>>2746177Spring water > clear creek water > stagnant water from clear ponds that are at least 2m deep. Everything else is emergencies only.
I filter my water on principle, since the filter I have (Sawyer mini) lasts lpretty much forever anyways. That removes bacteria and coarse pollutants. What it doesn't remove are chemical pollutants (which aren't much of an issue in the woods unless you have heavy metals in the soil, and could be removed with an adsorber) and viruses (which aren't an issue, as they can't multiply outside of a host and need a rather high concentration to infect you - don't drink right next to a pile of shit, and you'll be fine).
Boiling is possible, but to takes too long for me. I refill my bottle every chance I get, generally 3-5 times a day, and don't want to start a fire and wait for my pot to cool down every time.
>you can buy fancy filters but I want to keep as many of the natural minerals in as possibleFilters don't remove minerals. Only adsorbers charcoal"filters" do.
>$500 or whatever for a filterLiterally all portable filters worth buying are below 100$. Sawyer is the big name here, lifestraw is a similar meme product that doesn't last nearly as long, and I think Katadyn also made one once they realized their overly complicated pump systems that you have to replace after 2000L weren't going to sell once there were better systems on the market.
