Polar Pure
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What is Polar Pure?
Polar Pure is an iodine-based disinfectant that is pretty commonly used among hikers as a way to get rid of germs and protozoa in water. It's basically a bottle of tablets that you use in the water. It can be good to use even if you've already filtered the water, because viruses are generally too small for filters to get at. The big problem is that water treated with iodine tastes awful. If you're using a filter on it, treat it with Polar Pure first, and that way many filters will get rid of the taste for you and you won't have to worry about getting a virus. You could also bring along something to mask the taste - vitamin C is supposed to work pretty well, or you could bring Kool-Aid packets or something else small that will let you drink but get rid of the taste.
The other downside is that you have to wait about half an hour for it to have killed all the microbes, but that's not going to be too big of a deal in most cases. The upside is that it works well, is cheap, and there's no undissolvable pill for you to fish out of the water as with some other brands.
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Polar Pure - Available online here for about $12 |
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