HUNTER LEMASTERS HUNT ADVISOR
For backcountry hunters, the most important piece of gear, other than the boots on your feet, is your water purification system. I’ve put a lot of systems to the test over the years, and lately I’ve settled on two systems (plus an additional household item) that cover every situation I find myself in.
The first is a SteriPEN. I was skeptical of it for a long time, but after this past season, I’m one hundred percent sold and won’t go on another hunt without one. The second is the Platypus GravityWorks water filter system. I’ve been using the same system for eight seasons, and it’s still going strong. I’m absolutely brutal on gear, so for anything to survive that long for me is nothing short of a miracle. That’s why I feel so strongly about recommending this setup.
The biggest mistake people make with gravity filters is not cleaning them properly after use. If you don’t backflush the filter with clean water after every use, it will clog prematurely, and you’ll be buying an expensive replacement filter much sooner than necessary. I’ve only purchased one replacement filter since buying my GravityWorks, and that wasn’t because it failed; I simply misplaced the original. Take care of your filter, and it’ll last for many seasons.
I’m a mobile hunter. I hunt mostly solo and live out of my pack for a week or more at a time. I also hunt new states and new areas almost every year, so I’m usually going in blind and building a hunt strategy based on e-scouting. It often takes a couple of days to find the sign I’m looking for and decide where I want to establish my base camp. Until then, I hike with my full pack and camp wherever I end up in the evening. I try to stay reasonably close to water, although sometimes I have to drop elevation or hike a mile or more just to refill.
This is where the Platypus GravityWorks shines. The system allows me to carry eight liters between the clean and dirty bags. I’ll fill the dirty bag and let it filter completely into the clean bag. Then I’ll fill my water bottles, refill the clean bag, top off the dirty bag again, and carry everything back to camp. By the time I’m done, I have full water bottles, four liters of clean water ready to use, and four liters of dirty water ready to filter whenever I need it. That’s usually enough water for two to three days of hard hunting and cooking meals.
When I’m covering country with everything on my back or when I’m day hunting away from camp—that’s when I rely on my SteriPEN. I don’t want to carry unnecessary weight in water, so most of it stays back at camp. I’ll fill my bottles before leaving, and whenever I come across another water source during the day, I’ll refill and treat with the SteriPEN. It’s incredibly fast and easy. The only downside is that the water may not always look very appealing. You might still see sediment, floating debris, or even small insects because the SteriPEN doesn’t filter those out; it kills harmful microorganisms using UV light. If the water has a lot of debris, I’ll strain it through a coffee filter first.
I became a true believer this past season while hunting moose in Alberta. We were set up on the edge of a lake when I suddenly started passing a kidney stone. Unfortunately, I’ve passed enough of them to recognize exactly what was happening. I also knew the quickest way to get through the pain was to drink as much water as possible. We had already boated across the lake to our calling location, and I wasn’t about to turn around and head back. Since the SteriPEN is much faster than gravity filtering, I filled my bottle straight from the lake, even though I could see organisms swimming in the water, treated it with the SteriPEN, and chugged it. I repeated that process for nearly an hour until the pain finally subsided.
Honestly, I was convinced I was going to end up with giardia or something similar after drinking that water. Nothing happened. Not a single issue. That experience completely changed my opinion of the SteriPEN, and now I won’t go hunting without one.
Another feature I really appreciate about the Platypus system is the tubing. In areas where water is scarce, I’ll snake the hose down into a shallow puddle or trickle and use it to fill the bag or my bottles. I find myself doing this on nearly every hunt. Another trick is to take apart a trekking pole and use one of the sections as an extension tube to pipe water that’s otherwise difficult to scoop into a bottle or bag.
Late-season hunting changes my system slightly. I still carry my gravity filter, but you have to keep it from freezing. Once a filter freezes, it’s no longer reliable and essentially becomes dead weight. Around camp, inside a hot tent, or during the warmer part of the day, it’s still useful. However, during below-freezing mornings, evenings, or while you’re constantly moving, keeping it from freezing can be difficult. That’s when I lean heavily on my SteriPEN. I pair it with my Jetboil, a water bottle, and a few coffee filters. Coffee filters weigh almost nothing, take up virtually no space, and are incredibly versatile. They’re perfect for straining larger debris from water or filtering melted snow.
I’ll melt (not boil) snow in my Jetboil, pour it through a coffee filter into my water bottle, and then treat it with the SteriPEN. Starting with a little liquid water in the Jetboil before adding snow speeds up the melting process considerably. Having an extra bottle also makes it easier to filter and transfer water while you’re producing larger quantities.
These aren’t the only purification methods available, but this system has proven itself year after year and covers every hunt and every season I find myself in.
Boiling water is an excellent purification method, but it requires fuel, and carrying enough extra fuel to boil every drop of drinking water isn’t practical on a longer backcountry hunts. Pump filters work well in many situations, but I’ve seen enough of them fail that I don’t personally care to take a chance on them. Purification tablets are lightweight and effective, but they require waiting before the water is safe to drink, and when I’m thirsty, I don’t want to stand around. Most also leave behind a taste or odor that some hunters don’t enjoy.
At the end of the day, I won’t leave for a hunt without my SteriPEN, Platypus GravityWorks, and a handful of coffee filters. Those three items cover every water situation I’ve encountered. If I were hunting with a larger group instead of solo, I’d probably add a ten-liter MSR bag for additional water storage around camp. One nice bonus is that the fittings are compatible with the Platypus GravityWorks hoses and filter, making it easy to integrate into the same system. If you’re in the market for a dependable water purification system, head over to Gear Fool. You’ll find these products and other field-tested gear that’s ready for your next adventure.
To purchase your water purification system- visit gearfool.com.