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#289573 - 06/23/18 05:39 AM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
quick_joey_small Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/13/09
Posts: 571
Loc: UK
Montanero wrote:
> I would like to find a good chemical lab to help me test the
> water purification methods, along with all of the other ones > I already have.

You don't need to. In our ligatious world anyone selling a purifier that doesn't do as advertised, is heading for financial ruin.
But though it may do everything it claims, that might not be enough. They'll truthfully list all the things they remove.
But what about what they don't list?
As I commented earlier; filters aren't purifiers they won't remove viruses. Even idone won't remove Cryptosporidium. Not sure if there are any filters that remove chemicals.

qjs

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#289576 - 06/23/18 10:08 AM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
I absolutely wouldn't buy a no-name Chinese water filter. It's all good and well to rely on your estate to bring a lawsuit against an American company but for something drop - shipped from Alibaba you may have few legal remedies. I'll pony up the $15-20 for a real Life Straw or Sawyer Mini.
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#289577 - 06/23/18 10:11 AM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
You DO need to test these claims. Nobody will bring any legal action unless someone uses it and gets sick. I would like to know before it is used how well it actually works.

There are some filters that claim to remove viruses, but they are rare. This filter does claim to remove some chemicals, and there are others.

You actually believe that every company will be truthful about their claims?

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#289579 - 06/23/18 01:13 PM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: gonewiththewind]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I really don't want to heat up this discussion, but boiling the water takes care conclusively of all the biologicals...
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#289592 - 06/23/18 07:49 PM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
It is difficult to carry a pot, or even a metal cup, in a pocket size survival kit. If I have any sort of pack or bag I do carry one. There is also the issue of chemicals and heavy metals. In the area where I live, unless you get up into the mountain, you are risking farm and industrial waste in any ground water. Something small that can get you through far enough to help or improved water purification capabilities would be a good thing. Something small is more likely to be on you and for you to have it when you end up in a survival situation. Not all survival situation happen in remote and pristine wilderness.

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#289596 - 06/23/18 08:27 PM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: gonewiththewind]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Originally Posted By: Montanero
It is difficult to carry a pot, or even a metal cup, in a pocket size survival kit. ..... Not all survival situation happen in remote and pristine wilderness.


+1 on the pot difficulty, although,learning in hot, arid Arizzona,I soon vowed never to leave the car without a canteen. It is much easier to find a cup that will nest with canteens or water bottles. my fav is a 12 oz metal cup nesting at the bottom of a nalgene or sports drink container -light, versatile, and cheap!!

My most extensive experience with non-pristine water occurred at Canyon de Chelly National Monument (AZ). During one season of a long term project, we could not drive up the canyon to the dig because of exceptionally high water, and had to commute by an aboriginal side trail(a story in itself) and stay at the site for two to three days at a time.

That meant we drank the local stream water which was "too thin to plow and too thick to drink." CdeC Natl Mon is somewhat unusual in the NPS system in that the NPS controls only "objects of antiquity and of scientific interest." The Monument is also part of the Navajo Reservation, a habitat for thriving farmsteads and herds of sheep, which were both common upstream.

We would scoop up a gallon or so of stream water, let it sit for at least a day (until it was visually clear), decant and boil the fluid, and drink heartily. We did this for a month until the stream abated, and we could resume our normal commute....



Edited by hikermor (06/23/18 08:27 PM)
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#289611 - 06/23/18 11:40 PM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
pforeman Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 04/23/08
Posts: 237
Loc: Iowa
Thinking outside the box on this one...
Knowledge - take the $30 and go to a CPR/AED/1stAid class or something else like that. I've got an REI store in town and they run lots of short workshops and classes on stuff like exploring the local trails. bike maintenance, and other stuff all on the cheap.

Paul -

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#289620 - 06/24/18 01:29 AM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
I have spent much time in remote areas in various parts of the world, and I have seen large areas with no clean water at all. I have seen "pristine" looking water in high mountains give serious gastrointestinal problems, resulting in very severe dehydration. Every tool you can obtain is an advance in the right direction.

Settling, or decanting as you call it, straining, filtering, chemical purification and boiling are all useful, and better in combination, if you have the time and resources.

I have also spent much time in deep jungle where I strained the water through a t-shirt and used iodine tablets, and had nothing wrong with me.

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#289621 - 06/24/18 01:47 AM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: quick_joey_small]
haertig Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 2322
Loc: Colorado
The worst survival ordeal that I've had to endure was eating fried liver at a dinner where I didn't want to appear rude, by gagging and retching. So I don't speak from much "experience" in such things.

But with $30 to prep for survival, I'd want a knife, fire making, and water purification first. Right even with that I'd want some way of signaling. Obviously I'm thinking more of outdoorsy survival than urban survival.

For $30, I should be able to get a Mora, a Bic lighter, some iodine tablets (or even cheaper a bottle of liquid iodine), and a whistle. I might even be able to substitute one of those mini purifiers - a Sawyer straw perhaps - for the iodine and still slide in under $30. I know this thread was more about "inexpensive survival items" than "everything you can get for under $30 total", but still, I would lean towards the Mora, Sawyer filter, Bic lighter, etc. as highly recommended items for under $30 (each).

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#289629 - 06/24/18 07:05 PM Re: Most Recommended Must Have Survival Gear under $30 [Re: pforeman]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Originally Posted By: pforeman
Thinking outside the box on this one...
Knowledge - take the $30 and go to a CPR/AED/1stAid class or something else like that. I've got an REI store in town and they run lots of short workshops and classes on stuff like exploring the local trails. bike maintenance, and other stuff all on the cheap.

Paul -


You are absolutely correct on this, but I believe that the Red Cross First aid class generally costs more than - by all means do the Advanced level; Basic FA is, well, too basic... Unfortunately, any class designated "wilderness is just code for "expensive," but worth it if you anticipate significant time in the woods. Employers will often pay for this training.

Training is much more important than bright and shiny gear, esp. in FA.
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