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KlearWater Water Treatment
Initial Report - March 24, 2006
Contents
Reviewer Information [return to top]
Name: Chuck Kime
Nickname: Fuzzy
Age: 39
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8" (1.72 m)
Weight: 240 lb (109 kg)
Email address: chuck_kime AT yahoo DOT com
City, State, Country: Upper Darby (Philadelphia suburb), PA, U.S.A.
Date: March 24, 2006
Backpacking Background [return to top]
My family started car/trailer camping when I was about 5. After 17 years in the Army Reserve fine-tuning my packing methodology I was down to a fairly respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load in my ALICE pack. Advancing age, arthritic knees and a car accident have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices, experiment with tarps and hammocks, make some of my own gear, and take a closer look at my ‘toys’ with an eye for multi-use and light weight. I now have a sub-30 lb (14 kg) 3-season load, and should be able to reduce it to 20 lb (9 kg) – before food, fuel and water – without much more effort.
Backpacking Background applicable to this test
Absolutely none, other than a single BGT test. Otherwise, I have never used any kind of personal water treatment in the field, as I either had a source available (military/scout setting) or brought enough with me for the trip I was on. This should give me a unique perspective on this test.
Product Information [return to top]
Manufacturer: KlearWater
Model: KlearWater
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.klearwater.com
Listed weight: 3.9 oz (111 g)
Measured weight: 3.9 oz (111 g), scale accurate to 0.1 oz
Color: Clear/Multi
MSRP: $12.95 US
Features/claims (from web site) [return to top]
- Ready-to-use Chlorine Dioxide
- KlearWater contains only pure, active Chlorine Dioxide suspended in de-ionized water. This active formula allows it to work quickly to eliminate bacteria and viruses. KlearWater does not require messy mixing of chemicals or waiting for tablets to dissolve as with other Chlorine Dioxide products. KlearWater is ready to use directly from the bottle, it’s convenient, fast acting and economical.
- Multi-Use
- KlearWater is multi-purpose. This feature extends the usefulness of KlearWater and provides the user with a highly versatile product. KlearWater is effective as a surface cleaner for a variety of purposes, including washing fruits and vegetables, utensils, even hands! The KlearWater formula has been proven by university studies as an effective oral rinse and can also be used as an emergency wound irrigant.
- Maintains Containers/HydrationPacks/Filters
- Regular use of KlearWater also helps extend the life of hydration packs and other water containers by preventing growth of mold, bacteria and biofilm. KlearWater can also help keep filters free of harmful pathogens. The multi-use features of KlearWater make it the ideal product to include in all hiking, camping, and travel gear KlearWater is packaged in a convenient 30 milliliter (1oz.) bottle, enough to treat 30 liters (30 quarts) of water. Because of its compact size and light weight, KlearWater is perfect for hikers, campers, travelers, hunters, and boaters.
- KlearWater is packaged in a leak-resistant, reusable plastic container. This container provides protection and can be used to mix small amounts of KlearWater.
- KlearWater makes dosing easy and accurate by including a 1 ml measuring spoon with each container. This spoon fits within the KlearWater container so that it’s always handy for use.
- KlearWater is formulated in Sweden and air freighted to our US distribution center to assure freshness and quality.
- KlearWater is fast acting, lightweight, multi-use, economical, and doesn’t add unpleasant taste or smell to water. We’ve now made it available for resale through retailers and E-commerce websites.
Arrival [return to top]
The KlearWater arrived on March 17, 2006, in (very minimal) standard retail packaging. A letter was included from Bruce Gentry, mentioning some minor changes to the packaging and website instructions (which – as of this writing – appear to have been made) due to a manufacturing issue with the bottle cap. There were no other contents, and all contents appeared undamaged.
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Description [return to top]
The KlearWater comes in a 1 oz (30 ml) brown glass bottle about 3¼ in high x 1¼ in (8 x 3 cm). The white plastic cap has a capacity of 2 ml, enough for 2 doses when used as a measuring cup. The bottle comes in a clear plastic flip-top container just slightly taller and wider than the bottle. This container has a fluid capacity of 3 oz (90 ml), and may be used for mixing different solutions of the KlearWater. Since the bottle cap was not manufactured with a 1 ml line marked on the inside, KlearWater has provided a long-handled measuring cup that fits inside the plastic container with the bottle. Wrapped part way around the bottle, inside the container, is a folded sheet of instructions on the use of KlearWater for drinking water, as well as other potential uses (i.e. oral care, surface cleaning, or wound and blister treatment). I expect that I will eventually leave this home (that 0.1 oz/3 g paper is just *sooo* heavy) once I have filed the information into an accessible part of my memory.
Basically, mix 1 ml of KlearWater into 1 liter (quart) of water and let stand 15 minutes. I can do this.
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First Impressions [return to top]
This is a lightweight, (relatively) compact, fairly easy-to-use water treatment product. If it kills the nasties that it claims to kill (which I have no way of testing), this should be a nice test.
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Field Information [return to top]
Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly, generally in the wooded areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains. Almost all of these outings include a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures expected to be from lows around 25 ºF (-4 ºC) to highs around 85 ºF (29 ºC) during the 4-month test period. Elevations will range from sea level to approximately 1,500’ (457 m). Our new Scoutmaster has added monthly hikes to our schedule as well. My wife and I, who between us have 3 First Class boy scouts (ages 14, 15 and 15), are also looking into additional camping without the scouts, and there are possibilities of some AT section hikes (two down – many to go!) in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with my son as he works towards the Hiking Merit Badge.
I use either a 2-liter hydration bladder, or my newly-purchased 3-liter model, and also re-use empty soft drink bottles for additional capacity.
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Things I am/will be looking for:
- Taste. Does the water taste “funny” or like chemicals?
- Smell. Are there any noticeable odors to the water?
- Usability. Is the product as easy to use as the website seems to indicate?
- Capacity. Do I actually get the number of treatments the manufacturer claims?
- Carrying. The bottle looks quite small. Does it fit well into my various pockets?
- Security/safety. Do I need to worry about leaking? Bottle breakage (glass bottle)? Will the product stain (or worse) anything if it happens to get spilled? *I will read all relevant safety information before considering this as an intentional test.*
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My findings so far:
- Carrying. There should be no problem fitting this into any of my packs.
- Security/safety. The glass bottle is inside a plastic one that should both protect the glass bottle and contain any product or broken glass should there be an issue.
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Things I like [return to top]
- Light.
- Compact.
- Potentially multi-use.
Things I don't like [return to top]
- None yet.
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Thank you for your time.
Chuck Kime
a.k.a. Fuzzy
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