[at-l] RE: Pur Voyageur Problems

["Stephen P. Champion, MD" <champion@iquest.net>]

As an owner of said filter / purifier, I was contacted by Pur regarding the
"problem".

The problem is with the carbon "after-filter" which they call the "StopTop".
Apparently the grade or quality of carbon in this last stage is not
appropriate for its intended use, and in some way inactivates the
(previously performed) purifying function.  (It may be doing too good a job
at removing the iodine?)  As a result, they cannot certify that it will
purify (kill viruses in) your water.  There is no problem with the filter /
purifier itself, so it is still a heck of a filter / purifier, it is just
not guaranteed to kill viruses IF YOU USE THE STOP TOP.  They are shipping
new carbon packs to owners in the next few weeks to fix the "problem"

So, unless you use the StopTop part, the Voyageur has no problems and
operates as intended.  The carbon is simply an extra step to remove the
iodine (and other chemical) tastes from the already filtered and purified
water.  If you are used to using iodine to treat your water, you won't have
any problem not using the StopTop portion (it does fit nicely into a water
bottle opening, though), and you will still have clean, virus-free water,
that tastes a little like iodine.

Pur has encouraged retailers to temporarily stop selling the Voyageur until
they get the new carbon packs.

Personally, I would have still purchased it, as it is cheaper than buying
the Hiker filter and a separate Voyageur cartridge.

You can, of course, make a case for the lack of need for protection from
viruses as long as you are within the continental US, (i.e. only use a
filter rather than a purifier), but I'm a wimp.  There are some viruses I
absolutely hate.

Steve  (who has recently been trying the AquaMira product)

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