Outdoors

Sol reservoirs have water treatment in the bag

Sol reservoirs have water treatment in the bag
Tortoise Gear has turned to Kickstarter to get the Sol Water bags to market
Tortoise Gear has turned to Kickstarter to get the Sol Water bags to market
View 6 Images
Tortoise Gear has come up with a prototype drink reservoir, dubbed Sol Water, that promises to get rid of potential nasties like bacteria and viruses using only the power of the sun
1/6
Tortoise Gear has come up with a prototype drink reservoir, dubbed Sol Water, that promises to get rid of potential nasties like bacteria and viruses using only the power of the sun
Tortoise Gear has turned to Kickstarter to get the Sol Water bags to market
2/6
Tortoise Gear has turned to Kickstarter to get the Sol Water bags to market
Sol Water bags make use of the SODIS method (solar water disinfection) to harness the sun's UV rays to kill bacteria and viruses
3/6
Sol Water bags make use of the SODIS method (solar water disinfection) to harness the sun's UV rays to kill bacteria and viruses
Tortoise Gear reports that its bags can disinfect water in as little as three hours in perfect conditions
4/6
Tortoise Gear reports that its bags can disinfect water in as little as three hours in perfect conditions
Of course, the Sol Water bags aren't filters, so if your water is full of debris, you'll need a separate filter
5/6
Of course, the Sol Water bags aren't filters, so if your water is full of debris, you'll need a separate filter
The Sol Water bags are reusable, and can be frozen or even serve as a waterproof pouch for your gadgets
6/6
The Sol Water bags are reusable, and can be frozen or even serve as a waterproof pouch for your gadgets
View gallery - 6 images

If you're an outdoorsy type then you probably already know how handy a water disinfectant system can be in the right circumstances – because who wants to lug large quantities of water around if they don't need to? Tortoise Gear has designed a prototype drink reservoir named Sol Water that's claimed to remove the vast majority of bacteria and viruses using the power of the sun.

Sol Water comes in three different models. The Survivalist is a 1 liter (0.24 US gallon) bag that can carry boiling hot water, the Day Tripper has the same capacity as the Survivalist but also sports a pop-up drink spout, and the Backpacker is a 2 liter (0.52 gallon) reservoir designed for hydration backpacks. Each sports a reflective back and measurement lines to show how much water remains.

So, how does it work? Essentially it's a lot like the Solar Bag we covered back in 2012, and makes use of the SODIS method (solar water disinfection) to harness the sun's UV rays to kill bacteria and viruses. The firm reports that Sol Water can disinfect water in as little as three hours during peak sunshine. It is also reusable, and can be frozen or even serve as a waterproof pouch for gadgets. You can read more in-depth information in the firm's FAQ section.

Tortoise Gear reports that its bags can disinfect water in as little as three hours in perfect conditions
Tortoise Gear reports that its bags can disinfect water in as little as three hours in perfect conditions

The sun in the middle of the Sol logo on the reservoir has been designed to act as a water murkiness guide. If the user can't make out the arms of the symbol then the water is probably too cloudy to use.

While slightly murky water might still be okay after the microorganism killing spree has finished, though there's no visual guide to tell you that the disinfecting process is complete, the Sol Water reservoir doesn't contain a filter, so any debris will remain. It also doesn't purify, so chemicals like pesticides aren't removed either.

But given its size, weight, and simplicity, it's perhaps well suited as a backup system to throw in a backpack and forget about until needed.

Tortoise Gear has turned to the crowd to get Sol Water to market. The firm is seeking Kickstarter pledges of US$3 for a Survivalist model, while a pack containing all three models is available for a pledge of $27. Assuming all goes well, shipping is estimated for March 2016.

Check out the video below for the Kickstarter pitch.

Sources: Tortoise Gear, Kickstarter

SOL Water | Hydration Powered by the Sun

View gallery - 6 images
2 comments
2 comments
StWils
Great Idea! But severely incomplete. No filtration? Redesign to include all similar filtration systems. This design is actually a good real world demonstration of what might be referred to as the Apollo 13 problem. When Apollo 13 had an explosion on the way to the moon the crew and NASA found that the air purification filtres for the Command and Service modules were physically incompatible even though the actual filtre technology was identical. One module was a round big coffee can shape and the other was a box. The crew & NASA had to figure out how to use the materials on hand to marry up the wrongly matched parts so the air could continue to be cleansed. The same problem exists here wherein many companies, small & large, have water cleansing systems that are not exactly compatible. There needs to be a Special Interest Group that can establish a common set of connections, components, design standards and technique to enable pieces from different makers to play well together.
Bob Flint
So you wait a minimum three hours, or you could build a fire and boil it for three minutes, and let cool. Ether way Still no primary filtration, I guess you could use a sock...