Jul. 14, 2025
Agriculture
For about twenty years and almost exclusively I have used Aquamira ($15) to purify backcountry water sources. And it’s been the only purification method used by the guided trip program that I started in and that has over 1,000 alumni.
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Last month two of these alumni emailed me separately, asking for a written explanation of our Aquamira methods. Alfredo wrote, “I am leading a group of ten new backpackers on a three-day trip in central Florida. I normally use a gravity filter but want to change to Aquamira after using it in the High Sierra.” And David wrote, “Please explain how your guides use Aquamira and the dropper bottles. I want to do the same on a trip next month to the Grand Canyon.”
The text in this post is slightly more nuanced and comprehensive, but this video will get you 90 percent of the way there, too:
Water can be effectively treated by boiling it, treating it with chemicals (iodine, bleach, chlorine dioxide), filtering it, or subjecting it to UV light. All methods are designed to either kill, neutralize or extract pathogens (protozoa, bacteria, and viruses) that can infect a human with a waterborne illness. For a deeper dive on the pros and cons of these options, read this post.
In North America, we’re mostly concerned about having severe gastrointestinal distress, and giardia probably gets the most attention.
My recommended water purification method is Aquamira, a chemical treatment of chlorine dioxide. I prefer Aquamira for personal and guided trips because:
1. It works. I track injuries and illnesses, and Aquamira has a very good track record in our program. Clients or guides have rarely become ill during or after their trips, and these cases can often be attributed to likely human error (e.g. mixing up of purified and unpurified bottles).
2. It’s time efficient. In a 10-person group, at each water stop we treat at least ten liters of water. If this stop precedes a dry day or a dry camp, we could be looking at fifty liters (13 gallons)! With Aquamira, we can do this in just a few minutes. With filters or UV pens, each water stop would take substantially longer.
3. It has little aftertaste, unlike other chemical treatments like bleach or iodine.
4. It has few potential points of failure. Versus boiling, Aquamira is faster, better tasting, and less fuel consumptive. Unlike filters, Aquamira does not clog and require backflushing. Unlike UV pens, it does not rely on electronics, batteries, or fragile glass.
The advantages of Aquamira seem to hold in all of our operating areas, which in include southern Utah, Alaska, the High Sierra, Yellowstone, and the Appalachians.
I prefer the Aquamira drops over chlorine dioxide tablets like these from Potable Aqua ($18) because the drops are more flexible and more cost effective.
To purify water, the manufacturer recommends these steps:
The manufacturer’s instructions will effectively purify your water, but it has drawbacks.
One issue is the physical bottles containing Parts A and B.
A second issue is the 5-minute wait while Parts A and B react to each other. This time adds up over a day, and it’s disruptive to a hiking cadence. Also, the mixing cap is vulnerable to being stepped on or knocked over, or having debris land in it.
Finally, the recommended dose (fourteen drops total) may be appropriate for “worst case” water like a cow pond with poop floaties and a dead carcass, but it’s overkill for most water sources. When used on water taken from good-to-great sources, the water will have a noticeable swimming pool-like chlorine taste.
Below I share how we use Aquamira. These practices are inconsistent with the manufacturer’s recommendations. So far they have worked well for us, but your mileage may vary. Follow this information at your own risk.
We decant Parts A and B into these 10 ml dropper bottles from US Plastics, using an irrigation syringe. These bottles, which are light-proof and air-tight, are easier to squeeze and they’re more appropriately sized for smaller groups and trips of normal lengths.
To mark the bottles, I use this multi-pack of electrical tape:
By using a different dropper bottle, you run the risk of having bottles with unequal drop sizes, i.e. Seven drops of A and B actually translate to 10 drops out of your dropper bottles. It’s important to test the relative drop size and to adjust accordingly.
At the first water source or in the morning over breakfast, we premix Parts A and B into a third dropper bottle. If we use another 10 ml bottle, we wrap it in yellow tape. Soloists may want to use smaller premix container, like this 6 ml bottle.
Important: If you are making the premix, ignore anyone who tries to talk with you. If you want to talk to the person making the premix, wait until they are completely done.
A 10 ml bottle will hold about 75 drops of both Part A and B, for a total of 150 drops. In our program, this is enough to purify about 20 liters of water.
By making the Aquamira beforehand, we avoid the 5-minute wait time that’s part of the manufacturer’s recommended process. In addition, our capped premix bottle is more secure than the provided mixing cup.
The effectiveness of premix over time is not officially established. I’ve heard reports of it being okay for several days, but I encourage my guide team to cook a new batch of Aquamira each morning. This daily routine seems more reliable than trying to recall if the premix is from, say, Tuesday morning or Wednesday evening.
The manufacturer recommends a mixture of seven drops of both Part A and B (fourteen drops total) per one liter of water, and before drinking waiting at least fifteen minutes (or four hours if there’s a risk of cryptosporidium).
We never intentionally wait four hours, even in a location like southern Utah where there’s little water and almost no high quality water. I only have one record of a client testing positive for crypto, six years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park. This means that one of two things:
Instead of the recommended fourteen drops (seven of both Part A and B), we often use just half that amount — that is, seven drops of premix per one liter of water, if we want it drink-ready in fifteen minutes. If the water is high quality, I may use less, like four drops of the premix; if the water has an unpleasant odor or color, I may use more, like ten drops.
Water with this smaller dose has much less chlorine taste. And it still must be effective because we’ve been doing this for a long time with only very rare incidents.
If the water is not needed in fifteen minutes, the dosing ratio can be reduced even further. For example, I will treat a 2.4-liter Platybottle with only seven drops of premix, then give it hours to do its thing, like overnight or between breakfast and lunch.
With Aquamira and most other water purification methods, too, it can be difficult to retroactively determine bottles that have (or have not) been purified. Aquamira may give off a bleachy odor and sometimes will off-gas, but neither observation is reliable.
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We put the onus on each group member to own their water purification, specifically by knowing:
This system of ownership works well until a “water party” offers to fill up and purify bottles for other members in the group. In this case, it’s imperative that the water party have a good system for tracking bottles that have (or have not) been purified. To help distribute bottles to their correct owners afterwards, it’s helpful to mark all bottles, like with that leftover electrical tape.
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There are very few places in the backcountry where the water is safe to drink without purification. You probably already know that you should filter it to avoid unpleasant consequences. What many people don’t know, however, is that there are several ways to purify water while backpacking beyond filtering. Each has its advantages, and some have safety considerations that you should be aware of. Curious about the other ways to purify water for backpacking trips? Read on for an overview of each method.
The four main backpacking water purification methods include filtering, UV light sterilization, boiling, and chemical treatment. We will also discuss the use of natural water purification methods for backpackers.
You can find countless filters online, which are common backpacking water purification methods. They vary widely in the degree of work involved, price, and weight, which will not be the focus of this post. Combining a filter with a chemical treatment will ensure safe water, as filters do not remove viruses, and most chemical treatments do not kill cryptosporidium, a type of parasite.1 Below are the details for the Sawyer Squeeze Mini (a common backpacking water filter) to use for comparison to the other backpacking water purification methods we’ve listed below.
UV light kills bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Steripens can only be used in clear water, so you must first filter dirty water through a bandana or specialized filter (like the Steripen Adventurer Opti). Sediment can block the rays and keep the water from being fully purified. Some steripens require batteries, and others are rechargeable via a USB port.
Boiling is a foolproof water purification method and a simple way to purify water if you are already heating water for cooking. If your water has debris, you can filter it out using a bandana, but this does not affect the efficacy of boiling. Boiling can also use a lot of fuel.
Most chemical treatments are easy to use, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive water purification methods. They are a good choice for the beginner hiker or backpacker who does not want to invest in another piece of gear just yet but are also used by some thru-hikers. This left us wondering about the safety of their long-term use for thru-hiking.
After a deep dive into the limited literature and available information, here are some things to consider.
Iodine is one of the most classic chemical treatments for water purification. Potable Aqua makes the most popular tablets, but you can also buy iodine as a liquid. The glass bottles that the tablets come in are not allowed in some wilderness areas. It is less effective if the water has a lot of solids in it. You can filter it through a bandana before adding the iodine.
The color and taste of iodine water can be off-putting for some people. Consider taste- and color-neutralizing tablets as well if you decide to use iodine for purification.
Safety: The upper recommended amount of daily iodine is 1.1 mg. At intakes above 1.7 mg per day, adverse effects have been reported.1 Two tablets will release 16 mg of iodine, although the more you consume, the less your body absorbs.2 Many experts recommend not using iodine for water purification for an extended period of time (i.e.,> 3 weeks). However, one review stated that you can use iodine for water purification for up to 3 months safely if you don't have any underlying health conditions. This is because the use of iodine may reveal underlying thyroid disease.2 There have been cases where very prolonged consumption (i.e., 2+ years) of iodine-treated water has led to iodine overload and thyroid dysfunction.3,4
Fun fact: If you use iodine tables while cold soaking your meals, the iodine reacts with the starch in your food and the water will turn blue. This color fades over time and does not affect the color of your final meal.
Using sodium hypochlorite (bleach) for water purification is a less common method among campers and backpackers, but many still use it. You probably already have bleach at home, and it is effective for water purification. Only use bleach without added ingredients (scents, dyes, thickeners).
Safety: Bleach should be diluted properly, but its active ingredient, chlorine, is effective for water purification.5 Chlorine is rapidly neutralized in your mouth and stomach to chloride (also found in table salt), which is harmless.6 Chlorine has been recognized as safe for over 100 years and is used in municipal water treatment.7
Many different products use chlorine dioxide for water purification, including Katadyn, Potable Aqua, and Aquamira. Chlorine dioxide comes in both tablet and liquid forms.
Safety: Katadyn and Potable Aqua say that their products are for occasional use. The active ingredient is chlorine, which is regularly used in municipal water treatment. The upper limit for chlorine dioxide in treated water in the UK is 0.5 mg/L, and 1 mg/L in the US.8 These tablets release 4 ppm, which is equivalent to 0.15 mg/L.
Safety: The active ingredient in Aquamira is also chlorine. Aquamira is diluted to 5 ppm in your water, which is equivalent to 0.19 mg/L, still well below the UK's more strict upper limit of 0.5 mg/L. *While the Aquamira instructions do recommend waiting only 30 minutes, it can take up to 4 hours to kill all of the crypto depending on the temperature and cloudiness of the water. If you are concerned about crypto, it's advisable to wait longer and/or filter your water before treating.
Hypochlorous acid is another form of chlorine. Aquatabs water purification tablets are used around the world by organizations such as the Red Cross and UNICEF for water purification.
Safety: Like sodium hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide water treatment methods, these tablets also release chlorine. They release 2.6 mg of chlorine per liter. The EPA sets the upper limit on free chlorine in water at 4 mg/L,9 so these tablets are within safe levels.
Furthermore, grapefruit can interact with many medications (such as Warfarin), leading to adverse health effects.11 It also increases the acidity of water, creating a strong, unpleasant taste.
All in all, more research needs to be done before saying that grapefruit seed extract is a safe method for water purification.
There are a lot of different backpacking water purification methods. Your choice will likely vary depending on the length of your trip, your budget, and the water quality in your area. Chemical methods are light, compact, and great for purifying large volumes of water or carrying them as a backup method of water purification on backpacking trips.
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1. Institute of Medicine (US) Panel on Micronutrients. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); . 8, Iodine. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK/
2. Backer H, Hollowell J. Use of iodine for water disinfection: iodine toxicity and maximum recommended dose. Environmental Health Perspectives. ;108(8):679-684. doi:10./ehp.
3. Sang Z, Chen W, Shen J, et al. Long-Term Exposure to Excessive Iodine from Water Is Associated with Thyroid Dysfunction in Children. The Journal of Nutrition. ;143(12):-. doi:10./jn.113.
4. Pearce EN, Gerber AR, Gootnick DB, et al. Effects of Chronic Iodine Excess in a Cohort of Long-Term American Workers in West Africa. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. ;87(12):-. doi:10./jc.-
5. Elmaksoud SA, Patel N, Maxwell SL, Sifuentes LY, Gerba CP. Use of Household Bleach for Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water. Journal of Environmental Health. ;76(9):22-25.
6. Clasen T, Edmondson P. Sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) tablets as an alternative to sodium hypochlorite for the routine treatment of drinking water at the household level. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. ;209(2):173-181. doi:10./j.ijheh..11.004
7. Kgabi N, Mashauri D, Hamatui N. Utilisation of Water Purification “Tablets” at Household Level in Namibia and Tanzania. Open Journal of Applied Sciences. ;04(14):560. doi:10./ojapps..
8. Gray NF. Chlorine Dioxide. In: Percival SL, Yates MV, Williams DW, Chalmers RM, Gray NF, eds. Microbiology of Waterborne Diseases (Second Edition). Academic Press; :591-598. doi:10./B978-0-12--7.-9
9. US EPA O. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. Published November 30, . Accessed November 16, . https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations
10. Heggers JP, Cottingham J, Gusman J, et al. The effectiveness of processed grapefruit-seed extract as an antibacterial agent: II. Mechanism of action and in vitro toxicity. J Altern Complement Med. ;8(3):333-340. doi:10./
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