I get the Heebie-jeebies thinking about drinking water with live things swimming around in that you can see let alone the little things you can't see. I always filter my water.
I hear ya, Mike, I feel the same way. I'd rather be safe than sorry later that I didn't filter my water. Water purification systems, anywhere from tablet to filters, are well worth their weight, and their weight is so minimal.
And, for the person who spoke about the weight of a filter, you made me laugh. A while back some WZ members teased me for complaining that a bear canister was too heavy, now it's my turn to tease back because a water filtration system is so very light.
We could all do what Bear Grylls does, he ties a knot in the wrist of his shirt sleeve, then places at the base of the knot charcoal from a burnt-out fire, a bit of grass on top of the charcoal and then pours water over both the charcoal and grass and let's it filter out of his shirt into his canteen.
