SteriPEN Helps out with Hurricane Sandy

SteriPEN is lending a helping hand to people in need of clean drinking water.  How cool is that?  I've said before that everyone should keep a SteriPEN in their emergency kit, you just never know what might happen to your water supply.  I think it's wonderful that they are reaching out to those hit by Hurricane Sandy.  Follow them on FB or contact them for help.

"We at SteriPEN wish those affected by Hurricane Sandy well. Tremendous aid efforts have all ready begun and more help is on the way.

SteriPEN staff is enroute to New York & New Jersey to contribute to Hurricane Sandy aid efforts in affected areas. If you, family or friends are in need of safe drinking water, please let use know. We may be able to help. We will provide updates starting tomorrow on Facebook and steripen.com

If you would like to help us provide product donations, emergency kits, contact us at the addresses listed below. You can send us a private message on Facebook or emailtim@steripen.com"

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SteriPEN Freedom, the Latest Edition

Did you know that city municipalities use UV light to treat our drinking water?  How cool is it that SteriPen has figured out a way to make a hand held version for travel and outdoor use?  They make several models of the SteriPen, and the Freedom is the latest, a rechargeable version, featuring a new option to charge via USB port or AC adapter.  Since most people travel with devices now, and those charge with USB connectors, this new recharging method is a great option. It's also smaller than the other SteriPens, making it more convenient and better for travel.

In just a few seconds, the SteriPen gets rid of bacteria and viruses that can make us sick and ruin a trip.  You may need to filter the water first, depending on where you are.  SteriPen makes a pre-filter that fits right on a standard Nalgene bottle, or you can use a different method of pre-filtering.   If you are just in a hotel room in Mexico for instance, you can get water right out of the tap and treat it.

All you do is take off the lid, immerse in water, stir, and when the green light comes on, you're done.
You get up to 40 treatments per charge.  There's an LED light option on the end of the SteriPen, which you can activate by rotating it three times--will I remember this on travels, I don't know.  It will stay on for three minutes, or you can turn it off the same way.

While I think this is ideal for traveling, it might also work for backpacking trips, it only weighs 2.6 oz, with the included case, cord, and adapter, it's 6.4 oz.  Some solar chargers have USB ports, I'm thinking of the ones that you can just clip to your backpack.  One of those and this SteriPen would make a nice pair for the back country.  I hesitate a little here because I have personally never been able to find an effective solar charger, but I have hope in that direction.  I also question the practicality of carrying a solar charger when two AAA batteries are lighter and more universal.   But in the end, I think the SteriPen Freedom takes the best of the previous models and condenses that technology into a very practical and necessary device.  It's appropriate for a wide audience from the business traveler, world trekker and the back country folks.  Find it HERE.

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Hurricane Preparedness with Sanyo Enloop

I'm a big fan of preparedness, having lived in hurricane territory for years in the past and being very grateful for my supplies when the storms hit.  Hurricane Irene is a great reminder to stock up on supplies for disaster preparedness, no matter where you live.

Batteries are a must have and Sanyo has a wonderful solution to traditional batteries, their eneloop rechargeable batteries.   I've always loved the idea of rechargeable batteries, but could never get them to really work.  These work.  They have a low discharge rate, making them last much longer than the ones you might have tried in the past. And they come pre-charged, so they are great for your disaster kit.  They're also great for travel and daily use for all the stuff you have at home requiring batteries.  When the energy runs out, you don't throw them away, you just recharge them, saving you money and helping out the environment.

In addition to the batteries, Sanyo's enloop Mobile Booster will charge your devices when they run out of juice, providing up to 240 minutes of power.  It's very straight forward, you just plug it in and pre-charge it using an outlet at home or the USB port of your computer, then slip it into your bag for later.  When your iPad (or a host of other compatible electronics devices goes dead, just plug in the Mobile Booster and you're up and running again. This means when you have a power outage, you've got back up for watching movies and whatnot, which can be invaluable when you have children and you can fire up your cell phone in an emergency.  And how great to have it when you're on the plane or even camping in the woods.  Find both must have options HERE.

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