Okay, please bear with me--I'm new at this backpacking stuff. I want to take an extended hike in the backcountry. Do I fill the Dromedary from the water source and then put the chlorine dioxide tablets into the Dromedary or am I suppose to treat the water prior to filling the Dromedary? And if the latter is the case, how do I accomplish that?

When we use these in the backcountry we general assign the Dromlites (red) to hold questionable/unfiltered water, and the Dromedaries (black) to hold clean/filtered. Once this has been done you should strictly stick to following that pattern until your trip is over and you can properly clean and disinfect them. Cross contamination is quite easy, and can ruin a trip. So, with that being said, if you're only going to use one Dromedary. Stick with either filtered or unfiltered, and follow that rule. My personal setup is to grab one of those flexible 'kitchen sinks', use the inside for doing any dishes... and to turn it inside out to hold questionable water. I will then filter water straight out of that into my Nalgene or Dromedary, making sure to only put clean, filtered water into them.

There is one VERY important point that seems to be overlooked here. That is "extended backcountry trip" combined with being new and unfamiliar. I would strongly urge you either get more experience and/or assistance from someone with the necessary skills prior to taking any extended backcountry trip. It may sound cliche' but your life could depend on it.

The best tasting way to do it is to pump from the water source into the Dromedary with a filter that has a carbon attachment, or a filter that involves carbon in some way. Chlorine tablets are a very light, if not particularly great tasting, way to make potable water. In addition, the Drom is usually considered a base camp water source, that you fill when you are either close to, or at an established base camp, because they're really heavy when full. So, most backpackers, including myself, carry a personal water supply, either in bottles or a CamelBak, and a large capacity empty bladder for camp use, that is filled via a pump water filter or tablets, upon arrival or close proximity to the camp site. Another product, the Katadyn Base Camp, is a bag you just fill up, without treating at all, and when you open the valve, gravity draws the water through a filter and you have filtered water. It is a lot slower dispensing than other methods, but very easy to use.

No problem...a perfectly fair question. The MSR Dromedary Bags should be handled just like any other water container. The material (500D woven nylon) is coated inside with a food-grade polyurethane coating. Thus it's not different than any other plastic container. You are more than ok filling the Drom Bag from the water source you've chosen (the cleaner the better) and dropping in the required number of chlorine dioxide tablets (1 pill per 1L of water). Obviously make sure you let it sit at least 15-20 minutes for the chemicals to work. The chemical will not hurt the inside coating of the bag. You can also treat the water with a pump filter. The MSR Miniworks EX works perfectly with the MSR Drom Bags. You simply screw the bottom of the Miniworks EX filter onto the opening of the Drom Bag creating a waterproof seal and pump away. Once the bag is full, unscrew the Drom Bag from the water filter and your good to go! Nothing could be more simple... Hope this helps!