SteriPEN Traveler Mini Water Purifier

2 companions and myself used this pen on an overnight backpack trip in the Tetons. It was light and easy to use. I assume it was effective. We did not get sick.

This was a pretty good price for a good product. We just took it on a backpacking trip about a week ago. Given that is was in N. America, virus's really aren't a big worry, so it was just for additional peace of mind. We used the Sawyer Squeeze filter first to filter a liter bottle of water, then used the SteriPEN in that filtered water for additional purification. The filter would have probably been enough to keep the water safe. The SteriPEN goes above and beyond the filter in that it takes care of virus's that the filter can't get, though, like I said, those really aren't much of a worry in N. America. The SteriPEN functioned just fine. We ended up treating just about 2+ gallons of water for the 3-day weekend trip for two people, and then filled both our 3L CamelBak bladders with more treated water for the hike back out, so maybe about 4 gallons of water total. You just press the button once (for 1L, twice for 1/2L) with the wand in the water, watch the blue/purple light come on, and stir it around (keep the wand covered in water) until the light turns off in the wand. The little LED light on the handle shows green to tell you it was successfully treated, or red if you need to try again. There's a light code key in the instructions. Of course I really have no idea whether or not there were really any virus's in there or not to begin with, so I can't really tell you whether it gave us added protection or not, but I know it felt good to know that, not only did we filter out what we could, but then purified it additionally after that. Worth the price, especially if you travel out of the country - I wouldn't go without this little device.

I don't usually rate items without field testing first, but this item comes with good reviews from around the internet. It is also very light and does not take up much room in my sling pack. I make trips down into the Rio Grande Gorge near my home in Taos where most hikes down to the river are about 800' elevation gain/loss over a mile and a half and it's a long, tough day of fishing and hiking. Finally, the purifier could be a life saver if dehydration becomes severe.

Beautifully made, compact, works as advertised. A must for travel.

This was quite inexpensive and is the same as the steripen adventurer but only that it has a shorter lifespan.