Up in t’hills, planning a couple of night camping / bothying in the Lakes in February. Tablets? Filters? Just boil it up?

What do you do / recommend?

I ended up using Milton tablets last time because it was all I could get last minute.

They’re for sterilizing bottles and equiptment really, so very strong and you only need a tiny fraction of one tablet – there’s a guide to the amounts to be found somewhere on their website – and it’s available in most Supermarkets, along with all the baby products.

edit:

http://www.milton-tm.com/caravanning_and_camping.html

Add half a teaspoon (2.5 ml) of Milton Sterilising Fluid to every 5 litres of drinking water. Let it stand for 15 minutes before drinking

The tablets are obviously easier to carry, and you can roughly work out the quantities by comparing the fluid against the tablets.

If you are sensible where you take it from just drink it, no need to treat it or boil it.

boil is most effective. Sterilising fluid will only kill certain organisms.

Tbh I’d drink from any running stream high up in the Lakes.

I’ve used silver tablets one time when I was in India – think they’re v cheap from Boots. Or campden tablets that brewers use would work.

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/lifesaver-products/lifesaver-bottle

Zero. You’ll be fine…

Depends where you are getting the water from, only real contaminate in high up Lakeland streams is dead sheep, over the years I’ve happily drunk from them without treating the water.

If you are sensible where you take it from just drink it, no need to treat it or boil it.

See I kind of think this, but I’m also a little bit paranoid, and for the sake of a few quid on some tablets…

Use chlorine dioxide tablets if you insist on using something, it kills cryptosporidium and giardia

http://www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/water-purification/chlorine-dioxide-tablets.html

Water purification tablets are pretty cheap and easy to use the dioxide ones don’t taste as bad.
Boiling works (rolling boil) or if you’re flush with cash go for a Drinksafe Systems filter bottle and drink directly from the canal!

I just got a Drinksafe bottle at Xmas so will be looking forward to testing it soon….

Chlorine tablets for 20 minutes, then anti-clorine tablets for 20 minutes (got them from Cotswold Outdoors)

Sorted myself and my son out for 3 days trekking through wildest Worcestershire.

i have seen the claims that chlorine dioxide kills crypto. but i wouldnt trust that. Crytpo is resistant to chlorine hence my recommendation to boil.

I use one of the aqua guard do dahs in line with my camel bak – as do my mates.

http://www.drinksafe-systems.co.uk/products.php

We all seem to have been fine and used them a fair bit. Generally drinking from upland streams which might have been fine anyway, but have occasionally drunk from puddles in ski resorts and once the Basingstoke Canal….!