>>65356They all have their pros and cons.
>steripen-pros: quick, lightweight, clean, low effort
-cons: can run out of battery or malfunction, debris in the water can reduce effectiveness, doesn't change the taste of bad water, doesn't remove bits of debris from water
>chemicals-pros: quick, lightweight, highly effective, clean, takes the least effort
-cons: may add undesirable odor to water, doesn't change the taste of bad water, doesn't remove bits of debris from water, takes the longest time to be effective (drinking too soon can result in infection), doesn't remove bits of debris from water, you can run out of chemicals, very cold water can reduce effectiveness
>boiling-pros: 100% effective, never runs out if using a wood fire
-cons: slow, very high effort, dirty (black soot on pot if using a wood fire), gear takes up a lot of space, doesn't remove bits of debris from the water, boiling can make water taste "flat",
>filter-pros: removes all impurities from water, improves the taste, some (though not all) filters can pump water relatively quickly
-cons: relatively high effort, very large/heavy (takes the most space in your pack), some filters may not catch the smallest bacteria, filters typically have a limited lifespan before they become slower to filter
