Discussions

Heya folks,  
 
So, I've recently been gearing up to begin doing day hikes and possible over-nighters once I find a few good trails that I like, and I've been wondering about water supply. It's doable to bring along enough potable water, but it would add a lot of weight to my gear, so I was wondering how drinkable the water is in our nearby rivers and lakes.  
 
Obviously it'd need to be boiled or filtered, but would something such as a Sawyer Squeeze work well enough for a filter? Or would it be safer to just get purifying chemical mixtures to be sure it's fully drinkable?  
 
Just figure I should figure this out /before/ I dive into something with little to no knowledge! LOL!  
 
Cheers folks

You could look into a LifeStraw, I believe most stores that selling camping gear also sell the tablets for boiling in water as well.  
 
I cannot speak for how safe our lakes and rivers are to drink from directly though without filtration or boiling.  
 
The last thing you wanna do is get sick, be safe!

Oh the waters in the lakes and rivers are extremely unsafe to drink without chemical purification or filtration, I've been out sailing on Lake Winnipeg and have always been raised to not drink the waters from the river.  
 
I just wanted to get confirmation from someone who knew better than me if filtration or boiling would do it fine for water, cause if not I'd look into something heavier duty like chemicals and such.

at MEC online....they have light travel filtration systems

If you have water around my suggestion is to go with the Sawyer mini (unless you have many others with you)great for 1 or 2 people, have used mine at least 100 to 150 times. They are much better then the life straw (have broken 3 of them over the years). Sawyer mini around $30 cdn, have also used the aqua tabs from Canadian tire, a 50 pack is $13. Make sure you know if there is water ahead of your journey and bringing in a small amount for a safety net is always a good idea.  
 
Edited by , 2017-12-06 11:52:25

Unless you want to get beaver fever or some other devastating disease/problem make sure you use the best filtration (Life Straw or similar) possible. I think boiling for at least 3 minutes is still a good idea. Too much chemicals/fertilizers/who knows what in our waters now.