Customer Reviews

Katadyn Micropur MP1 Water Purification Tablets (30 Count)

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The EPA estimates that 90% of the world's fresh water is contaminated and unsuitable for drinking. The days of kneeling down on a hike and sipping from the stream are long gone. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because water looks clear or tastes good that it is free of contaminants. That includes frozen water, which can house hepatitis A, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium for months.

There are many options for purifying the water, but this post will compare commercial products that rely on halogen chemical treatments.

Polar Pure - contains iodine crystals, has an almost indefinite shelf life if kept tightly sealed, and very inexpensive per dose cost, requires measuring the dosage using the cap (which can be imprecise).

Potable Aqua - contains iodine tablets, shelf life of up to four years if properly stored - if they've turned a light green don't use, moderately expensive per dose cost, easy to administer doses (two tablets per quart of water).

Micropur MP1 - contains chlorine dioxide tablets, has a shelf life of at least four years, moderately expensive per dose cost, and comes in easy to administer doses (one tablet per quart of water).

Simple household bleach - 2 drops per quart of water (assuming a a bleach solution of 5-6% hypochlorite), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, shelf life of bleach is only about 6 months, must use a dropper to administer dose, very inexpensive per dose cost.

Tincture of iodine - 5 drops per quart (assuming a 2% iodine solution), may wish to double the dose for cloudy water, almost indefinite shelf life if properly stored, must use a dropper to administer dose, modest per dose cost.

All of the methods are effective at killing bacteria, somewhat effective against viruses, and of limited value against protozoa cysts. Cryptosporidium in particular is resistant to halogen treatments.

Most treatments only require 30 minutes. However, very cold water (i.e., less than 40 degrees F) should be allowed to sit for 2 or more hours, or be treated with a double dose.

As far as taste, all will introduce some chemical taste into the water. In a very unscientific taste test of chemical treatment methods, my own family concluded that iodine-treated water was by far the worst smelling and tasting, bleach-treated was second, and water treated with Micropur MP1 ready-to-use tablets was the least objectionable.

Finally, you can add Kool-aid to treated water to help the taste. Not only will it help to mask the chemical taste, but the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) converts the chlorine or iodine to tasteless chloride and iodide.

Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.

Written by Arthur Bradley, author of "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family."

I've used these several times over the past year, and compared to other chemical water treatments they're relatively painless. You don't have to force yourself to down chemical-tasting water.

To the earlier reviewer who mentioned treatment time: 4 hours is a worst-case scenario mandated by the EPA for killing one type of organism (cryptosporidium) in water that is both very cold and very dirty. All bacteria and viruses, except cryptosporidium and giardia, are killed in 15 minutes (even in cold water). Cryptosporidium and giardia are both killed in 30. In cold, very dirty (cloudy) water, it can take 4 hours for a full crypto kill.

I trust sodium dioxide over iodine as it protects against Crypto. If you give it enough time that is. Four hours to handle Crpto, I think. It also tastes a lot better. These tablets are much more convenient than the two solution version I have been using. That involved mixing two chemicals in a cap, letting it mix for a few minutes and them dumping it into your water bottle. The tablets are a simple one step procedure.

One has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this product based on one's needs or requirements. IMO, the pros and cons are...
Pros: These tabs weigh only a few ounces, but can treat up to 20 liters.
They are very effective at killing off viruses, bacteria, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium(EPA accepted). This product is great if you can't build a fire or boil water.
Cons: One tab for one liter so unless you stock up, you can only support one person for 5 days if you use 1 gal. or 4 liters per day for roughly $10. Compare this to 96oz(~56000 drops) of Clorox for $4 and it only takes 16 drops to treat 1gal. of water. Katadyn claims that their tabs leave virtually no taste to the water, but I disagree. There is a very strange taste in the water that is less tolerable than chlorine IMO. Minimum treatment time is 30 minutes for both.
Alternative: Boil water for 5 minutes at any desired quantity at virtually no cost! :)

It's impossible to tell if things like this work because if you don't get sick, you don't know if the water was infected or not. Nonetheless, on my last backpacking trip I planned on getting water from a stream that I saw on a map.

The stream ended up being extremely low, almost dry actually. The water was brown, almost completely still and very sketchy looking... I was pretty reluctant to drink it but I didn't have any other source of water for the trip.

I filled a 40oz container and added the pill. Waited 4 hours and drank the whole thing. Then got more water for the rest of the trip. I didn't get sick so it must have worked!

I've used the Katadyn Micropur tablets on two recent backpacking trips in conjunction with the Katadyn Pocket Water Filter. As a physician I am well aware of the "inconveniences" of drinking contaminated water so I am am doubly compulsive, both filtering and treating all the water we drink on our trips. The Micropur tablets are great. I know that this treatment will take of any microorganisms, particularly viruses, that might get through the filter. The water initially is slightly yellow after treating with the tablets but this is pretty much gone by morning. The best thing about these tablets is that the water tastes very good with virtually no after taste. It's really quite remarkable. The downsides are that it takes 4 hours to treat the water (but better safe than sorry) and they are very expensive (but not as expensive as a hospitalization). You need one tablet per liter of water so bring a lot if you are planning a long trip and/or get very thirsty.

There are some great reviews on here, explaining the merits, shelf lives, and methods of water purification. I'm a big believer in having multiple methods of water purification in an emergency situation. I feel that having multiple "redundant" solutions for making fire and cleaning water are key and have made them the primary components of my survival kits for my car, hiking, and home.

These tablets come in individually wrapped foil packs and are designed to combat bacteria found in your water. I'd still recommend a physical filtration system to work alongside this chemical purification method...but if I had to choose between a filter and these tablets, these tablets are a surefire method to remove bacteria...filters, well, they are better for filtering chemicals, not the super small bacteria.

These tablets take 4 hours and water must be kept dark for that time. It tastes better then iodine tablets, but iodine only takes about 20 minutes. They do the job, at least I have no reason to believe they failed, but you must factor the requirements into your situation.

Excellent product, used for a backpacking trip in Kauai, worked out perfectly. I wish it only took a little bit faster to make the water ready. Otherwise, no complaints. After water is ready it has a slight scent of chlorine, but if you leave the bottle open for sometime it completely disappears.

Just used the Katadyn Micropur tablets on a five day backpacking trip. Assuming that the tablets actually purify the water as advertised, I'm a big fan. They eliminate the need to spend a lot of time filtering (and cleaning the filter), for one thing. The aftertaste is really more like the taste of the bottled water people seem to enjoy over tap water at home. At any rate, the `aftertaste' - assuming you even notice it - is much better than the usual taste of backcountry water even after it has been filtered. The fact that the tabs take four hours to work is not a problem with just a bit of advance planning and sufficient bottle or hydration pack capacity in your pack. Finally, the tabs are well sealed (a good thing imho, since the tablets are somewhat caustic and you wouldn't want them inadvertently getting into your skin or your stuff), so it's worth remembering to keep your knife handy in order to break the seal for use. Overall, a great product that you'll really appreciate in the backcountry, especially when your pals are cussing at their filters while you're kicking back & enjoying the mountain or canyon country you came to see. The tabs are also a great lightweight backup for day hikes (you know what I mean if you've ever had a short hike turn into an epic adventure for whatever reason ...). "Get some!"