Thanks for the responses.
I have traveled with an immersion heater for years. I use it to boil water for tea. And yes, at least under 220V, it boils. The problem is, I was told water needs to boil for 10 minutes to kill anything that needs to be killed and that takes too much time. Not counting the cool down necessary.
I also have a collapsible kettle but I decided no to take it due to size and weigh issues.
A number of years ago, I bought a Ster-pen for a friend of mine who was about to leave for her second 6 month volunteer trip to Ghana. She told me they had to buy bottled water and half the time it was stolen. So I got her the Steri-pen. She reported back that she used it instead of buying bottled water and never got sick.
Prior to posting this thread, I was looking at water bottles that have built in UV capabilties. But I might just get a Steri-pen instead. I could pair it with my Brita filter bottle--that really just improves taste--or get a collapsible water bottle to save some space.
Since I'll be getting most of my water from the hotel faucet or a public water fountain, I don't think I have to worry too much about sediment.
