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Posted by Aviprk on May 20, 2008 at 2:31:41 am EDT
In reply to Water Filter Question posted by atn1wpi on May 14, 2008 at 2:50:39 pm EDT

I also carry a water filter, the Katadyn Hiker Pro. It does filter out viruses but it doesn't mean it makes filter "useless." Your car windshield doesn't protect you against bullets and it certainly won't protect you against a sunburn on a hot day but it certainly doesn't mean it's useless. Water filters will filter out the biggest and most common stuff that can make you sick such as giardia, e.coli, and crypto which are common in areas where there are human and/or animal waste and other areas with contamination.

But you have to keep in minds that in most mountain areas of the United States and Canada the bodies of water are naturally free of most man made chemicals and viruses. In the Sierras I've drunk water straight from lakes and rivers and never gotten sick even in areas that see heavy human traffic such as merced river on the way back from Half Dome. I do have an above average stomach (or so friends say). There was an interesting article on the LA times about how backcountry waters REALLY are contaminated. The finding may surprise you: http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-os-giardia26jul26

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• Re: Water Filter Question - BigSmoke 00:52:46 05/21/2008

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