“Don’t conflate removing stuff from water vs. killing stuff living in water.”
Boiling works when fuel and equipment is available. Does North America have any viruses in the water supply?
When searching for backbackable filter units, ceramic (refurbish with a 3m scratch pad) with a pre pickup to pull the big particulate at the source, and either boiling or treatment tabs to kill off any gribblies.
If the straw is a charcoal type, it might go a long way to fix the “halizone bite” taste common after tablet treatments.
YMMV
Cheers
I knew about heavy metals, parasites and chemicals in water, but now i have to worry about “gribblies” too? I didnt even know gribblies knew how to swim!!