 WATER NEWS -
MICROLITE ® WATER FILTERS
in Backpacker Magazine's "Ultimate
Gear Test"
What better way is there to find out which backpacking equipment
is built for the long haul than to conduct a trailside survey!
That's what Karen Berger did for the April edition of Backpacker
magazine. She stopped and chatted with 20 "through hikers"
along the Appalachian Trail. When she got to the topic of
water filters, things got tense
Here's Berger's description:
"Of all the gear I asked the through-hikers about, water
filters were the most vilified...18 out of our 20 Katahdin
finishers started the trail with water filters, but only three
had them at the end of the hike."
Most hikers found the chore of pumping
water too troublesome, and scraping and malfunctions were
burdensome.
"I did hear a few tales of satisfied filterers, however,"...
for example, two people "used one filter for the entire
trail: a General Ecology Microlite, which is actually designed
for short trips." It was no surprise to General Ecology
that its Microlite was the only filter judged by any of
the backpackers interviewed to have passed the test, day
in, day out, from Georgia to Maine along the trail.
General Ecology President, Richard Williams, said the endurance
of the Microlite is nothing unusual. "This is a full-featured
purification system", he said. "It's not designed
for only short trips. It happens to be engineered to such
standards that it weighs in at just 7 ounces and stands about
5 inches tall."
But, more than its ability to endure, the Microlite is
effective. It removes Giardia, Cryptosporidia, chemicals,
foul tastes and odors. When viruses and bacteria are suspected,
Microlite uses a chemical pretreatment in the most effective
manner possible by controlling both concentration and kill
time. That gives dependable effectiveness: the 100th pint
of water receives the same treatment as the first. With
other chemically based purifiers with pass-through systems,
each use can dilute the effectiveness of the equipment.
The Microlite® Unit is available at better outdoor
retail outlets, or directly through General Ecology, Inc..
|
