For water treatment, I use Aqua Mira Water Treatment
. It’s safe for long term use and it doesn’t make the water taste bad, in fact it makes bad tasting water taste better. It weighs 3 ounces (85 grams) full and treats 30 gallons. Here is more information on it.
I don’t bring the mixing cap that it comes with, instead I mix it in the cap of my water bottle, that way, I figure, the threads of the bottle will get treated as well. I mix it in my bottle cap, wait until it turns yellow, then add it to my water. The water is then safe to drink after 15-20 minutes.
I don’t treat all my water. Most of the time I drink my water untreated. I rely on my instincts to tell me if the water is safe. If I can be, I’m picky where I get my water, but sometimes I don’t have that luxury and I’m forced to get my water from less desirable sources such as horse troughs and swamps. If there are a lot of floaters in the water I put my bandanna over my pot and strain the water through it.
A lot of folks use a Visine bottle filled with household bleach. It’s cheap, light, and is easy to find. but it makes the water taste bad, as does iodine.
To carry my water I have two Aquafina 1 .5 liter “disposable� water bottles. They last for years. I like Aquafina bottles because they are a little studier than some of the other bottles. They used to have a bigger top then other bottles but I think they may have changed that on the newer models. They weigh 1.5 ounces(42grams) a piece.
I also carry a 16 oz(.47liter) wide mouth Nalgene bottle
to use as a coffee cup, hot water
bottle, tea pot, and dipping cup for when the water source is very shallow. The Nalgene bottle is also good for mixing powders such as Emer’gen-C‘s. The Nalgene bottle weighs 2.5 ounces(70grams). (To clean a stained Nalgene bottle just add a little bleach to some water and let it soak.)
Total water capacity is 3 ½ liters, which was all I ever needed on the Appalachian Trail. For the PCT, I would often have to carry much more and would buy more bottles at the stores along the way as needed.
I have tried the plastic bag water carriers like platypus and they have failed me over and over. The plastic bottles have never failed me yet.
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