without water you are gone in a couple of days at best. I agree with the other posters that you could pick up something that can´t be cured or make you sick quickly when the water is contaminated. If you´re really sure that you´ll have access to safe water the purification can be omitted. When there is a doubt, playing it safe would be preferable. For me the benefit of the tablets outweigh the disatvantage of bulk and weight (which can be negleted anyway).
IMO a water container can´t substitute the tablets as long as it´s empty. It may help you to collect more water but that won´t make it safer.

I agree with you, at least partially. I remember, in my youth while hiking in the mountains of Arizona, we were squeezing water out of some damp moss with the thought that "what we are about to drink might make us sick, but at least we will be able to get back to Tucson where we can be cured." As far as I know, I have never gotten sick from drinking bad water. But like everyone else, I have succumbed to the pervasive hype about Giardia and I often carry a filter (Pur Hiker-excellent unit!) on planned outings.

I don't bother with the tablets and stuff because, even in my minimalist gear, I have a small, light pot for boiling water - the surest way to get rid of the nasty bugs.

I learned early on that two items really crucial for survival were water and fire (we are talking about Arizona conditions here), so the basis of my survival gear has always been a canteen and redundant means of building fire. And when I say canteen, I don't mean some wimpy bag for tropical fish that the nearest cactus will immediately perforate. My most cost effective container is a Gatorade bottle, followed by Platypus containers (very light and compact, but pricey). Nalgene bottles are tough, with secure closures, but are relatively heavy.

In the country where I learned my early survival skills, the three most important factors were water, water, and water. In a tough situation today, I would prefer to treat water before consuming it, but if necessary I would guzzle it down and head for town. I think your decisions, should you be deep in the woods, with a survival period of several days before you, would incline you to devise some means of purifying your water. Boiling, which is relatively slow, really doesn't take that long. It is by far the best means for dealing with pathogens in the water, and I suppose if you were concerned about heavy metals in the water, you could even rig up a distillation unit - just be sure you have lots of fuel.

Years ago I spent 30 days at a time in the field, and I was worried about messing up my body's chemistry (many a horror story was told about iodine and the thyroid.). Filters clogged alot back then so I just boiled my water. Now I don't spend nearly as much time out as I use to so I'm not as worried about the chemistry issue and the tablets seem like a reasonable option. I have a friend that worked hunting camps in the Bitterroots. He got away with not treating his water for years. But the little buggers finally caught up with him and man is he paying for it. Giardia may be cureable, but it ain't fun. Why go through that if you don't have to?

Thanks for all the replys. In South Africa (at least in my location) water borne diseases aren't really a problem. But, i suppose that the problemsthat one expeiences are the ones that aren't anticipated.

The only water purification pills that I can get hold of are chlorine pills packaged in strips ('cards'), so a useful number of pills is rather bulky. But I think that they are worth the space.

Thanks for the advice.