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Field Report: KlearWater Water
Treatment
Date: May 27, 2006
Tester
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
Finally pursuing a
long-time interest, I started backpacking 3 years
ago. I've progressed from day-hiking
and single overnights my first year, to weekend trips the second, and
finally
to a 7-night trip on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia this year.
I
hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West
Virginia,
and generally use a hammock sleeping system.
For a two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including
consumables, and I’m still trying to lighten that a bit.
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Product
Information
Manufacturer: KlearWater.com
Year of manufacture: 2006
Date of Delivery: March 17, 2006
Listed weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Weight as delivered:
Water treatment/bottle only - 2.7 oz (77 g)
With storage container & measuring spoon - 3.1 oz (88 g)
Listed Dimensions: None given
Bottle dimensions as delivered: 3.25 in high x 1.25 in wide
(8.25 x 3.25 cm)
Bottle Color: Brown
Manufacturer Website: http://www.KlearWater.com
MSRP: Not given
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Ingredients:
0.15% Cl02 (Chlorine Dioxide)
99.85% De-ionized water
Content weight:
1 oz (30 ml) per specifications
Product Features:
1 ml (.03 fl oz) treats 1 L (1 Qt) of water
No mixing or waiting for a chemical reaction to activate
Effective in a wide range of temperatures and PH.
Last months after opening
Self-indicating (yellow) when active - clear when inactive
Multi-use - oral rinse, hand wash, surface cleaner, wound wash
10 years proven performance world-wide
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Product Description
 KlearWater
is a liquid water treatment that doesn't require pre-mixing to use, and
takes only 15-30 minutes to effectively treat water even in cold
temperatures.
KlearWater's website states it is the only "pre-measured, pre-mixed, active Chlorine Dioxide
water treatment available in the world today" and that many municipal
water treatment
facilities use Chlorine Dioxide (Cl02), the active ingredient in
KlearWater, to treat water for viruses and
bacteria such as E-Coli, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. These
contaminants are of concern to backpackers since they are commonly
found in streams and other water sources.
KlearWater can also be used as an oral rinse, handwash, emergency wound
wash, or surface cleaner. It comes packaged in a brown glass
bottle stored inside a clear plastic storage container with a 1 ml (.03
fl oz) measuring spoon and an instruction sheet. The lid of the
bottle
holds 2 ml (.07 fl oz) and can also
be used for measuring (filling 1/2 full for 1 ml or .03 fl oz).
The plastic storage container can
be used to mix KlearWater for concentrated use for
cleansing/disinfecting purposes.
For a more detailed
description of KlearWater Water Treatment and instructions for use,
please see my Initial
Report.
Field Information
KlearWater was my sole drinking water treatment during my 7-day
(approximately 50 mi or 80 km) section hike on the Appalachian Trail in
Georgia, beginning at Springer Mountain on April 11, and ending at
Unicoi Gap on April 17. Elevations ranged from around 2500 ft to
close to 4500 ft (750 to 1200 m). Temperatures were abnormally
high during my hike, ranging from around 40 F (5 C) at night to
around 90 F (30 C) a couple of hot afternoons. The weather was
dry, with no precipitation while we were on the trail. Conditions
ranged widely, from intense beating sun to cloudy overcast sky, and
from calm and windless to breezy, with at least 30 mph (50 kph) winds
one night. Due to the dry conditions, water was a little scarcer
than normal, with up to 5.5 miles (9 km) between sources and some
sources running lower than normal. My pack weight was 37 lb (17
kg)
at the beginning of my trip when I had some heavier clothing with me,
and 33 lb (15 kg) after resupply, when I sent home a couple of
insulating garments and carried a bit less food.
Field Use
Wow! So far I am very impressed by the convenience of using
KlearWater. I found it much easier to use than a filter,
especially when stopping along the trail during the day. Many of
the water sources we encountered were small trickling springs, and I
found I could use my small platypus sport bottle to collect the water,
transfer it to either my 1 L or 2 L bladder, and add the appropriate
amount of KlearWater to treat the water faster and more conveniently
than getting out my gravity fed filter, setting it up, and trying to
collect enough water to fill it from these shallow sources. Even
with the 15 minute treatment time, I could be drinking water faster
than if I used the filter set-up due to the ease of use of
KlearWater. In fact, KlearWater was so convenient, I ended up
treating water several times along the way for my friends who had
planned on using a filter, so we could make our water stops shorter and
they could be drinking water sooner!
One thing I did find slightly difficult was measuring 0.5 ml (.02 fl
oz) of KlearWater when I wanted to treat water in my half liter
Platypus Sport. I often ended up pouring too much KlearWater into
the measuring spoon and having to pour some back into the bottle.
I only overfilled the measuring spoon once when measuring 1 ml (.03 fl
oz) for treating a full liter of water. I could also easily
measure 1 ml (.03 fl oz) or 2 ml (.07 fl oz) using the bottle
cap. I found it was very easy to add KlearWater to the fairly
narrow opening of a platypus using either the measuring spoon or the
bottle cap, and with a little practice was able to hold a platypus full
of water, open the KlearWater treatment, measure, and pour it in, all
without having to set anything down, which came in handy on the uneven
terrain surrounding many water sources. Most of the water sources
I used were clear mountain springs, with a few being small
streams. A couple of times I pre-filtered water with my bandanna,
using my cooking pot or a plastic bowl to filter into, but in all
honesty, I was usually so hot and tired I didn't worry about a little
grit here and there.
I noticed only a very mild taste to water treated with KlearWater,
which wasn't objectionable, only slightly noticeable. I find most
water from municipal sources has a more objectionable taste than the
water I treated with KlearWater. I had no problem storing
KlearWater in my pack - I left the glass bottle inside the plastic
storage container along with the measuring spoon and just threw it in
the lid of my pack so I could find it conveniently when I needed
it. Even without taking precautions to keep it upright, the
bottle did not leak. I found one bottle just enough to last me
the 7 day trip, but I did treat water for my friends a few times,
offset by a few times we obtained water from safe sources that didn't
have to be treated due to spending 3 nights in hostels or cabins.
(Only one was originally planned, but a recurring knee injury suffered
by one member of our party made it necessary for us to get off the
trail two extra nights.)
Best of all, KlearWater seems to be highly effective. I noticed
no signs of possible adverse reactions during my trip - no stomach
problems, no intestinal problems, no headaches, and no allergic
reactions.
Test Plan
I will be continuing to use KlearWater
exclusively
for all my water purifications needs (using a bandanna to strain
particles if necessary). During the remainder of the test
period, I will be using KlearWater on at least one backpacking
trip in either eastern West Virginia or the adjacent are of Virginia,
and possibly on additional backpacking trips or day hikes.
Temperatures will likely be similar to those experienced on my April
trip, with elevations likely ranging from 550 to 4000 ft (150 to 1200
m), and trip mileage from 7-20 mi (10-30 km). Weather conditions
are likely to be a mixed bag of dry, humid, rainy, sunny, cloudy, and
anything in between.
I'll be continuing to monitor the following:
Ease of use of the product: So
far, KlearWater has been very easy to use. Does it continue to be
as convenient over the remainder of the test?
Effectiveness of the product: Do
I end up contracting any water
borne illness over the remainder of the test while using
KlearWater according to directions (15 minutes of treatment for
non-suspect sources, 30 minutes for suspect sources, and an extra 1 ml
(.03 fl oz) of KlearWater for cloudy water)?
Taste: I plan to test a
few more familiar (and known safe) sources of water to see if I still
notice a difference in the taste of water that has been treated with
KlearWater versus untreated water.
Self-indicating feature: I
plan to test a small amount of KlearWater by leaving it out exposed to
air and sunlight. Does it change from yellow to clear? How
long does it take?
Storage – Can I store KlearWater in a lighter
weight container? With the self indicating feature, it should be
relatively easy to determine if storing it in another container
endangers its effectiveness, and I plan to report on whether I can pour
some into a smaller bottle for weekend trips to save the weight of the
brown glass bottle and more solution than I need, and whether a dropper
bottle might be practical to use. Would it be prudent to
carry a small amount this way as a back-up in case the original bottle
would
spill or become damaged?
Side effects – Do I find I find I have side
effects that might be from KlearWater, such as
stomach upset,
diarrhea, headache, or allergic reactions of any sort on any of my
trips during the final test phase?
And finally, does
KlearWater become a lighter weight treatment solution by saving me
several ounces of filter weight, or do I find I tend to carry
more water in order to avoid waiting to quench my thirst, thereby
negating any
weight savings by leaving the filter home?
| Likes
–
Very convenient
Light weight
No objectionable taste
Leak-proof (so far) packaging
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Dislikes
–
No 1/2 ml (.02 fl oz) marking on measuring spoon
No markings for 1/2 ml (.02 fl oz) or 1 ml on bottle cap (.03 fl oz)
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Thanks to KlearWater and BackpackGearTest
for
the
opportunity to test KlearWater water treatment.
Read more reviews of KlearWater gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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