User Review: Aquamira Water Treatment Drops

Aquamira Water Treatment Drops
Above: The current Water Treatment Drops, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed June 27, 2007 by Ska-T

Rating:
Price Paid: $13

Aquamira Water Treatment Drops is a great product: convenient, lightweight, has minimal to no taste, and is trouble free. The product comes in two 30 ml (1 fl oz) bottles. To activate chlorine dioxide, you mix Parts A and B 1:1 and wait 5 min. I usually perform this step before I get my water container(s) out of the backpack, chug the remaining water, and fill up at the water source. That way, by the time I return the 5 min are almost up.

After dumping the activated Aquamira into your water container, it takes 15 min to sterilize the water. The 15 min wait time is no problem if you stop for water before your water runs out, or you carry a second lightweight water container to fill up and carry for the 15 min (for example, Platypus Water Tank). Very convenient. The two 30 ml bottles are enough to purify 120 liters of water. Thus, 30 ml divided by 120 liters, or 0.25 ml of each Part A and B is enough for 1 liter (or 1 quart). I find that in the Sierra I use about 1 ml of each Part per day per person.

My trips are usually a week or shorter in duration. Thus, I transfer Aquamira to smaller dropper bottles, typically Nalgene 8 ml dropper bottles (the one for Part B is clear so you can see the level), and calibrate the number of drops necessary to dispense 0.25 ml. I also carry 2-3 small mixing cups. My old MSR filter weighed 18 oz. My Aquamira kit weighs 1 oz. An 18-fold weight savings. Very lightweight. If you notice an unpleasant taste with Aquamira then you either have a highly developed sense of taste or you may be using too much Aquamira, even if you use the original dropper bottles and the number of drops they recommend. In other words, their recommendation of 30 ml per 120 liters is more accurate than their recommended number of drops per liter. Very tasty.

Finally, my old MSR filter would clog regularly. That problem is gone with Aquamira. Also, the small Nalgene dropper bottles or eye dropper bottles don't leak. A small zip lock adds leak security and keeps all the parts together. Trouble free.

Disclaimer: This review is based on backpacking in the Sierra Nevada of California, where the water is typically clear. Where water purity is more questionable, then filter the water first to remove biofilm before treating with Aquamira. For an excellent article about Giardia in the Sierra by Robert L. Rockwell go to www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/Giardia.htm (Yosemite Association Sierra Nature Notes, Vol 2, January 2002).