Survival Gear Review: SteriPEN Classic Handheld Water Filter

Knowing water purification techniques is highly valuable in any survival scenario. However, not every emergency situation will allow you the time to purify water in traditional ways like boiling or distilling. There are situations when you have to stay on the move and get out of a dangerous area or territory as quick as you can. In situations like this, you want a way to quickly make water safe to drink.

Thus it is to your advantage to have a portable and reliable water filter in your survival pack or kit.

The SteriPEN Classic

There are lots of portable water filters you can buy. One of the more popular types is the SteriPEN Classic created by Hydro-Photon Inc. It is an ultraviolet sterilizer with pre-filter and according to the manufacturer can wipe out bacteria, cysts, and viruses including Giardia and Cryptosporidium through high energy UV light.

The SteriPEN Classic uses four AA lithium batteries and can purify 200 ½ liters of water. It is very portable and can be easily taken with you to hiking or camping trips.

Product Specifications

• Dimensions: 7.6” x 1.5” x 1.5”
• Weight: depending on the batteries used, 6.5 to 8 ounces
• Uses UV light
• Needs 4 AA batteries to power up and work

Features

• Eliminates 99.9% bacteria, viruses, and protozoa using UV light
• Push-button start, very user-friendly
• Purifies water within 48 seconds for 16 ounces and 90 seconds for 32 ounces
• No pumping necessary
• No chemicals necessary
• Water resistant
• Comes with a water pre-filter

What Others are Saying About the SteriPEN Classic

Pros

Steripen is an awsome device…I use my Steripen with a Katadyn Hiker Pro micro filter. When clear water is not available, the Katadyn removes sediments, pollutants, cysts and other micro organisms down to .3 microns. It does not remove viruses. That’s where Steripen comes in! Steripen are effective against all those nasty biologics the filter misses. Together, they can turn Icky pond water into safe, clean, clear drinking water. – ChrisW

I have used this once on a 2-day summit to San Bernardino Peak. This pen worked great! I was debating between the classic and the adventurer, and decided on the classic due to the price and the fact that amazon stocks this item (faster shipping). I’m glad I did, I don’t think the weight difference makes that big of a difference for the type hiking I am doing (multi-day summits and backcountry camping). – nhunt1

I used this product across 17 European countries and I always trusted that the water was safe to drink after using SteriPEN. Very easy to use. Brilliant idea. – Nick

Worked terrifically-lightweight, portable, compact does the job. Would not hike without it – had to share with other hikers that didn’t want to use iodine tabs… -  Carrie Weatherwax

Cons

I have to say that while this device is simple and compact, it definitely has some serious drawbacks. I don’t even bother with the prefilter, instead I just use a bandanna. The worst was on a recent trip it was being really buggy. It took me half an hour of messing with it to get it to work properly. After that there were no issues, but still I think hassle free would be nice. – Ian Long

I purchased the SteriPEN Classic after reading about how effectively it works. Most important, when working and used properly, it could eliminate hepatitis virus that might sneak through holes in even the best filters. My only concern so far is that a friend with whom we were traveling dropped his from chest height on a firm but not hard surface, and it never worked again. So the filament in the bulb may lack the kind of robustness you need in stuff you depend on in the back country. Definitely take purification tablet back-up, and know how to use it. The manufacturer needs to address this issue.- Customer

We’re not all that impressed with the pre-filter. In order to make it work, you have to either completely dunk the bottle under water (which only works if the water is deep enough) or you have to carefully splash or pour water over the pre-filter. It’s also pretty slow in certain conditions (like beaver ponds). All in all, though, we’re happy with it. -  Kenneth Cognoscente

If you are looking for a portable water filter that you can take along with you while camping or on the trail, or if you want a reliable filter to add to your emergency or survival pack, you can get the SteriPEN Classic. It can treat and purify water fast enough especially in regions where water is unsafe and undrinkable. This filter also works really well with most wide-mouthed water bottles and in terms of maintenance, only low level cleaning is necessary. Also, the product comes with a 3-year warranty. You can get the SteriPEN Classic from Amazon.