SteriPEN Journey LCD

Stopped working after only 2 liters in the backcountry.

So I filmed this video clip while on the River-to-River Trail. I'm pretty mad.

To further explain, it arrived a couple weeks before my trip. I tested it at home to make sure everything was working right. Three days before my trip, I demonstrated it to my Cub Scout den, as we were learning about the "Ten Essentials."

On the first day on the trail, we stopped to refill water bottles. It took multiple attempts to get it to work. I kept getting the "Frown Face." Finally, it purified 2 liters.

The next morning, I handed it to my buddy and left him to take care of water while I made breakfast. He came to me a few minutes later and said the battery light was coming on. So after only 2 liters (plus the 2 I tested at home), the battery was dead.

We finished the week using purifying tablets. The taste is nasty, but I think that's my new ultralight solution.

I have owned the Steripen Adventurer for about a decade, and it has performed very very well, with good battery life. With the Journey LCD, I had the same battery probs described by the other reviewers.

My conclusion is that the Journey somehow drains batteries when not in use. I had a headlamp like that—it's now in the landfill. By flipping one battery when not in use (so it couldn't make a circuit), I seemed to get a little more life out of it.

I do like the LCD display, but I am back to using my Adventurer rather than the Journey.

It just works. I have relied on this product for years to safely purify the tap water I drink. It is easy to use and purifies a 1-liter bottle of tap water in 90 seconds.

I use Duracell Lithium 123 batteries with my Steripen Journey and I have never had issues with the batteries not lasting. Typically I get at least a dozen or more uses before I need to change the batteries. I have used this device for well over 6 years and it has always worked for me.

If using water from a stream or river, I first filter the water with my MSR Miniworks water filter into a 1-liter water bottle, using a coffee filter over the intake to help filter out sediment and other particles in the water. Then I use the Steripen to purify the water.

Background

The Steripen is the only UV light water purifier I have ever used, because it works so well.

I bought this unit to replace a water filter when its valve tore after several months of hard use on the AT. The first 8 liters went well, then the battery went flat. 3 more pairs of new batteries would only treat 2-4 liters of water before they also were flat according to the device. I kept the batteries in my underwear to keep them warm, and this worked for 2 more liters.

A waste of money and I'll never buy another one.

I thought that this was one of the coolest products I had seen in awhile when I bought it. But this weekend I took it out for the first time, only to find it doesn't work! At home I purified several liters of water no problem. But on the trail I couldn't get the damn thing to work! I ended up having to boil 4 liters of water! I don't recommend anybody get one.