When you go camping, water is the most valuable resource at your disposal. You need to carry enough clean water to avoid catching bacteria that could make you sick. In case of an emergency, clean drinking water is more important than having food.
You can survive up to two months without food if you have the correct water intake, but you won’t last more than a couple of days without the blue gold, so items like portable water filters are a must-have for any camping trip. We will give you a few handy hacks to find, filter, and conserve water when you’re out in the wilderness!
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Our 9 Clean Water Camping Hacks
Here are a few essential tips for saving, purifying, and safeguarding water when camping and touring. These tricks will come in handy if you run out of water and have to use the water from a river. You can never be sure of what’s inside natural rivers or springs.
- Purify Your Water Before Drinking It
The stream you’re camping next to may appear clean, yet parasites and bacteria may be hiding in the water. Drinking polluted water can make you sick and cause various severe symptoms. It is absolutely crucial to filter the water before drinking from any water source in the great outdoors. This can be achieved in a variety of ways like with camping water filters.
- Boiling Water
This is the simplest way to purify your water, and boiling has been used by man for thousands of years. Boiling water kills viruses, bacteria and protozoa in the water that can make you sick. Before consuming, heat the water to a full rolling boil for at least one minute.
- Chlorine And Iodine Pills
Chlorine or iodine pills are a space-saving and effective method of water purification. Water purification pills can be dropped straight into a bottle of water, and the water should be safe to drink after a short time (typically 30 to 60 minutes). Follow the directions that came with your purification tablets for the safest results.
- Uv Light Purification Systems
Many hikers have adopted small, lightweight UV purifying devices in recent years. These devices are often presented in the form of a pen using UV light that breaks the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa in the water, leaving them harmless. To use the device, turn it on, wait for the light to turn off, and mix the pen in your water bottle until the light goes out once again.
- Water Filtration Systems
Water filtration systems are an excellent method to get clean water when camping. There are many lightweight and small filtration systems on the market that operate by physically removing the contaminants in water that can cause diseases.
Many different systems exist, like the ones that can be submerged in water and used as a straw. With this kind of system, the water is filtered when you suck on the straw.
Other water filtration systems function with a bag that you fill with water. You then press the water through the filtering part of the device and link it to your bottle to gather the purified liquid.
Moreover, saltwater can be used, but not too much because it can make you thirsty and if the salt concentration is too high it can lead to diarrhea. It’s not easy to desalinate but you can boil it to kill dangerous parasites and remove part of the salt.
Conserve Clean Water When Camping
When you purify water, you’ll undoubtedly use part of it on the spot, but if you’re hiking somewhere else, you also need to carry some of it with you to get to your next camping spot or get back to your starting point.
While hiking, it’s easy to get dehydrated, and you want to carry as much clean water as you can to avoid injuries or muscular cramps, which can be very dangerous in such extreme conditions.
- Don’t Consume Products That Will Make You Thirsty
Drinking alcohol, caffeine, salt and sweets before and during your trip to the wilderness will make you thirsty. This is also applicable to some foods that contain high amounts of salt or sugar. Sugar will absorb part of the water in your bloodstream, causing even more dehydration.
- Carry Water But Not Too Much
Carry enough water to last you the entire trip. The amount of water you require is determined by various factors, including the weather, the length of your trip, how hard the whole thing is going to be on your body, and your body type.
Every hour, a liter of water is considered enough for the typical hiker. Having said that, you shouldn’t carry too much water either. More weight means your body will need to work harder and make you exhausted quicker.
- Keep Your Body Cool
To keep your body temperature at a reasonable level, consider walking in the shade when possible. You can also decide to walk at hours of the day when the temperature is lower and avoid direct sunlight. Higher temperatures and direct sunlight will induce excessive sweating and lead to your body needing more water.
- Pre-Hydrate
Drink seven to 20 ounces of water within the two hours leading to the start of the trail to pre-hydrate. This can significantly reduce the risk of muscular cramps, and you’ll feel better when you start hiking.
Final Thoughts
Camping can be a great way to get back to nature, explore new areas and unwind from the hustle of city living. However, enough clean water is a key component to a successful, and safe, camping trip. You can use the above tricks such as boiling water and using iodine pills to gather and purify water when you start running low.
