For us lightweight backpackers, I recommend using a plastic Ziploc type bag full of filtered or treated water with one or two iodine swabs added, waiting ten minutes, putting a small pinprick hole in the bag, and squeezing.
Thanks for your post.
Would it be possible to just use iodine tablets (e.g. Potable Aqua) and dispense with the swabs? Would doubling (tripling? quadrupling?) the usual number of iodine tabs be sufficent for wound cleansing? I'd rather not carry the swabs since they can get compromised pretty easily if their packaging gets compromised (pretty common in a full backpack), plus I rotate my iodine tabs far more frequently since I'm also using them up when I'm out on the trail.
Of course, iodine tablets take a while to dissolve. Would the swabs infuse the water more quickly?
Darn good questions. The iodine is basically the same. So the tabs would work. There is a time/dose function with iodine. Higher doeses mean less waiting time, which is nice to know if you're letting your water sit overnight before drinking, because you can use much less. I don't have any forulae or tables for that, though.
For wound irrigating purposes, you'd want a much higher concentration than you'd need for drinking. The idea is to not forcibly inject waterborne cooties into the open wound as well as to clean out the nasties already in there. Since the swabs (I'm talkin' the little gauze squares here, not the big Q-tip things) hold liquid iodine, I'd suppose they infuse the water faster than tabs.
BTW, personally, I've given up on filters for most trips, and I've had good success using resublimated iodine crystals, much like "Polar Pure." Cheaper than the little pills, and easier to adjust the dose. I don't run into many of us iodine users anymore.
Jeff
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