Bottom Line
Aquamira Drops are an easy and ultralight method of water purification. They don’t leave a weird taste in your water like other chemical treatments will, and they’re more affordable per treated liter. The process for using Aquamira is a little more involved than other chemical treatments since you have to mix the solution yourself, but it’s worth the added time if eliminating the chemical taste is important to you.
Quick Specs
Aquamira
Best Chlorine-Dioxide Drop Purification
Price: $15
Weight: 3 oz.
Flow Rate: N/A
Filter Pore Size: N/A
Lifetime Volume: 114 L
Water Quality
Other chemical treatments, like Potable Aqua Iodine and – to a lesser extent – Micropur Tabs, leave a chemical taste behind. Aquamira leaves the slightest tang on our palates, but you could always use a hydration mix to mask any unpleasant aftertaste.
Water filters like the popular Sawyer Squeeze and Katadyn BeFree will only remove bacteria and protozoa (giardia, cryptosporidium, etc.). Aquamira drops are one of the lightest water purification methods available, and they go beyond what a regular filter can do by killing (much smaller) viruses as well.
Because this is a chemical treatment, it won’t remove silt, leaves, or other floaties. To get around this, we use a small cut piece of pantyhose, a standard bandana, or a Packtowl placed over the mouth of our bottle to pre-filter debris.
Ease of Use
The results aren’t immediate with Aquamira. Where cryptosporidium is present, you’ll need to wait a full four hours before your water is safe to drink. But crypto isn’t very common in most backcountry water you’ll encounter. Unless we’re in an area where water has been tainted by livestock, we typically only wait about 15 minutes since that’s the contact time required to eliminate the most common harmful stuff. We’ve never had any issues, but we recommend you use your own best judgment to decide how long you want to wait as it’s a matter of health. Colder water requires more time, and of course if you want to be 100% certain that your water is completely pure – you should wait the full four hours.
Treatment Time
Simply mix a few drops from each of the plastic bottles in the cap of the Part B bottle, wait five minutes, then dump that into your water bottle. Give the solution 15 minutes, and boom – pure water! Katadyn Micropur Tabs are a bit easier to use since there’s no mixing involved, but Aquamira is still quite simple.
Weight
Aquamira comes in two small dropper bottles that will fit in any pocket on your backpack or fanny pack. They’re not as compact as Micropur Tabs, but they take up far less room than any standard water filter.
For the real gram counters among us, the other benefit is that the containers get lighter as you use the drops, which obviously isn’t the case for filters.
Maintenance & Longevity
Aquamira is very affordable in the short term, but it’ll cost more than a filter or other purifier in the long run if used as your sole treatment. Still, the price for this method is relatively small when compared to a spendy purifier like a UV pen or a hardcore filter like the MSR Guardian. Furthermore, Aquamira drops cost a fraction of the spendier chemical treatment tablets.
Should you Buy Aquamira Water Purification Drops?
We mentioned this a little earlier, but seeing as the drops aren’t reusable like a dedicated filter or purifier, they’ll cost you more in the (very) long run if you backpack a lot. That said, all filters and purifiers will eventually need to be replaced, and we’d still consider chemical treatments to be worthwhile purchases.
What other Water Treatment Systems Should You Consider?
Here’s a few great alternatives to consider that work just as great as Aquamira.
Katadyn BeFree Review: If you’re looking for something just as minimal and lightweight, but with a filter system, the BeFree has a filter is housed inside the bladder, making for a simple contained treatment option.
Katadyn Micropur Water Tabs Review: The Katadyn Micropur Water Tabs (1.2 ounces for 30 tabs) are another lightweight, simple chemical treatment, but a little more expensive per liter than Aquamira. So, if you’re looking for an ultralight and minimal option without the bulk of Aquamira, a treatment like this might be a better fit.
Steripen Ultra Review: Shorter treatment time, no chemical taste, but also not a filter system. Still the Steripen has a place in our pack when we know water will be generally clear and plentiful on our trip.
