Katadyn Micropur MP1 Purification Tablets

Summary

Light, safe, easy to use

Stable, easy-to-use water treatment option that purifies using chlorine dioxide. Effective against viruses, bacteria, giardia, and cryptosporidium. Not much of an aftertaste at all. Some slight chlorine odor when chemicals are working on contaminants, but hardly noticeable in clean water.

Dwell times range from 1/2 to 4 hours depending on water temperature. I carry two x 1 litre jugs and switch from one to the other as needed, leaving one to work while I'm drinking the other.

This product is wonderful for weight reduction and as prior noted, tearing the foil is difficult and can cause loss of tablet parts on the ground.

The taste is not all that bad, what keeps from giving 5 stars is the foil packing and the weight time for fast water replacing on the trail is really limited so one must plan according to the next source, a larger container for camp is necessary as this is not a fast bottle fill on the trail device. For that I carry a few iodine tabs, the larger Platypus is used for evening and mornings at the camp site.

I must say, the wait time sometimes gets shortened by necessity. Good for those times when you can store water and wait it out. With the Colorado high country streams above beaver ponds and livestock, must admit sometimes shorten the dwell time.

I have used these tablets on a few trips so far, as my only method of water treatment (other than filtering through a bandana if there's obvious crud). In order to keep my pack weight down, I wanted to avoid carrying a filter. However, I didn't like the idea of using iodine tablets, decided chlorine dioxide sounded better, but didn't want to use a liquid product like Aquamira drops (too much chance of spillage). So, when I found out the chlorine dioxide was available in tablet form it sounded ideal.

So far I have no complaints. The tablets dissolve quickly and leave minimal taste in the water; the taste is no worse than regular tap water. They are supposed to kill any organisms we would have to worry about in US water, including Giardia.

If you're looking to keep weight to a minimum without taking the risk of getting sick from the water, these tablets are a great solution. Just make sure you have a way to open the foil wrapping; there's no easy-tear tab so you will have to use your knife or the scissors on your multi-tool.

I used them this weekend and there is noticeable chlorine like taste. I'm very glad I also brought my pump. Here is the quick and dirty:

Use one tablet per liter of water. Allow 4 hours to dissolve and treat the water; pretty simple.

The idea was rather than have to pump out 3 liters of water first thing in the morning. I would treat them overnight and be ready to go when I woke up.

My thoughts: The chlorine flavor is subtle enough that it can be overlooked and I would far prefer it to Iodine. In a large group with other that don’t have means to purify their water it could be helpful, but there is no way I will ever replace my pump with these tablets. I will however, be sure to keep them in my first aid/emergency/damn I f’d up kit.

Personally I really like these. They are light, small, easy to use. One tablet treats one liter of water which is really handy if you carry water in one liter increments. There is a bit of an aftertaste, but not too bad, and not as bad as iodine.

I use these tablets in conjunction with my MSR Miniworks EX filter to catch viruses. These tablets are small, light, and leave no lingering taste in the water. They're also handy to have around in the event of an emergency, especially since they will kill Crypto (takes four hours for crypto, 15 minutes for viruses).