Australian Hiker

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Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier Review

We’ve owned our Steripen for a number of years and in all honesty reviewing it had slipped my mind, mainly because it rarely gets used, but it does have its uses.

First up this is a water purifier and not a filter. In simple terms filters remove things like bacteria and other solids from the water but don’t protect you from viruses. Water purifiers don’t remove the solids and don’t physically remove things like bacteria, protozoa, and viruses but instead use UV light to disable the nastys:

“The UVC light that emanates from the Steripen Lamp creates a thymine dimmer in any microbe’s DNA that could be present in water. This in effect removes ability of any microbes present in water to reproduce and makes the microbes harmless and safe for human consumption.”

In practice Steripens work by immersing the clear wand into the water and slowly swirl it around. Time wise you’re looking at 90 seconds per litre which matches the size of typical water bottles. The button comes with a 1 litre and 1/2 litre setting to make things easy. Now this time is the optimum time and works on having clear water. If the water is silty/dirty then this will impact on the time required. To help with this process you should come prepared to pre-filter which means using a cloth such as a buff or a physical mesh filter to remove as much as the solid material as you can which will aid the purification process. If the water is that bad, then you’re likely to need to pre-filter regardless of what method that you use.

There are other downsides with Steripens:

• They are a bit more physically delicate than most water filters. Drop most physical filters and they will be fine, drop a Steripen at the wrong angle and that may be the end of its life.
• While there are some rechargeable models, the SteriPen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier requires a specific battery so ideally if you’re doing an extended trip then you will want to carry spare batteries which isn’t going to be cheap

Having said that, they’re really useful if you use a collapsable water bottle or water bladder.

One last bonus with this unit is that the plastic on the protective cover turns this unit into a torch. By no means would I want to use this as my main light but its a handy little back up option in an emergency.

So why then would you use a Steripen rather than a physical or chemical option? Really what it comes down to is how long are you going to be travelling and where are you going? For travel in Australia viruses really aren’t an issue so opting for a purifier isn’t probably going to be high on your list. Having said that, I have come across water sources containing dead animals and just kept on walking but you may not have that luxury and in that case I would be pre-filtering, chemical filtering AND using a Steripen just to be on the safe side. If you’re travelling through a lot of Asian countries for an extended period then you want to manage water borne viruses and while chemicals will also work, if you’re travelling for extended periods it will become a bit pricey.

In my case I rarely ever use my Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier, particularly given the lack of overseas travel in the past three years. Depending on my travel destination it does get dragged out occasionally and for when waterborne viruses are an issue, it’s well worth considering.

We like

• One of the few options that will protect your from waterborne viruses, as well as bacteria and protozoa
• Can be used as a back up torch if you’re desperate
• A handheld UV light unit, the Adventurer Opti purifies water, meaning that it treats for viruses as well as bacteria and protozoa

We Don't Like

• This is a purifier only, if the water is silty you will need to pre-filter to remove the solids before using the device
• Really only suitable for bottles rather than water bladders
• You need to pay attention to the battery life; its best to carry spare batteries with you on longer trips
  • One set of lithium batteries will cost you approximately $23-$33 And and last for 50 cycles
• Handle with care, not as robust as other filters

Best Uses

• Good for hikes where viruses are a concern

Buy One

You can purchase the Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier online from Amazon Australia

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

If you have used the Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier or if you have questions, we’d like to hear from you. Post your comment or question below

Investment

AUD $218.00 RRP

Other Versions

There are a number of models in the Steripen range

Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier and batteries

Steripen Adventurer Opti Water Purifier as a torch

Buff on water bottle to filter out solids

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

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