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The Advantages Of Using A Backpacking Water Filter
By Jeremy Biberdorf
When you go hiking, one of the most important things that you will bring is fresh drinking water. Next time you go hiking, consider brining a portable water filter instead. You could be saving backpack weight and enjoying the cleanest water available.
Make Your BackPack Lighter
To truly enjoy hiking you need to pack as light as possible. You don't want a heavy backpack weighing you down and forcing you to take extra breaks. With a light backpack, you can cover more distance with less strain on your muscles.
Most hikers know that the heaviest thing that they will pack is usually their drinking water supply. As water weighs a gram per milliliter, a one liter water bottle can add a whole kilogram to the weight of your backpack. Depending on the length of your hike, one liter might not even be enough drinking water.
A portable water filter can weigh a mere 250 grams. That's just one quarter the weight of a one liter water bottle. Imagine losing that extra weight from your pack. It will feel like you are ten years younger with your additional stamina.
Enjoy Clean Drinking Water
If you have ever tasted fresh mountain stream water, you know it's some of the cleanest water you can get. Then pour that pure water into a portable water filter and it really is the cleanest water. There is minimal pollution and no extra additives – just clean, fresh drinking water.
Even pure mountain water can contain dangerous bacteria and pathogens such as typhoid, dysentery, cholera, colibacillosis, amoebic dysentery protozoa, cryptospordium, cysts, fungi, parasites, spores and giardia. Chances are that you have never heard of most of those pathogens. Normally your city's water treatment plant takes care
of these dangers for you. Lightweight, portable water filters are able to effectively remove these pathogens. Plus they remove other pollutants, as well as unpleasant tastes and odors. Dissolved chemicals such as iodine and chlorine are also removed by using a water filter.
Bring Unlimited Water in One Bottle
One of the best advantages to using a portable water filter is that you almost always have enough water. As long as you are near a stream, river or lake, you have access to clean drinking water. Usually it only takes a couple of minutes to properly filter this water to become clean drinking water.
If you were to pack your own water instead, you could be out of luck once your water runs out. You would have little choice but to risk drinking water from a stream of lake. Bacteria in this water could end up making you sick, ruining your hiking trip.
Conclusion
While hiking, your drinking water is extremely important. As long as you will be near a good water source, save some pack weight with a portable water filter. Using a water filter will make your hike easier and your water cleaner. Don't let the hassle of carrying water ruin your hike.
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