The crank driven Steripen Sidewinder is a obvious marketing progression for Steripen, i.e. a product designed specifically for home emergency use. But the reality is that for home use it only really makes some limited sense for as a home emergency product. For $99 I would go for a Foker LPG Single Gas Stove Ring and a 15kg LPG gas cylinder and boil water using a high efficiency kettle such as the Simplex No 4 or even a Primus EtaPower Pot (at extra cost). Time to boil 1 litre of water would be around 3 minutes.

15kg of Butane will boil over 1000 ltrs (264 Gallons) of water. This setup would provide much more flexibility for not only for the sterilization of water, but for also for cooking and for washing and cleaning (dishes and personal hygiene).

At 5 Gallons of boiling hot water per person per day this would last a family of 4 for about 2 weeks emergency use. Of course if drinking water was the priority then 10 weeks emergency use is available.

The portable Steripens are very effective, they work, they are quick and lightweight to carry.

Cranking the Sidewinder handle for more than a couple of days use will soon become an extreme pain in the butt. Major arguments would soon start over who's turn it was to crank the sidewinder. Better to let the sun do the hard work.