Customer Reviews

SteriPEN Classic Handheld Water Purifier

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Have been traveling for a total of a year with this little device. Never got sick. Not needing cartridges is nice. Don't get the ones that take CR123A cells - how are you going to find those in Uzbekistan?

Some tips, no particular order:
1. Buy one large silk neckerchief, 2 Nalgene HDPE *narrowmouth* bottles, 4 high-capacity AA NiMH eneloop batteries, and a wall charger. The neckerchief is your filter for "floaty stuff" and the Steripen snaps into the mouth of the Nalgenes like it was made for it, providing a watertight seal. Shake instead of stir, and no spilled water! Buy all this and never have to find bottled water in rural China again!
2. Dry it thoroughly before storing! Otherwise you'll get scale (limestone) buildup between the sensor electrodes and the pen will refuse to start.
3. With NiMH 2500mAh batteries, you can purify about 40 liters before a recharge.
4. Note that the Steripen DOES NOT remove harmful chemicals like oil or gasoline from water! To fill your water bottle safely from a source with oil or other petrochemicals floating on the top, submerge the CAPPED bottle first under the water, open the bottle underwater to fill, and cap the bottle underwater and bring it back out. Old Army trick.
5. Locals by the watering holes in Africa will wonder what the hell you are doing. And it's completely impossible to pantomime what the Steripen does. :)
6. Bring iodine tablets as a backup. Though it works well, it's electronic and can break.
7. When going through airport security, take this out of your bag and put it on the conveyor belt separately. There's something about the internal arrangement of parts that makes the guys running the X-ray suspicious, so they will pull your bag and search it manually every time unless the Steripen is already out.

I let my daughter and her boyfriend use my Steripen while trekking in Nepal for 3 weeks. Since bottled water was expensive and hard to get at the higher elevations they Steripened all water on the trek. The water sources were creeks and any other puddle they could find. If you have ever been to Nepal you know how polluted water sources can be. They never got sick, but did report many others getting sick while using iodine tablets. Iodine does not kill viruses and Crytosporidia so you are taking a chance with these pills in many international destinations. They also used it for 4 weeks in India without any problems. For longest battery life use Lithium.

UPDATE 8/21/011: Battery Life Results shown at end of review
==============================================================

So far, pleased as punch...4 stars for me. If bulb could be replaced by the user and it were absolutely bulletproof, then I would give it 5 stars. I use mine with 4ea AA Eneloop batteries. Those are the only rechargeable batteries I would buy. With a set of replacement AAs, it's a little bit more of a bundle to schlepp around, but having the AA capability is just fine with me.

For the most part, success with this device is all about reading the directions. Read the directions! Read the DIRECTIONS!!! READ THE DIRECTIONS!!! You have to press the START button for the dosage you want BEFORE YOU INSERT INTO THE WATER you want to treat.!!!!!! Otherwise, IT WILL NOT WORK!!!! I read the instructions when I got it, promptly forgot the sequence, took it into the wilderness without the instructions on a day hike and couldn't get the blasted thing to work!

I had visions of my $70 water purifier being broken, or my Eneloop batteries somehow getting prematurely drained. It was PILOT error! Fortunately, I brought enough water with me but was angry as a hornet when it didn't work. When I got home, studied the directions again, then cut off the English portion and put them in the blue Steripen storage pouch. The directions are also essential to understand the meanings of the various color and flash sequences for the LED.

The specs state two curiosities. First is that it treats 16 oz of water in 48 seconds and 32 oz of water in 90 seconds. Second, the bulb is good for 8000 treatments. The bulb is on for 6 seconds less for a full 32 oz treatment than for two 16 oz treatments. Second, the manufacturer makes no distinction for bulb life with respect to 16 oz or 32 oz treatments. That would lead me to suspect that bulb life is determined by how many starts it is subjected to rather than how long the bulb is in the "on" state. It would seem that you are going to get the best bang for your buck by treating 32 oz of non turbid water at a time. The LED color and flashing sequence will alert you to when you have approximately fewer than 100 treatments left on the bulb. The bulb can be replaced only at the factory. At today's prices, it will cost about $30-$35 which would include your shipping costs both ways.

I also bought the SteriPEN FitsAll Filter. However, in some water sources, even the 4 micron filter is insufficient to filter some of the suspended particles, leaving the water somewhat turbid. The solution is to let the water settle to decrease turbidity or run the water through something like the Katadyn Pocket Water Microfilter before treating with the Steripen. The instructions also provide a procedure for dealing with turbid water, one being to zap the water again depending on turbidity. Doing this will reduce the quantity of water treated over the life of the bulb. Some turbid waters might even be "tea" stained and some color could still get through, no matter what kind of filter you use. Have not run across any flocculating agents that are not combined with a chlorine treatment.

The cap for the Steripen's business end is sturdy and looks to provide adequate protection for the bulb. The Steripen slipped out of its pouch on to a carpeted floor when I retrieved if for this review and there was no harm done. I recommend caution in removing the cap to ensure it doesn't become an inadvertent lever to snap off that bulb. I do this by gripping both the cap and the body of the pen while popping the cap loose with a slight twist, then removing the cap. The cap plus its ventilated neoprene blue pouch would seem to protect it from most knocks in your pack. I am keeping my eye out for a wide mouth container something of the gauge of the standard milk jug, but just big enough to take the Steripen in its pouch as an added measure of protection. Even though the pouch has a velcro belt loop, for me, that is an invitation for a disaster. There is a provision for connecting a lanyard from the Steripen to the pouch if you wear it on your belt.

I would not rely on this as a sole means of providing safe drinking water just because of the battery situation and the potential for the bulb to break. For me, it is a backup system. The Katadyn Pocket Micro is the first line of defense with the Steripen to treat more highly suspect waters. Lastly, I am always prepared to boil. I always choose the clearest water I can find.

Will keep track of see how many 32 oz treatment cycles I can get on one set of fully charged Eneloops and update this review later. As a final note, in some reviews out there, there is confusion on how many times to press the start button for either the 16oz treatment vs the 32 oz treatment. Again this is where reading the instructions is essential. Pressing start button ONCE treats 32, pressing TWICE treats 16. It's counter intuitive I know, but as of 5/11/2010, those are the facts.
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UPDATE 8/21/2011: Battery Life
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This section will be dedicated to results achieved with different battery brands. Results will be entered as they are ready for posting. Only 90 second treatments are performed because the bulb appears to be rated for 8000 treatments (#bulb starts) regardless of time the bulb is on. If you choose to treat only 45 seconds for 1/2 liter, then you will get only 8000 1/2 liter treatments vs 8000 1 liter treatments.

1. Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable: similar to: Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH Charger and 8 Rechargeable AA and 4 Rechargeable AAA Batteries (also contained 4ea AA to D adapters and 4 ea AA to C adapters although not shown as being part of this set.) Price paid in 2010 ~$19

Test began 7/17/2011
- ~ battery condition: used these 4 only 4x since 2009, installed these 4 in unit fully charged for original review 5/2010 but used only 4 times in the year; low battery LED code displayed after 4 treatments; removed and charged fully to determine # of 90 sec treatments until dead.
- water was treated 2-4 times per day on some days. Sometimes several days passed between treatments. Results might indicate that batteries recover during periods of rest.
-ambient temperature: 80-85 degrees F

# of 90 second treatments from fully charged state:

until low battery LED code first appears....32
after low battery code appears...............2
several days rest; NO low batt code..........4
Low battery code reappears..................17
Total # of treatments through 8/20..........55*
*UPDATE Dec 4, 2011: the batteries went 4 more treatments through 8/27 for a total of 59.

Remarks: To ensure that treatments went the full 90 seconds after the low battery code appeared, treatments were timed. This is really unexpected and quite remarkable. Never expected this many treatments on one charge. As the batteries age, I expect the # of treatments per charge to diminish. My guess is that the $19 set has already paid for itself many times over. The other 4 have been used in a Canon A540 since 2009.

2. Duracell Alkaline: TBD

3. Kirkland Alkaline: TBD

I bought my Steripen 4 years ago to use on St John,where we all drink rainwater that is collected off our roofs(with bird/lizard poop),and stored in cisterns(with frogs,leaves,silt,) and it works great.Rainwater clogs small pump type filters really fast,like after 10 gallons.

BUT:Just remember this is just rendering the bugs harmless...if your water has airborne/roof borne/inherent contaminants like chemicals,or toxins from the bugs activities,this will not do anything about those toxins.Rainwater in cisterns,and from many other sources,may contain alot of stuff that is potentially toxic,(especially in the long term)but not alive,and only a charcoal filtration system will trap and remove that stuff.

So just be aware that you have only rendered the bugs harmless,but their toxins and other chemicals are still in the water.Use the cleanest water you can find,and look upstream.
That being said,I have consumed swampwater(Yech!) in the wilderness and not gotten
sick and I consider this device essential to my lifestyle.

I purchased the SteriPen before moving to the mountains of China for 6 months. After doing the math, I knew that I'd be spending a lot more on bottled water than it would cost to purchase the pen. I was glad I bought it as I was able to use it on the tap water (which is undrinkable in China if you're not a local whose body has adapted- unless it's a major city like Beijing, and then bottled water is a must!) I also used it on the water that I had to pull out of a well when we had no tap. It saved me loads of money and didn't alter the taste of the lovely mountain water like boiling or iodine tablets do. I was able to have clean water when washing my face and brushing my teeth in addition to having clean drinking water. And supposedly, it's even safer than filtering and iodine. Filtering will not always remove various bacteria or diseases such as Yellow Fever, but all of that will be neutralized with the SteriPen. UV light is actually used in many water purifying centers.

A few tips though:

1. Use lithium batteries. They'll last much longer. I brought 7 packs for my trip and only used half that in 6 months. If you're going on a long hike, bring an extra pack of batteries- they're not that heavy in comparison to a water filter and you'll have a backup in case you need it.

2. Don't pull too hard on the glass portion of it when drying it off. I noticed that I had a few problems with that because I was a little too rough on it. After I realized what I was doing, I was a little more gentle and it worked fine. But I'm surprised to hear that some people managed to break theirs, I kept mine in the cushioned pouch and it didn't even get scratched.

3. Make sure you buy a water bottle with a wide mouth and measuring lines on the side. You'll need the space to swirl the SteriPen around and you'll want to know how much water you're putting in the bottle.

4. If you're pulling water out of streams, the SteriPen will not remove sediment, so bring something like pantyhose, etc. to filter out larger particles.


I did all of the above and didn't get sick from the water even once while in the mountains of China for 6 months. Now that I'm back in the States, I keep it for emergencies and will be using it on my upcoming camping trip!

I've been very impressed with this little device. I've done a lot of backpacking and used both the pumps and the chemical treatments. This gets the job done much faster (90 seconds for a liter), with no chemical taste, and best of all it's small enough that you don't have to limit using it to camping out. In fact, I take mine with me pretty much whenever I leave the house! (ok, maybe I'm a bit paranoid about the water-supply..)

Anyway, I definitely recommend the steripen, and don't think there is anything comparable out there (there's another thing that looks pen-shaped but it uses a chemical process that takes a long time to really kill the stuff you want to kill).

Happy travels!

I've had it for over a year but have only used it a few times. I haven't gotten sick. The water I used it on was likly clean. The only warning is making absolutely certain that the threads on your bottle lids are clean and dry which may be difficult. It only takes one drop of contaminated water to run back into the sterilized supply. I look forward to purchasing the filter cap. I looked at the MIOX but the fact that takes up to 6 hours to work on viruses put me off.

My first experience with the Steripen was on a canoe trip with a crew of Boy Scouts in Algonquin where there is clear water everywhere, but it needs to be treated. One of the challenges with scout trips is that everyone wants their water to be treated, but they don't like the taste of iodine and hate the work involved with pumping. The Steripen solves both of these issues!

It's really only effective for locations where the water is fairly clear to start (ponds, lakes, streams). As others have mentioned, is not poluted with chemicals or oil (urban flood water).

The only down-side is that the unit is quite fragile and I've already broken mine once. Fortunately, a replacement bulb can be installed for $27 by the manufacturer. But, if you break the bulb on a trip (like I did), or the batteries die on you (which has happened too), make sure you have your iodine tables as a back-up.

Whenever I go out of the country, I usually get some sort of stomach illness. However, this pen was pretty much a life-saver for me. I took a month-long trip to a 3rd-world country and used this pen every day to purify my water in order to brush my teeth and drink water. I did not get sick once. This product is one of the best modern-technology investments i have made, and I highly recommend it to anyone to use for overseas and backpacking/hiking trips. It helps save the water supply, and helps prevent the overconsumption and waste of plastic water bottles. In addition, when used with AA lithium batteries, this thing goes a really long way.

This is one of those items that I spent over $100 that was not an electronics gaget or larger "item."

This steripen treats most drinkable water without tablets, clorox drops, or other additives.

It uses UV light to make most waters drinkable.

For example, there is usually plenty of water in flooded areas (but none that is really drinkable - unless it is boiled, treated or plain bottle water), the water gets all foul by mixing with other nasty stuff that can make you sick. As long as the water did not mix with "chemicals," than you may have a chance with the SteriPen.

I have been using it; testing it on rain water, and melted ice water - & I am happy to say that even with my sensitive GI - no problems!!! I even carry an extra in a makeshift emergency kit!