Thursday 5 February 2009

Aqua Pure Traveller - what a good bit of kit!

I've just discovered the Aqua Pure Traveller! This is going to save me loads of weight trying to carry enough water for both Patch and myself - plus water for cooking.

"The Aqua Pure Traveller is a unique water purification system in a convenient hand held water bottle. This easy to use system combines iodine disinfectant with filtration in a single process. This product has been proven to kill viruses and bacteria as well as removing cycts and spores, such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia."

"The Aqua Pure Traveller's filter cap will purify on average 350litres of water during it's lifetime and is the only portable water purifier officially endorsed by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases London."

Basically you just fill it up, give it a shake and then 15 minutes later you have drinking water. Now maybe this is nothing new to most of you - and I'm probably a little slow, but I think it's fantastic!

I still need to check the map to make sure there is some sort of water source available for refills, but I think this is going to save me a LOT of weight. I'm going to be doing a lot of wild camping so I think this is going to be great.

Patch doesn't share my enthusiasm....she's flat out asleep. Again. She had slightly sore feet after walking 8 miles of forestry track at the weekend, so I'm going to get her some Ruffwear boots for the walk. By the time we go her feet should be much tougher, but I think the boot's could be handy as a "just in case".

10 comments:

MickB said...

Hi Sophie

Have you had a look here: http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product353.asp? A similar product, just to make decision making difficult!

Gayle and I have been using one and several of the other Outdoor Bloggers have found them useful.

Martin (Phreerunner) did some interesting testing on one.

Mick

Sophie Easterbrook said...

Hi Mick, I've already bought it! I know, I'm a bit impulsive!!

I was just cursing myself after reading your comment, so I went and weighed it...122grams!! Not so bad!! I wonder if the capacity is a bit smaller than yours though.

I feel better now. I'm glad to know yours works well for you - it gives me a bit more confidence with it.

I had a feeling I may have been a little slow!!

Sophie

Sophie Easterbrook said...

I forgot to give the web address for it: http://www.bwtechnologies.com/iqs/sid.0883995073958658900839/aquapure_traveller.html

Phreerunner said...

Hey Sophie, you're privileged to get a comment from Mick. The Aquagear is excellent, and immediate (no waiting for 15 minutes). Sue and I used one on our trips last year, usually just precautionary, but it made camping next to rivers (as opposed to springs) much easier. I wrote a bit about it just after buying it here:
http://phreerunner.blogspot.com/2008/05/wednesday-30-april-2008-testing.html
though by now this is probably just of passing interest to you.
Best of luck with your own piece of kit.
Martin

Sophie Easterbrook said...

Hi Martin, thanks for that - I like the fact that you experimented on your daughter!!

I may have already bought this one, but I AM still interested as we will be after a second bottle for my husband John at some point - this one could be an option. I do like the fact that mine is lighter though!!

I'm not sure about the Aquagear bottle, but I like the fact that the Aqua Pure Traveller also gets rid of chemicals. I'd be interested to know if the Aquagear bottle is the same.

Sophie

John Dunbavin said...

Hi Sophie
Just a few thoughts for you. Hope they are of help.
I was wondering if you have managed to get any equipment sponsorships? I did not bother on my walk (wwwjohnandskye.blogspot.com) as I had all my tried and trusted kit already, but I did get given some wonderful 'Pacerpoles' which I felt were one of the most valuable bits of equipment I took. I'll never go back to normal poles!!
Anyway I am wrting to suggest you get in touch with the manufacturer who makes your dogs food. I did and they were more than enthusiastic to donate all her food for the trip which ended up being around 15kg a month (She is a GSD though!). It all saves on your expenses I guess but may also prove useful at raisiing your profile for fundraising. I used food with increased protein levels as the dog was working harder and lost weight on her normal food. The manufacturer was of great help. As for clothing...if you want my ten penethworth...Paramo Velez smock and wool baselayers. I used Goretex (Paclite) at first and got so fed up with them that I had my Paramo posted up to me. I used them throughout Scotland for 5months and would never use anything else. I culd rave on abut he merits of Paramo but the www is full of debates about it.
Hope the planning is coming on well.
John D

Sophie Easterbrook said...

Hi John, good to hear from you.

It's good to know you had support from your dog food manufacturer. I contacted Pet's at Home as Patch has always had their own Wainwrights dog food, but unfortunately they weren't interested.

I tried a few companies when tent hunting (John and I normally take a rather luxurious 3 man tent as we normally take all 3 dogs with us!) and no-one was interested except Terra Nova who offered a 25% discount. I then found one cheaper on ebay!!

I kind of gave up on getting sponsorship of any sort from companies as no-one seemed interested. Then today after exchanging emails with a lovely company called "icklebockle" they actually offered to donate the bottles without me even asking! Can you believe it!! What fab people!

I ordered the Montane Venture Jacket as it had good reviews but after sending it back once as it was tiny, the next size is still probably too small to comfortably fit a down vest under if necessary. I think I may send it back for a refund rather than another size. You are the second person to rate the Paramo Velez smock. The thing is, it won't save weight from my current jacket (North Face but I don't know what model!) I might just keep my current jacket as it has been well tested and has proven it's worth! It would save a few pounds too!

I've heard those pacer poles are good - I'm jealous!

sally in norfolk said...

Hi Sophie... i am thinking about getting the aqua pure traveller too for when i go to peru . have you tried yours out yet :-)

Sophie Easterbrook said...

Hi Sally

I haven't tried it yet, it's difficult to get away overnight while my horses (expensive pets!) are stabled overnight. Soon they will be out at night and I can get away then and I'll give the bottle a good try. Until then I'm just day hiking - and carrying plenty of water to get my pack weight up for training!

I think it's going to be good though - the reviews on it look good, and although you have to wait 15 mins before drinking the water, at least it gives me confidence that it's doing the job - most disinfectants require a "contact time" to kill bugs so I presume this works the same way.

I'll probably carry a spare 500ml bottle (empty coke bottle or something) to decant the disinfected water into if I need to carry more than the 500ml it holds.

Good luck in Peru - lovely!

sally in norfolk said...

I actually always carry a 2L platypus for my water... i drink alot especially in hot weather... when we went to corsica i was carrying 3L of water everyday which weighs a ton :-)
I enjoy reading your blog BTW and look forward to seeing how your walk goes