Whether you’re vacationing in Mexico or hiking the Catskills, there’s nothing worse than pulling off an Oregon Trail fatality… dysentery. Okay, perhaps that’s a stretch, but sickness caused by unsterilized water is high-up on the list of potential excursion quagmires. Technology to the rescue.

The >SteriPEN JourneyLCD is a travel, handheld water purifier that simplifies the process of, well, water purification. The JourneyLCD features an integrated LCD screen that lets user’s choose how much water they plan to purify (half or full liter). It also displays a countdown timer, battery level, and a usage number that notifies you when the UV lamp approaches its life limit. At 8,000 cycles, we’re willing to be that only the most hardened of Gear Patrol readers will reach the breaking point in any short amount of time.

Taking less than 50 seconds to purify 16 oz of water, the SteriPen JourneyLCD is as quick as it is convenient. The small size makes it convenient to pack and you can even purchase the optional SteriPEN FitsAll Filter which lets you utilize the JourneyLCD on nearly all types of bottles (Nalgene, Sigg, plastic water bottle, etc).

Editor’s Note: With winter approaching, we thought it would be appropriate to share a side note about SteriPEN. We’ve been told that there are times when users are unable to use the SteriPEN on melted snow or ice where electrical conductivity is low. When asked this, SteriPEN explained that all current models utilized doubled electrode voltage that function in the coldest or distilled water.

Cost: $99