Hard Kit is all other accoutrements that are not clothing, weapons or armour. This includes pots and tents, and flint & steel, and other things like that.
While maybe this should be in soft kit section, I sort of figured most folks would look in hard kit for water filtration so added it here instead.
I had just watched this interesting video.
And learned about these cool simple filters that I had not known about before. The simplicity and basic tech involved made me think of course how this could be a good choice for a Ranger's kit. While these don't filter all the nasty things out of water. They do filter out particulates quite well, and actually do reduce the amounts of nasties by stopping particulates that many nasties might be clinging to, and even filtering out many parasite eggs.
The bags do what they say, they filter out large particulate matter and are not designed to remove bacteria or parasite eggs (Cryptosporidium). However, some fluorescent beads were used in the testing which are slightly larger than bacteria, mimicking parasite eggs and these were decreased by two thirds in number by filtration. So whilst all water passed through the bags should be boiled, chemically treated or passed through a water purification system, it is good to know that they are already assisting and taking the pressure off the next step.
Seems like these coupled with boiling would make for a pretty decent filter system that would fit in with the tech of Middle Earth.
I've used Millbank bags for years now.
simple but effective. Dont take up too much space when not in use.As for the boiling well im usually wantin the water for tea anyways.......
He obsesses a little too much over the length of the mil-spec paracord, hehe. It's just a canvas bag.
I would put some crushed charcoal in the bag first.
BTW, this does not disinfect the water: Granular-activated carbon (GAC) purifies water by adsorbing organic and inorganic chemicals and most heavy metals, thereby improving odor, taste, and safety. GAC is a common component of household and field filters. It may trap but does not kill organisms. In field water treatment, GAC is best used after chemical disinfection to remove disinfection byproducts and the taste of iodine and chlorine. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/ ... -travelers
A ME Ranger would probably combine these techniques, unless he had some kind of elven purifying device....
There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.
Kortoso wrote:He obsesses a little too much over the length of the mil-spec paracord, hehe. It's just a canvas bag.
I would put some crushed charcoal in the bag first.
BTW, this does not disinfect the water: Granular-activated carbon (GAC) purifies water by adsorbing organic and inorganic chemicals and most heavy metals, thereby improving odor, taste, and safety. GAC is a common component of household and field filters. It may trap but does not kill organisms. In field water treatment, GAC is best used after chemical disinfection to remove disinfection byproducts and the taste of iodine and chlorine. http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/ ... -travelers
A ME Ranger would probably combine these techniques, unless he had some kind of elven purifying device....
Well in ME not a lot of worry about chemicals in the water.
From my understanding of how the bag works, the water is not just flowing out the bottom, but out of all the sides through the fabric. Then running down the fabric to the bottom corner. Yes some is pushing through the fabric at that corner, but much of the water would bypass any charcoal in the bottom of the bag.
There is a big difference in effectiveness of regular charcoal and activated charcoal.
Activating Charcoal is not a task that can be done in the field sadly. There is a complex process to get charcoal to an activated state. You can DIY it at home, but in the field, not too likely. Activated Charcoal is mostly used to remove the nasty chemicals that pollute our modern water. Typically water is passed through a filter then through an activated charcoal filter.
Kortoso wrote:Would you have to boil the water that comes out of a Millbank Bag anyway, to kill the bugs?
Yup.
millbank bags just filter out the larger bits of detritus.
however it can hold back the particles that nasty bugs lurk on.
boiling or chemical sterilisation is still necessary.
ive done this with pools,ponds,puddles and never had a case of the trots or other waterborne nasties
Kortoso wrote:Would you have to boil the water that comes out of a Millbank Bag anyway, to kill the bugs?
Yup.
millbank bags just filter out the larger bits of detritus.
however it can hold back the particles that nasty bugs lurk on.
boiling or chemical sterilisation is still necessary.
ive done this with pools,ponds,puddles and never had a case of the trots or other waterborne nasties
Also as I quoted in my OP, they did a test with beads the size of parasite eggs and found the bag filtered out about 2/3rds of them. That is a huge help in prefiltering before you boil. So while it doesn't filter enough to be considered a proper filter, it does drastically reduce the amount you have to kill off after going through the bag.
