Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
My two cents:


1) The odds of getting a waterbourne illness from any one source is overwhelmingly low.
2) The majority of illness that are blamed on "bad water" are actually transmitted by contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. Proper hand washing with honest to goodness soap is far more effective at reducing the spread of pathogens than water treatment.
3) Most commercial filters do not protect against viruses like Noro virus that is ever present on major trails.
4) It you are unable to treat your water, just drink it. Dehydration is generally more dangerous to the average hiker than waterbourne contaminants.
5) All that said I still treat my water, because I think it's easy and a smart thing to do.
Well written. I agree totally.