Water, you can never get enough of it. It surrounds us but most of it will make you violently ill if you try to drink it. Luckily we’ve been able to come up with some pretty ingenious ways to purify it and make it safe for consumption.
The easiest and most basic way is of course the tried and true method of boiling. But fire isn’t always an option. I went through one of the premade GoBags that I have bought and decided to test out one of the water purification tablets by Potable Aqua. It’s been a few days and no stomach issues, so it looks like they work.
Pros:
-Small and light can fit just about anywhere
– 50 tablets per container means 25 or roughly 6 gallons of clean drinking water. That much water can mean the difference between life and death
– 4 year shelf life (if the tablets turn green it’s time to toss them)
Cons:
-Takes a half hour to purify the water (not really a con but if I am thirsty I’d hate to have to wait for it)
– Bottle and tablets would be hard to use when you lose the dexterity in your fingers (as in during extreme cold weather.
– Regardless of what the site says, the tablets do leave a chemical taste to the water
Bottom Line:
At roughly $5.00 I think these Potable Aqua tablets should be added into every survival kit, provided that it is done alongside several other water purification methods. In a survival situation redundancy can save your life.
As a tip, carry some crystal light or Emergen C packets with you to help with any harsh chemical taste and replace any lost electrolytes.
Only add these in AFTER the water has been disinfected. If you put the flavoring in beforehand the tablets may not be fully effective.
Also, be sure to pre filter any water through a coffee filter, handkerchief or even a sock. This will help remove any sediment that would increase the turbidity of the water, allowing the bacteria ample places to hide and may make the tablet ineffective as well. In a survival situation you cannot afford to take chances when it comes to water.
What else would you suggest to help with water purification?
Hi you can always put the water into a clear plasic bottle and let it sit in the sunlight to efffect a cleansing of the water although it is not a quick fix-takes 4-6 hrs-make sure you wash any impurities out first-also if you use a small container bottle the cleasing time will be less for each container-use multiple containers and as you said use coffee filter to strain before hand–check it out
I hope your purification idea really works, because during Desert Storm we emptied thousands of 2 liter bottles because the provider sent instructions which stated that after a few hours of direct sunlight, the plastic bottles would give off pathogens which make the water NON-potable.
Do you have a reliable source to confirm your practice?
For me this is quite a conundrum.
Do not use iodine to treat water that will be consumed by anyone with thyroid problems. The New England Journal of Medicine published research from China that looks at the relationship between iodine intake and thyroid disease. Reporting in the June of 2006 issue, the researchers concluded that “more than adequate or excessive iodine intake may lead to hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroiditis.” My wife’s doctor told her to stay away from products containing iodine, because of her thyroid problems.
had a jar of these tablets arrive with some NZ army surplus gear, can’t be too bad if they are using them
The military issue purification tablets have, during my 35 yrs of service, contained high levels of iodine…and truly, they taste like…well, like iodine.
I retired in 2007, so I have no idea if the recipe has been changed.
Where do we get the portable Aqua tablets?
Tablets work except one needs to use an entire tablet (can’t adjust to water container size) and once bottle is opened shelf life is reduced to several months. Better option is the old school Polar Pure method.
Although Polar Pure is currently unavailable one can purchase the crystals from Canada and carefully use the bottle they come in or improvise a Polar Pure style bottle.
I have kept several old Polar Pure bottles and just refilled them with a small amount of crystals.
Dosage can be adjusted to the water temperature and size of water container plus shelf life is unliited as long as crystals are not continually exposed to air.
Hey Dave,
thanks for the comment, I am not actually familiar with Polar pure, can you give me a bit of insight on the product?
Hi Evangeline,
The tablets can be bought on amazon by clicking here but if you don’t feel comfortable buying them online, you should be able to find them at Academy, REI, or even Wal-Mart. They may be a couple bucks more expensive but they should be readily available to grab off the shelf.
Amazon costs $6.49 for 50 tablets.
Walmart costs $11.99 for 304 tablets.
See ya’ at Walmart…I wonder if Sams would be cheaper?
Great catch, do they actually have them in stock? I’ve lost trust in walmarts shipping, ordered a few things that took forever to get. But if they keep them on the shelf that is a fantastic price. Can you link the tablets so that others can check them out?
In addition to the tablets, some plain chlorine beach in an eye dropper bottle would help. Pre-filter with a coffee filter no matter what you use to prevent your filtration system from clogging. With the two units below adding the chlorine or processing the water using the tablet first then using the Berkey or Life Straw should remove the residual chlorine or chemical taste, but unless the water you are dealing with is really questionable you really don’t need to waste your pills and chlorine these units will do the job.
These are two units I have:
Berkey Sport filtration bottle:
http://www.directive21.com/products/sport-berkey-water-bottle/
Larger systems are available as well.
Life Straw Filter (more compact than the Berkey Sport):
http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/buy-lifestraw/lifestraw.html
I purchased an aqua pale system recently at a survival expo. Love it ! I went to purchase a berkey system However nearly every exhibiter there was selling aqua pale. Out of over 300 exhibiters there was only one berkey seller.The pale sells for $40.00 The berkey was at about $250-300.00 Check them out for yourself. The aqua pale actually filtered many more pathogens.
I actually have an aqua pail myself, I have been to 4 expo’s this year and have had the pleasure of seeing James ( the creator of aqua pail) at all but one of them. He is a great guy, has a lot of knowledge, and is more than happy to speak at length with just about anyone.
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Sawyer Mini Water Filter
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Product Description
The new Sawyer Mini Water Filter. It’s Light/Compact; 2 oz and fits in the palm of your hand. Versatile; drink directly, attach to Sawyer Squeeze Pouches, use inline, or attach to bottled water, and Effective up to 100,000 gallons; the Mini uses the same 0.1 micron hollow fiber technology used in other Sawyer filters. Kit includes Mini Filter, Drink Tube, one 16 oz pouch and cleaning syringe.