SteriPEN Adventurer Water Purifier & Solar Charging Case

Sounds good on paper, until you take a wrong turn and add ten miles to the ride, or simply require more water than you can carry. More than once my ration strategy has left me returning to the car seeing double from dehydration…not exactly the best scenario for riding performance or recovery.

So, when I heard that the SteriPEN Adventurer Water Purifier ($130) would nestle lightly in my pack until called upon for its lightning fast water refills, my kidneys breathed a sign of relief.

What makes the SteriPEN Adventurer so different from other water treatment methods is it uses ultraviolet light to destroy all water born microbes (protozoa, bacteria, viruses) like Cryptosporidium, Giardia, E. Coli, Typhoid, Tuberculosis, Bird Flue, etc. Simply put, if something is alive in the water, the SteriPEN Adventurer kills it.

And for those who are reassured by numbers, if you use this little gem correctly it will lay waist to over 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses and 99.9% of protozoa. These kill figures exceed the US EPA’s Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers.

My first test of the SteriPEN Adventurer took place on the kitchen counter. The directions stated to push the “go” button on the unit’s side once for one liter of water and to then submerge the pen’s bulb into the water bottle. I did as instructed and once wet, a blue light emanated from the bulb. Ninety seconds later the light turned off, thus signaling the treatment was finished and the water ready to drink. After this trial run, I was an expert. It’s that simple.

The pen’s blazing speed and simplicity was appreciated on the trail, as I could crank out two or three liters of water in the time it took friends to assemble their pump filters, let alone get them up and running.

(It should be noted that the SteriPEN Adventurer purifies a maximum of one-liter per treatment. When I foresaw the need to refill my pack’s bladder, I carried a collapsible bottle along for one-liter purifications and then refilled the bladder one-liter at a time. If I was filling bike water bottles, I used the pen on its .5 liter setting. Also, if things are looking frosty, keep the batteries warm by storing them in your pocket. And do not attempt to treat sediment filled or cloudy water, as the suspended particles greatly decrease the pen’s effectiveness.)

The size and weight of the SteriPEN Adventurer is another plus, as it measures six inches long, by 1.5 inches wide and is 1 inch thick. And at 3.5 ounces in weight, it goes along for the ride virtually unnoticed. Two CR123 batteries supply the power and treat about fifty liters.

For those of you using rechargeable batteries, or for anyone planning multi-day bike tours or cycling expeditions, consider the Solar Charging Case ($50). This simple device can re-juice two rechargeable CR123 batteries (included with case) in about two to four days. Due to this battery down time, it’s best to carry two sets, so one pair can always be charging. The case is also plug-in compatible, so you can recharge the fast way by tapping into a wall socket. The rechargeable cells support about thirty-five litters of pure water.

Overall, I found the SteriPEN Adventurer to work flawlessly on numerous rocky mountain epic-style rides. The pen was easy to use, lightweight, and killed the micro-water born bad guys with a vengeance. And knowing that clean, drinkable water was available at every stream crossing meant I didn’t need to carry as much H2O in my pack bladder, thus reducing my overall weight by at least a pound.

www.steripen.com

	Solar Charging Case