The concept is simple, subject water to UV light and disrupt the viruses, bacteria & protozoan cysts reproductive cycle, thus making them unable to grow in your gut and make you sick. Same treatment our local municipal water treatment plant uses, but in a carry anywhere format.
This purifier will not remove heavy metals, particulates, chemicals, solvents, oils, bad tastes/smells etc...one needs to use other filtration methods (pump filters, carbon, etc) to deal with those.
To use, one simply fills the bottle with water from a water source, be it a puddle, stream, pool, whatever. The water HAS to be prefiltered (clear) for the unit to effectively work. Screw the UV filter unit cap on, and press and hold the blue button for two seconds. The UV light will come on and start its process for 60 seconds. There is a countdown timer on the LCD screen, and at the end of the 60 second cycle the UV light turns off and a check mark appears in the LCD display, indicating the water is good to go. DURING the purifying process you HAVE to shake the bottle back and forth to ensure all the water in the bottle gets exposed to the UV wavelengths. Once this is complete, unscrew the purifier cap, and screw on the regular bottle cap. The UV cap also fits on Nalgene wide mouth bottles, but Camelbak recommends only using the included bottle.
PHOTOS HERE: CAMELBAK ALL CLEAR UV PURIFIER
YOUTUBE LINK: CAMELBACK ALL CLEAR UV PURIFIER IN USE
POSITIVES: The unit is a nice sized package, easy to carry in a shoulder bag, backpack or similar carry device. It works when used as directed, i never got sick even though the waters I tested it on were very suspect. A single charge from a USB port on a computer will last about 80 treatment cycles, or 60000 ml (approx 60 Liters) of clear water. You can charge it from a portable USB battery pack as well, but don't expect a FULL charge as the charging cycle takes 5 hours. Easy to use, the instructions are printed right on the bottle, as well as in the manual. The UV purifier head is well built, rugged, and very water/impact resistant.
NEGATIVES: No prefilter cap is included in the kit. WHY? Camelbak sells one separately, but I feel they should just include it in the kit. Most people will not know how to fashion a field expedient prefilter, so why not just include one? The USB cable charged lithium ion battery is not replaceable, for that matter neither is the UV light element. Once either of these craps out, you are basically left with a $110 water bottle. I would like to see Camelbak redesign the unit, and allowing the use of CR123 lithium batteries, and having a replaceable UV lamp. As well, I would like to see a prefilter that will remove chemicals, sediments, smells/tastes etc. Its a bit pricey considering these negatives....
OK, now that we have described what the ALL CLEAR does, costs, etc, its time for an honest uncensored and unbiased review. I purchased this unit with my own money, it was not given to me by CamelBak. I have field tested it both in the city and in the woods, using it more than 50 times.
Bottom line, do not think that the Camelbak ALL CLEAR is a be all end all only filter/purifier that you need.....its not. HOWEVER, pair it with a good pump style filter, like the KATADYN or MSR units, and you have a good system for ensuring you don't get sick from the water you drink. This unit would be an IDEAL travel companion for hotels and tours where the supplied drinking water may be suspect...
I give the CamelBak ALL CLEAR UV PURIFIER a BUSH LAB rating of 8/10
