For those who don't know, PolarPure is a water purification treatment method that uses iodine. It is safe and effective. It has been my favored method of water purification for backpacking and camping trips for years.
It turns out that apparently iodine is used to make meth, though, so the State of California and the DEA are shutting down the small business, based in America that makes it.
The company is asking folks to write CA and the DEA. I hope they are successful and get back into operation but for now it looks like safe, affordable, easy to use water purification is the next victim in the asinine drug war. It looks like I am stuck with stupid Portable Aqua tablets which taste bad, run out and are orders of magnitude more expensive, unlike PolarPure which effectively lasts forever.
That Sucks, They could always move North of the Border, Produce it in Canada where you can then buy it online
ReplyDeleteMake your own iodine from non-controled easy to obtain ingredients.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLhwkFKLdPA
Iodine isn't as safe as some other methods when it comes to purifying water. You may be outraged for political reasons by the new ban on iodine-based products, but check out the better alternatives. Last I checked (after living for years in Africa, where safe water is a major issue), a portable Katadyn water filter (made by a Swedish company) is still the most effective way to filter out microbacteria and parasites...
ReplyDeleteUnknown,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know iodine isn't the best solution for extended periods of time. However, for a camping trip of 2 to 14 days I don't think there's really any proven health concerns. Likewise it doesn't work great against some micro-organisms (making other methods a better technique in heavily populated/contaminated areas), but for camping in remote Alaska I felt fine with PolarPure.
The other alternatives are all sub-par.
- Portable Aqua: Treats limited supply, much more expensive in the long run, only good for 1-3 months once opened. It also tastes gross unless you bring the vitamin c tabs.
- Mechanical Filters: They work but its a pain, especially in adverse weather. With Polar Pure you just treat a few nalgenes and then let them sit. To filter a few gallons of water with a pump takes significantly longer. I've also had issues with pumps freezing in extreme cold.
- UV Wand: Haven't tried 'em, I don't like mission-critical gear that's battery dependent on long backpacking trips.
I've got some bleach-based stuff on order, we'll see if that works.
I think if I lived somewhere where I needed purification every day a serious filter would be the way to go (like Katadyn or a Berkey). But for portable, inexpensive, essentially unlimited use in the field it was hard to beat Polar Pure.