after a million different approaches here and overseas I prefer two methods ... (1) buy good bottled water, or (2) BOIL IT. both are simple and the water tastes good afterwards.

cheers,
Pete2

I'm a filter fan. Worked fine for 10+ years of camping in CA as a boy scout.

Problem with the other methods is filtering the particulate matter.

Using a Millbank bag and a Ghillie Adventurer is useful for long term field use. Sterilised water will probably used for making tea/coffee and freeze dried food anyway.

Filters such as Ceramic filters produced by Katadyn are also very useful as well. I keep a Katadyn Syphon filter inside a Ortlieb 10 litre water storage bag with shower attachment next to an S10 respirator and a Geiger Counter in a PLCE respirator bag.

http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-1120070-Siphon-Filter/dp/B0007U0102

I think you mean may not remove viruses. Filters take care of cysts pretty well due to their larger size.

Let's not forget good old household liquid bleach (non-scented, non-"Ultra" type). In a disaster situation at home, next to boiling, using bleach is probably going to be the most commonly available form of water purification for the vast majority of households, even for folks without any special preps.

Thanks for the correction; I'll fix the list.

My plan is to write a better summary for each method based on the input in this thread. I think I've got a reasonably good handle on this other than the Miox.

I used to just use iodine tablets back in the 70's. We would add powdered Jello to the water to make it taste better, not that I thought it was horrible plain. It wasn't great, but not horrible.

Iodine tablets are a major fail when you cook your noodle dinner in iodine water though. Unless you like purple noodles.

while my first line is a katadyn pocket pump, my back-up is a $2 mini squeeze bottle of TINCTURE OF IODINE 2% (5 drops/qt on warm clear water then wait 30 minutes, or 10 drop/qt if water is cold or dirty, wait one hour). bad taste in water can be removed by adding vitamin C pills/powder after water is ready to use.

available at any Rx or big-box store...

Chaosmagnet,

The Miox is another chemical system, basically a different form of tablet. You make a fresh solution of mixed antioxidants for each run. The salt is converted by electrolysis into a suite of antioxidants, including chlorine dioxide. The big advantage of this is that there is no expiration date. You may also make as much or as little as you need (within the design of the system). It is much larger and heavier if you don't expect to use it much, much lighter and less expensive if you are going to make lots. It is certified to kill everything, but, like tablets, you have to wait. Hours if you have to kill cysts - one of the most common problems in North America, and world wide. An excellent system if you are at a base or using a vehicle and can have multiple containers. Good if you are prefiltering and only need to kill virus (only a 15 min. wait). Not bad if you can wait. Not so good IMO if you are hiking and wish to limit the number of containers you carry.

Respectfully,

Jerry