SteriPen Classic 3 UV Water Purifier and 40 micron Pre-Filter bundle,White

I have the original "classic" Steripen, and I bought this newer model to have as a backup. I've put a lot of hours on my first one, and I am not sure when the bulb might die.This update is a little nicer than the original, but it's not a big difference. People complain about the Steripen not being reliable. I, too, have had problems--red light warning for no apparent reason mostly. What I have discovered (I think) is that some water has too little conductivity to satisfy the sensor that tells the computer that the device is submerged. When the pen will not work after two tries, I put a small pinch of salt in the water and stir it in with the Steri pen. That almost always solves the problem. The salt increases the conductivity of the water, and the sensor is happy.I use lithium batteries, and I get very long use. I used it to sterilize water for 4 people for 8 days, and the batteries held out fine. Lithium batteries are lighter, work better at very cold temperatures, and have a longer shelf life than alkaline batteries, in addition to simply lasting longer. Lithiums are expensive, but they cost no more than alkaline batteries when their longer life is taken into account.

To decide which water purification system will work for you, you need to match capabilities with requirements—horses for courses, as they say. For example, if viruses are a concern then a typical .1-micron backpacking filter wouldn't be a good choice. Say, if you were an international traveler or you worry about norovirus. Viruses are the most common cause of water-born intestinal illness and filters won't remove them and don't claim to.There are two modern ways to kill all pathogens, including viruses. The SteriPens are one. The other is the Aquamira Water Treatment Drops. The Aquamira drops work by reacting to produce an oxygenated chemical that does the work. The reacting and treatment can easily be done in the backcountry. The whole process takes at least 20 minutes but you can keep hiking for most of that. The SteriPens work by producing sterilizing UV light and take only a few minutes. The Classic 3 can use any type of AA battery, including rechargeables or, in an emergency, readily available alkalines. You get about 150 liters from a set of lithiums. The SteriPen weighs 141 g with batteries. The 1 oz Aquamira kit weighs about 75 g and treats 115 liters; you can adjust the mix for different volumes, such as 20 oz instead of a liter.Another option would be to use Aquatab tablets. These create the same oxygenated chemical as Aquamira drops and also take about a half hour to work. They cost about ten cents per quart of treated water whereas Aquamira costs about a penny.The SteriPen pre-filter is a nice addition, even though it's relatively heavy. It connects to the nifty Nalgene On-The-Fly 22-oz water bottle, but imperfectly. The 40-micron filter won't remove cloudiness and certainly not pathogens. You could also use a coffee filter or even a bandanna. If you don't need to filter out pine needles and chipmunks you can jam the SteriPen directly into the filled bottle's drinking tube. If you use repurposed 590 ml energy drink bottles to hold your water, as many thru-hikers do, you can drill a 7/8” hole in a spare cap and wedge the SteriPen into it during treatment—a perfect solution, except you'll have to decide whether to use the half liter or full liter treatment options depending on clarity and source of the water.You have to be aware that no system works on water that's in the threads of containers, and both are less effective at treating the bacterial biofilms that form on tiny particles in cloudy water. You have to take care not contaminate your purified drinking water with even a drop of untreated water in your apparatus, as some pathogens need only a few organisms to cause an infection. Be sure to dry out those threads, and don't brush your teeth with untreated water. Aquamira treated water kills pathogens that it comes into contact with during the time it is working, so you can use that to your advantage, but SteriPen treated water is always inert.One worry about the SteriPens used to be the life of the UV discharge tube. SteriPen has addressed that with their Premium Lamp Life Pledge. When the number of treatments with your registered unit approaches 8,000 SteriPen will send you a brand new unit. That's one reason I have decided to use a SteriPen when appropriate: not because I think that I will ever use it up, but because I admire a company that stands behind its products.You should understand some things about acquired intestinal distress. Water-born illness doesn't come on immediately; most infections take about a week or so to manifest. If illness comes on more quickly, the most likely cause is food poisoning. If illness appears on an outing, you probably were infected beforehand. The most common mode of acquiring intestinal distress is, ahem, fecal-oral transmission. Avoiding that transmission process requires diligent hand washing when preparing food in the back country, something that is seldom assiduously practiced. I suspect that nearly all clear back country water is OK to drink without treatment except that downstream from persistent human habitation, but even if you become infected, you'll be home before it hits you.

Appears to work as expected. Wish it was smaller

I just ordered this Steripen Classic 3 uv-water purifier a few days ago amid this buying craze during the coronavirus pandemic. The vendor was charging a very fair price for this product what do you want, not engaging in the price gouging practices of all the other vendors pool right now disgust me. Also, it was shipped to me very fast; within three days. This is a great product for purifying your drinking water. But you must remember to use a clear you and the baby, moving water source. It comes with a cap that will fit most wide mouth bottles, like nalgene. there's a hole on top where a pre-filter sports nozzle screws on security. Both pieces are included in this kit along with the sterilizer. You can take off the pre-filter sports nozzle just stick the steripen inside the hole. it forms a watertight seal in which you can turn the bottle upside down and shake it to agitate the water for better sterilization. I also use my steripen to sterilize small surfaces and objects, like my wallet, keys, and cell phone. This is a great product that I should have bought for my emergency kit years ago.But better late than never. I'm very happy with this product and with the vendor's (GR8 SALES) excellent service, honest price policy, and super fast shipping. I'm looking forward to doing business again with this company.

Small and lightweight. Works great. Your typical copper top alkaline batteries may not be enough but works great with good quality name brand single use lithium AA batteries. Like with anything, have backup plans just in case. I've not had a problem and have never had to resort to plan B, but I bring a life straw as a backup just in case. Be prepared.

Après un mois d’utilisation le steripen décharge les piles beaucoup trop vite: nous sommes en voyage autour du monde et malheureusement nous devons changer les piles toutes les semaines. À ce rythme nous aurons payé plus cher de piles que de steripen… sans compter l’impact environnemental. Nous sommes très déçus par ce produit et accessoirement en difficulté pour la fin de notre voyage.

Se describe el producto Steripen Classic 3 con filtro y funda de neoprfeno incluidas pero solo vienela unidad Steripen.

Meiner Meinung nach die beste Wasseraufbereitungsmethode für Wanderungen in Friedenszeiten (mit Wasseraufbereitungstabletten als Backup). In Krisenzeiten sollte man allerdings besser einen Sawyer-Wasserfilter als Backup dabei haben.

Con un serbatoio dove l'acqua non è potabile per coliformi, e il filtraggio da un micron lascia problemi, l'impiego con la borraccia specifica a bocca larga toglie gli inquinanti, con provetta di valutazione ancora chiara dopo tre settimane.Ci vuole un po' di abilità se si vuole rovesciare la borraccia, perché la tenuta è problematica.Caro, anche se probabilmente riuscendo a capire come si fa, dovrebbero rimpiazzare gratuitamente la lampada uv a fine vita.

I cannot help but feel if this product failed anyone they would be too ill or dead to review it poorly.All I can say it is I am still alive and well after using it for a week to purify water from rivers and lakes in the alps.It eats through batteries so if you're going for an extended trek I would advise getting some rechargeable batteries and a method of charging them.