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Post by Coolkat on Aug 17, 2021 4:11:22 GMT -8
On my recent hike my trusty old friend, the Steripen Classic, started misbehaving. It would initially turn on but then give me a red light. Sometimes I could take the battery cap off and put it back and it would it act normal for one use. Then other times the UV light would turn on even before dipping in the water. I've had the thing for several years. At least 7 maybe but probably more and never had any issues. And while I've had it many years it only gets used 7 to 14 days a year. So that is no where near the 8000 use capacity. Although I doubt they will do anything I've contacted Katadyn customer service to see what they say. Anyone else here use a Steripen? I'm thinking that trinity does but don't remember for sure. If you have one which model do you have and what are your thoughts on it. I've got a 12 day trip coming up at the end of September and will be buying another one and trying to decide if I want a different model. |
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almostthere
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putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Aug 17, 2021 6:48:49 GMT -8
I always offer to loan my filter to folks who talk like this. But I'd have to mail it to you...
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Post by trinity on Aug 17, 2021 7:02:22 GMT -8
Sorry to hear about your steripen, Coolkat . That sounds like a strange malfunction. I have an Adventurer Opti that I bought used (from Ray Estrella, for those who remember him) about 9 years ago, so I am guessing it is at least 10 years old. It is still going strong, and is still my go-to, though I do find myself using my Befree quite often. The Opti can be used as an emergency flashlight, which is a nice feature. It uses 2 CR123s, and I always carry backups on my trips. If I were buying a Steripen today, I might look at the Ultralight, which is rechargeable. Personally, I think that steripens are just as reliable as filters, if not more so. I have experienced and seen many filter failures, but have never had any trouble with my Steripen. |
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Post by cweston on Aug 17, 2021 7:02:48 GMT -8
Not to be snarky, and I know this isn't the kind of replay you're asking for, but I'm with almostthere . My wife bought me one for Christmas years ago, and she was really excited about it. I probably wasn't an ideal gift receiver that day, because I really prefer not to rely on electronics in the BC. Long story short: it didn't work correctly. I exchanged it, and the second one also didn't work correctly (it had a different malfunction, FWIW). My potential confidence in the device was forever broken at that point--I never used it in the field. YMMV, HYOH, of course.
Unfortunately, I think that was the last time she gave me anything BP related as a gift, other than it being at my initiation. ("Hey, how about if I buy this new tent and we call it my birthday gift?") I can empathize--BP gear is all very mission-critical, and has to work just right as part of an overall kit. it's hard to give stuff like that as a gift.
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almostthere
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putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Aug 17, 2021 7:10:08 GMT -8
I remember Ray - I ran across pictures of him the other day, from when I hiked with him. Good times! Dude looked great in a kilt.
I think I've said a lot that I don't entirely trust electronics. When organizing groups, I always take a filter I tested prior to the outing, because steri pens were everywhere for a while. I don't see a lot of them any more. Folks are carrying the BeFree or Sawyer these days.
Everything fails, but I haven't seen filters fail nearly as much as Steri Pens, and Sawyers seem to dwindle down to dribbles more than anything else. I'm doing a trial run of a Platypus Quick Draw at the moment, but my choices are always either the Hiker Pro or the Clean Stream gravity filter. I have a couple of Sawyers in the drawer but I should just toss them already. My Hiker Pro is the second of its kind, the first one lasted nearly a decade until the inlet cracked and started to leak profusely.
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walkswithblackflies
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Resident terrorist-supporting eco-freak bootlicker
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Aug 17, 2021 7:16:22 GMT -8
I've used a SteriPen for years without issue. Except for one trip in CO many years ago, when I experienced a problem like yours. I forget what I did to solve that problem... so sorry. It's been a couple years since I've used it. Maybe looking at it again I can figure out what I did.
BTW, I carry iodine or chlorine tabs with me as a backup.
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 17, 2021 8:19:53 GMT -8
almostthere & cweston can be as snarky as they want. I loved my Steripen and will be buying another one. Backups?? yeah I usually have aquamira as a backup but I've never had to use it. Actually I've had a couple of sets expire without using them. This time one of my hiking partners had a swayer squeeze mini. What horrible experience. I hope I never have to use one of those again. Between a pain to fill dirty bags and taking 10 minutes to squeeze enough water to get 1L. I'd rather boil my water and that is what we did for our meals. If I were buying a Steripen today, I might look at the Ultralight, which is rechargeable. That is what I kind of already considering since I take a battery bank anyway for my gps/phone. I might take a look at the befree again but there was something about it I didn't care for when it first came out so I haven't looked at it again. What kind of flow rate do you get with it? My Hiker Pro is the second of its kind, the first one lasted nearly a decade until the inlet cracked and started to leak profusely. Interesting this is exactly what happened to mine and why I decided to stay away from pumps. Too many moving parts and pieces to depend on. I even saw one guy snap the handle on the pump. I guess everyone is more or less shaped by their experience which is why you and cweston stay away from Steripens.
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Post by cweston on Aug 17, 2021 8:24:14 GMT -8
Interesting this is exactly what happened to mine and why I decided to stay away from pumps. Too many moving parts and pieces to depend on. I even saw one guy snap the handle on the pump. I guess everyone is more or less shaped by their experience which is why you and cweston stay away from Steripens. Completely agree with all of this. One reason I prefer a gravity system is the lack of moving parts (plus, the reservoirs offer some redundancy, in the event of water bottle or drinking reservoir failure.) I also carry chemical tabs as emergency backup. Safe water is one of the parts of BPing kit that is so critical that redundant backup makes sense to me. If you're already carrying a battery bank, then I agree that the rechargable SteriPen model probably makes sense. |
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 17, 2021 9:03:59 GMT -8
One reason I prefer a gravity system is the lack of moving parts (plus, the reservoirs offer some redundancy, in the event of water bottle or drinking reservoir failure.) I've thought about a gravity system but I can't depend on spending a night near water, at least where I hike most often. It would have been great at Isle Royale where almost every campsite is guaranteed water. I'm curious if you were to sit down for a break by water how long would it take you to filter 2Ls of water with your system? |
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Post by cweston on Aug 17, 2021 9:21:43 GMT -8
I'm curious if you were to sit down for a break by water how long would it take you to filter 2Ls of water with your system? I'm not sure I can answer that very accurately based on actual experience, since I've never timed it... Platypus claims 1.75 liters per minute filter rate for my gravity rig: so, with getting the filter out, collecting water, etc., that probably translates into 5 minutes or less for the whole process of filtering 2L. I might be inclined to take their claimed rate with a grain of salt, but that sounds vaguely in the ballpark. Definitely not 2 minutes, but definitely not 10+ minutes, either.
(In my experience, every filter is a little slower in real-world usage than what the manufacturers claim.)
I really don't mind that at all, since I have a tendency to be a little too "goal oriented" sometimes, and I need a reminder that it's OK to take a little break. I usually start the day with 2L of water, so I never have to tank up on the trail more than once a day in normal circumstances. |
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 17, 2021 9:31:10 GMT -8
so, with getting the filter out, collecting water, etc., that probably translates into 5 minutes or less for the whole process of filtering 2L. That's actually not horrible. Much better than I thought. I had no way of even guessing since I've never been around one. * And probably faster than a pump if you take into consideration the setup, tear down, gathering water. * That isn't totally true now that I think about it. On my recent trip where my Steripen failed we had time in camp so my hiking partner leaned his nalgene bottle up against the shelter with sawyer squeeze mini dripping into it. But that literally took about 40 minutes to get 1L. |
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Post by cweston on Aug 17, 2021 9:37:31 GMT -8
It's also worth mentioning that where a person hikes makes a big difference. I typically draw water from clear, high-volume running streams, where filling my 4L max dirty bag is generally easy as pie, and pre-filtering not really an issue. My camps are usually very close to water, so the 4L system allows me to bring 8 liters (4 filtered, 4 in the dirty bag) back to camp easily. (Of course I don't always need that much water. But for 2 ppl, and/or for a base camp...)
If I were expecting to draw from little puddles or trickles, like in a desert environment, I'd probably prefer a pump filter (with a pre-filter) for that purpose.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Aug 17, 2021 10:17:52 GMT -8
It's also worth mentioning that where a person hikes makes a big difference. I typically draw water from clear, high-volume running streams, where filling my 4L max dirty bag is generally easy as pie, and pre-filtering not really an issue. My camps are usually very close to water, so the 4L system allows me to bring 8 liters (4 filtered, 4 in the dirty bag) back to camp easily. (Of course I don't always need that much water. But for 2 ppl, and/or for a base camp...) If I were expecting to draw from little puddles or trickles, like in a desert environment, I'd probably prefer a pump filter (with a pre-filter) for that purpose.
It's interesting to be interpreted as being snarky, when all I'm doing is observing what I continue to see, hiking in groups of ever-changing new and old friends through time. I think it's more the advertising that determines the preferences of your average hiker... they don't seem to care much about longevity in gear. The BeFree was all the rage but seems to be losing popularity among the more frequent/habitual hikers who do care about function.
The reason I have a variety of filters has everything to do with differences in locale. My gravity filter is hands down my favorite, but you can't always fill a 3-6 liter bag - the water sources are different and still changing with the drought. Over in the coastal range and in the transverse range, the potential for having just a muddy puddle is high, so a replaceable prefilter to deal with mud - coffee filters or bandanas over the Hiker Pro prefilter, for example - is better than a CNOC and a Platy CleanStream. Hiking lake to lake in the Sierra, I get to tank up and filter many liters while setting up camp and making dinner, and have a shower to boot. Priorities... SteriPen can't hang in the sun in a tree and give me warm water.
Safe to say I've slowed down a lot over time.
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Post by Coolkat on Aug 17, 2021 10:26:43 GMT -8
It's interesting to be interpreted as being snarky, I used the word snarky only because cweston thought that his response might be thought of that way. And you're correct my steripen will never provide warm water but I rarely ever find myself where I could do that even if I wanted to. I think what we are seeing here is that a few experienced backpackers have good reasons for their choices and I understand why some avoid the steripen. But because of this discussion I will go back and re-visit gravity systems again. Although there is an 80% probability that I'll end up replacing my steripen with a steripen. |
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Post by trinity on Aug 17, 2021 10:30:48 GMT -8
I might take a look at the befree again but there was something about it I didn't care for when it first came out so I haven't looked at it again. What kind of flow rate do you get with it? I think it's about 2 liters/minute. It is very, very high, straight out of the box, but slows down over time. Mine doesn't get a ton of use, so I just purchase a new filter cartridge every couple of years. I think it is a great system. When I first purchased it, the bottle broke, but REI replaced it, and supposedly the issue has been fixed, I haven't had a bottle break since. But I usually carry a hydrapak seeker, which can function as a backup, if needed. |
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