SteriPEN Adventurer Handheld Water Purifier

Manufacturer: SteriPEN
Customer Rating:

, based on 7 reviews

Lowest Price: $79.95
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
By Supplier: Amazon.com

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Description/Reviews | Feedback | View All Offers (30) | Accessories

Editorial Review:

Handheld water purifier that effectively destroys viruses, bacteria, and protozoa
Purifies 16 ounces (1/2 liter) of water in 48 seconds or 32 ounces in 90 seconds
Employs ultraviolet (UV) light to destroy DNA of harmful microorganisms
Exceeds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for purifier testing
Easy 1-button operation; weighs only 3.6 ounces; includes 2 disposable batteries

SteriPEN is located on the coast of Maine in the town of Blue Hill. SteriPEN employees greet each day by arriving to work in a spacious barn. The atmosphere is very relaxed where employees are welcome to grow a vegetable or herb garden. Miles Maiden is Hydro-Photons founder and inventor of the SteriPEN. Hydro-Photon, Inc. was founded with a simple purpose: to develop ultraviolet technology, as is used in municipal water treatment plants, for use in a personal, portable device that would provide the user with safe drinking water anywhere. Hydro-Photon received its first SteriPEN patent in 1999, followed by patents in 2000 and 2003. It kills viruses, bacteria and protozoaincluding Giardia and Cryptosporidiumin seconds. SteriPEN is easy to use. SteriPEN provides a system pack which includes a SteriPEN, Pre-Filter and 1 Liter BottleSteriPEN. The Classic UV Light Water Purifier SteriPEN is the only portable batch water purifier that uses Ultraviolet (UV) light to destroy waterborne microbes.

Customer Reviews:

The Purifier works but not the price !

i purchased the Steripen Adventurer from Amazon thinking I was getting a better price than from other online merchants. However, the supplied batteries were no good and had to be replaced at an additional cost of $13.00+. There went the price savings plus some. I don't know if the thing works or not, however I do know that the river water on the trip that I took it on is safe to drink. My guess is that Amazon doesn't rotate their stock well enough.

2008-10-22

Not reliable

I've giving it a single star for being unreliable.

I got this thing and tried it out a couple times and it seemed to work. Then I took it on a weeklong backpack trip and it failed from day one because it ran the rechargeable batteries down after less than 5 uses. I should have brought Iodine tabs as a backup.

Also, the LED lights used to indicate readiness are very difficult to see in sunlight, and the message system needlessly confusing. A sound-based system would be much better. Finally, the info about lights out to be printed on the case so that losing the instructions doesn't render the unit totally useless.

2008-09-01

good for travelers

I bought the SteriPEN before traveling to India and Nepal. Three weeks on trains and in modest lodging, using the pen to sterilize one liter of water at a time.I learned that I had to insert it deep into the water, just a little beyond the rod, otherwise it didn't work. I used it 20 - 30 times and it took away the uncertainty about the water. I'm taking it with me to Mexico this month. It's lightweight and small, so easy to include.

2008-03-04

Have not used

The pen seems to work properly, but I have not tested it on raw water as yet.

2008-01-07

Lightweight but doesn't like the cold

Having read elsewhere that the Adventurer was hard on batteries but most people were using rechargeables, I decided to do my own testing using Panasonic Lithium Photo batteries. Thus far I have gotten about 20 liters of purification over a period of 6 days. The only time I have encountered any problems is in cold. For the first test I put the pen in the refrigerator for about 3 hours and tried to use it but it only flashed the red light saying the battery was too weak. After warming it up for 5 minutes with body heat, it performed fine. Another time I left it outside 40F for a few hours and tried it but had the same problem. Again, after warming with body heat the unit worked fine.

I was looking forward to using the Adventurer in the winter when filters freeze and chemicals take way too long. After these tests it is obvious that I will have to keep it warm or warm it up before I use it. I think it must really require a big "shot" of power and it is necessary that the batteries are warm to be able to do this.

Recommended with qualifiers.

2007-12-30

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