Water Chances?

A review of the Grayl Geopress Water Purifier

story and photos by Murray Selleck

What kind of chances are you willing to take with your health, drinking directly from a clear running mountain stream? With the Grayl Geopress Purifier, the chances of you becoming sick with giardia or some other form of water-born nastiness is eliminated.

With a Grayl Geopress Water Purifier all you have to do is fill, press, and drink. No fuss. No muss. No chemicals. No batteries. No boiling. In about 8 seconds you have purified water. It really doesn’t get much easier than that.

Drinking cold refreshing mountain water is one of the greatest simple pleasures of hiking and backpacking. Nothing is as satisfying or adds to your experience like quenching a high altitude thirst with water that doesn’t even come close to resembling downstream metropolitan-tap water.

There is a choice when it comes to treating your backcountry drinking water. You can purify it or filter it.

The Grayl Geopress is a water purifier. It eliminates bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. Filters only eliminate bacteria and protozoa. Grayl increases the level of your drinking water protection by purifying water.

Another incredible benefit of the Grayl Geopress is it eliminates heavy metals like lead, arsenic, and chromium. Colorado is famous for its mining history. Who knows from where or what sorts of health hazards might be leaching into our mountain streams from these old abandoned mines.

Grayl purifiers also take out micro-plastics, sediment, and silt from your water. Of course, when you are treating your drinking water you should always try and begin with the clearest source water you can find. Silty or muddy water will reduce the life of the Grayl cartridge as it will with any water filter on the market today.

The Grayl purifies water with non-woven ceramic fibers, positively charged ions, and powdered activated carbon.

The ceramic fibers and ion exchange trap bacteria, protozoa, viruses. The activated carbon absorbs chemicals, heavy metals, odors, and unwanted flavors. I’m not a scientist or design engineer and I won’t claim for a heartbeat that I understand the technology, however, I do know the end result. You’re le with worry free, clean, purified water that tastes like mountain water should.

The Grayl works pre y much like a French press. Fill the outside container with the untreated water. Turn the drinking cap open a half twist to vent air as you press the inner cartridge down. Use body weight leverage to press the inner press/cartridge slowly through the dirty water. About eight seconds will do the trick. Once the inner press hits bottom you’re done. Drink up!

The Grayl Geopress will purify 24 ounces of water with each press. That’s just shy of a liter.

Really the only consideration I can find with the Geopress is when you’re backpacking and treating enough water for end-of-the day cooking, drinking, and clean up. If you’re trying to make enough bulk water for a group that may be a bunch of presses. However, having said that you just weigh the benefit against the effort I believe the benefit of purified water wins out.

Grayl makes two models of purifiers, the Geopress and Ultralight. Both are easy to carry and pack. If you are on a fast and light trip or casual day hike go with the Ultralight. Bigger days that require more water more often carry the Geopress.

If you like to travel the world the Grayl is perfect for you, as well. Rusty spigots, suspect hostels and sketchy watering holes are no match for the Grayl. Why take chances with your water?

There is no simple answer to the question of how much backcountry water is contaminated with water-born bacteria and viruses. Just because a stream is running clear does not mean it is free of contaminants. Most of us have had conversations with fellow hikers and backpackers who say they have been drinking water directly from backcountry creeks and streams for years and never have become sick.

That is all well and good for them. On the other hand, I have never been struck by lightning and I sure don’t plan on being on top of a 14er with dark clouds and thunder all about.

Precautions and good planning are always prudent for the mountain traveler. I’m not ready to rely on luck when it comes to my drinking water.

What are the chances?