SteriPEN AdventurerOpti
A Bug Zapper For Your Water
You used to have three options when it came to purifying your drinking water in the backcountry: boiling it, hand pumping it through a purifier, or treating it with iodine tablets. With the SteriPEN, there is now a fourth, more high-tech choice: zapping the invisible critters with ultraviolet light. As someone who’s always used the tried and true methods, I must admit it was a leap of faith to trust what looks like a small flashlight to keep me from days of gastrointestinal Armageddon.
The AdventurerOpti is SteriPEN’s smallest and lightest model and it uses a revolutionary optical sensor to detect the presence of water before the unit begins to sterilize. Despite the high technology, the SteriPEN couldn’t be easier to use. Hold it in a bottle of questionable water and watch the purple light glow for about a minute while slowly stirring. When the light goes out, it’s safe to drink. How does it work in the real world? Well, the only evidence I can present is the lack of emergency runs to the bushes by me or any of my fellow human guinea pigs on a four-day backpacking trip. That’s about the best you can hope for.
Two weaknesses of the SteriPEN are the necessity to pre-filter your water for debris or sediment (a coffee filter works well) and the X-factor batteries present in the backcountry. Though battery life is long, if they do lose power or the sealed battery compartment floods, you’re out of luck. But in that case, you can always go low-tech and resort to boiling your water again.
Buy now: $100
