Customer Reviews

Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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

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The 5 most common ways backpackers/campers purify water are
1. Boil it. Obviously slow and cumbersome. If doing strenuous backpacking/canoeing each person will need to boil a big pot of water every night.
2. Natural sunlight - letting water sit in the sun for 6 hours works (need cloudless day, correct kind of clear plastic container). The World Health Organization published a study on this, but Amazon won't let me link to it.
3. Water pump - I have used MSR HyperFlow Microfilter, though there are cheaper options if you can accept it being slightly larger. In my opinion this is the best method.
4. Household chlorine bleach - the EPA and WHO give instructions on doing this. The EPA says this may not kill Cryptosporidium. I've never tried.
5. Iodine tablets -

Positives:
-Tablets are small/light for backpackers
-Only takes 30 minutes to have water ready
-No work required

Negatives:
-EPA says it is not 100% affective against Giardia and Cryptosporidium, especially if the water is cold while being treated.
-The taste is slightly bad ('metallic' is my best description).

I think a good attitude towards these tablets is "emergency use" (which is labeled on the side of the bottle, not visible in the Amazon image). No good backpacker doesn't have these, but I suggest a water pump as the planned primary method. Note: there are also iodine "neutralizer" tablets that are supposed to remove the bad taste (you drop them in after the 30 minutes is up and wait another 30 minutes). In my opinion they barely change the taste and are not worth it.

I'm only giving 4 stars since the EPA says it is not 100% effective against Giardia and Cryptosporidium. I'd give 5 stars if the product was named something like "EMERGENCY AQUA" instead of "POTABLE AQUA".

These are great to have when camping and traveling, but it's important to have a basic plan for water beyond the iodine tablets. You're really only supposed to use them in emergencies. If you're backpacking and need to drink the local water, you should take a filtration system with you or boil the water. This is a good backup to boiling and filtration if you're short on time, or you have equipment problems. Drinking water purified with iodine also tastes foul which is a big issue in rehydrating foods.

Also note that once opened, the Portable Aqua has a limited shelf life.

Having a water purification system along while you're in the wilderness is one of the two most important things I recommend when hiking or camping. (The other is a permanent fire starter which I have enclosed a link too). Whether you're just short of water or in the midst of a genuine survival situation, clean fresh water is the number one essential you will be required to find and sustain. Drinking dirty water can at the very least make you violently ill, and the very worst put you 6 feet under in the very wilderness you presently inhabit. Potable Aqua water tablets will purify dozens of gallons of water and make it safe for your consumption. It is generally tasteless and undetectable when mixed. However I did notice at certain times that the purified water had a slight taste similar to Flintstone vitamins, depending on the original source and condition of the water. An aftertaste is both very rare and not at all unpleasant. I have used Potable Aqua for years, and have purified both lake and stream water with it, and have never even been left with a slight tummy ache. Although I have used some of the other purification tablets here and available in other places, I recommend Potable Aqua simply because they are cheaper. And, they have the very same active ingredients that the more colorful, and more expensive variety carry. I highly recommend the Aqua tablets for anyone that ventures into the wilderness for fun and adventure. Or, for a must take along for anyone that travels to other countries where the water quality can be considered questionable.. Brunton Striker Fire Starter (Silver/Black)).

Save your money. You can find these exact tablets in Wal-Mart cheaper and there's no shipping. Amazon should figure a way to combine shipping costs better to sell the small things like this. Unless you live a hundred miles off the beaten path, go to a major retailer and get these. On the plus side, these are excellent in an emergency kit as anticeptic for cuts. Just take a couple of tablets and dilute them in a little water and you can sterilize minor wounds.

These are a Must for everyone to have in an Emergency kit.
I have set up a Earthquake Emergency Survival kit in my Garage.
This is one of the first things I purchased, as Water/H2O is essential to survial.
Small bottles are easy to store. Purchase a Case so you have enough.
Earthquake Emergencys may damage local supply of water forcing you to find water in streams.
In an Emergency such as a Flood your local water may become fouled with various yucky things.
These Iodine Tablets will get rid of harmful bacteria it may not make it look like evian, but you will survive and not with some bugs/bacteria inside you.

I've used several types of water purifiers and so far these have been the easiest and most convenient ones to use. Just drop a tablet into a quart of water and in about 30 minutes you're ready to hydrate. Some folks complain about the after taste, but believe me when I say it's better tasting compared to some other methods and certainly way better than getting diarrhea in the field.

I buy the individually wrapped ones and keep 8 doses worth in my EDC (every day carry) kit and about the same in my hiking survival kit. For about seven bucks, it's a great way to guarantee you have safer water to drink in a pinch.

In case you wanted to know what all I have in my EDC kit check out my blog at theseniorscout.com

We bought these "Potable Aqua Water Tablets" to put in our hiking safety kit (which my wife and son have dubbed the "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit"), and doubles as our car emergency kit as well. The small size, effectiveness, long shelf-life, and positive reviews were the main factors for my choice.

We always keep water in our trunk and pack a good amount in when we head into the woods (we live very near the Appalachian Trail), but it is important to always be able to make questionable water drinkable (potable) or usable for cleaning wounds.

Other iodine based tablets I have tried left a funny taste that was very noticeable, but tolerable. One tip I picked up from reading the reviews here is to carry a packet of Kool-Aid or two (doesn't take up much room) to mask the taste.

Recommended!

CFH

This is that standard for potable water tabs that I found locally but cheaper. Small enough to pack along for emergency situations. By the way, if you think enough to buy these tabs, make sure you bring a sealabe container for holding water as well...lol.

It's really hard to review a product you never used, and quite possibly never will. However after Receiving the product and inspecting the packaging, as well as other reviews on other websites and comparing it to similar products, I am fairly confident that I received a quality product that will perform as advertized. And that I received a fare value for my money. I would recommend it.

Chances are if I ever do have to use this product that you will not be reading this review because you, or I, or the whole world will be on fire or infected by zombies. Or Google will have took over the planet.