[pct-l] steripen for water purification

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Laura,

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) technology has been around a long 
time and has been proven effective in industry.  The only real question in 
my mind is the reliability of the embodiment of that technology in a package 
as small as the Steri-Pen.  If the hardware wasn't reliable, I would end up 
with nothing more than a very expensive swizzle-stick.  It's probably just 
fine, but I had the same question about other now-accepted technologies such 
as the lowly digital watch, the hand-held calculator, and GPS receivers.  In 
that regard, I like to be "the first to be second" in trying them.

It's interesting that UVGI doesn't always kill all the bugs, but it does 
screw-up there DNA so they can't reproduce.

Steel-Eye


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laura Fox" <laura.fox at yale.edu>
To: <Pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 7:59 AM
Subject: [pct-l] steripen for water purification


> Hi ... I'm sure somebody here must know the answer to this.  So I was 
> reading
> about this steri-pen device that zaps your water and kills everything and
> weighs about 4 oz and lasts practically forever.  Other than the fact that 
> it's
> expensive ($100?), what's the catch?  Why isn't everybody using these 
> things?
> I'm still planning to go with aquamira or bleach, but I wonder whether 
> this
> device would be a good idea.  I mean, the price isn't too much more than I
> would pay buying a bunch of bottles of aquamira and mailing them to 
> myself.
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