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Portable Water filter/purifier

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
Messages
4,827
I have been gone from BF for a while so please don't be mad at me if this topic has recently been discussed :o. It looks as though I may be having to live out of a house without running water and power. It doesn't bother me much because I've done it before. In a way I kind of welcome the challenge.

I have tons of supplies and hardware to see me through it with the exception of a good, reliable, portable water filter/purifier. The 2 portable units I have my eyes on so far are the Swiss made Katadyn unit and the Amercan made MSR unit. I already have a full sized Aquarain Ceramic, gravity water filter and I've been extremely pleased with it for home use. But I've yet to get me a top quality portable unit that I can take on a long hike or take with me in a backpack if GOD-Forbid I end up homeless.

The Aquarain company is who recommended the MSR unit to me and I've always herd nothing but great things about Katadyn's products.

I just want to know what portable water filters/purifiers you all could recommend to me. I'm wondering if there are great trustworthy units I can trust my life with that you all might be aware of. I know all about boiling and all the water treatments you can use to make water safe to drink. But a portable unit will be great for long hunts and hiking. Maybe some of you guy's/gals already have a model in mind. I'm all ears :)
 
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I really like my Sawyer. its a .1 micron mechanical filter that comes with a 38 oz Nalgene bottle. Walmat $34
 
When I have the $$ together, I plan on buying the MSR model:
Hyperflow

Seems to me to be the best option for a light, small model of water filter.
 
I carry a katadyn Vario.it lasts for a looong time on one set of filters.I've been using mine for 2 full years and only now do I need to change them out.
 
savagesicslayer said:
I carry a katadyn Vario.it lasts for a looong time on one set of filters.I've been using mine for 2 full years and only now do I need to change them out.
Click to expand...

That's really interesting Savage :) To go 2 years on one set of filters is really impressive to say the least. I have 2 questions: First of all how many gallons of water would you estimate that you got out of your first set of filters? Also how much do the replacement filters cost?

Also to the other brother's response on the MSR unit:>> I've heard that the MSR doesn't need it filter replaced for a very long time. But you're the first owner of an MSR I've got to ask about it.

Never heard of the "Sawyer" unit the other brother mentioned but I will certainly do some research on it. Thanks for the information guys :thumbup:
 
I have an older Katadyn. A bit heavy but it has held up well and performs smoothly.

For lightweight backpacking in the Sierra, where water is generally clear, for the last couple years I've been carrying www.uvaquastar.com. Same principle as the Steri Pen but for me it's more convenient to use/carry.

DancesWithKnives
 
Went on a 3 day backpacking trip recently with my dad and several people. My dad had a katadyn hiker PRO. It worked well, except at the end it ended up being a bit hard to pump, and the top of the handle broke, but some epoxy should fix that up.

Anyways, someone else had a katadyn Vario and she had problems with it from the start, and she said that it would work right at first but then stop workign as well. At the end it was not pumping at all. Someone else also had an MSR, I don't remember which one, but definitely not one of the cheap ones.

I suppose it became hard to use, as we let those 2 people borrow ours, so it ended up pumping more than usually.

Link: http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn...ackcountry-series-products/katadyn-hiker-pro/
 
InsaneMachine said:
Went on a 3 day backpacking trip recently with my dad and several people. My dad had a katadyn hiker PRO. It worked well, except at the end it ended up being a bit hard to pump, and the top of the handle broke, but some epoxy should fix that up.

Anyways, someone else had a katadyn Vario and she had problems with it from the start, and she said that it would work right at first but then stop workign as well. At the end it was not pumping at all. Someone else also had an MSR, I don't remember which one, but definitely not one of the cheap ones.

I suppose it became hard to use, as we let those 2 people borrow ours, so it ended up pumping more than usually.

Link: http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn...ackcountry-series-products/katadyn-hiker-pro/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed testimony "IM" :) This kind of goes along with a tip I got from a retired Green Beret who has a survival type radio show on RepublicBroadcasting.org. Col John Moore told me when I called in to his show about 2 months ago that anytime you try to filter water from lakes, steams, branches or ponds you really need to "pre-filter" the water. Col Moore said that one of the best ways to Pre-Filter the water is to run it through some coffee filters before you filter it through your main unit.

Thats exactly what that problem sounds like it is to me.
 
I have been using a Katadyn Hiker since 1998 (it was Pur when I bought it, since then bought out by Katadyn). Works like a champ. Another good one to look at is the MSR Miniworks.

Do some investigation before buying the MSR Hyperflow. It requires substantial field maintenance on a very regular schedule to keep running right.

Nowadays I frequently don't even bother with the filter. The water quality in the Sierras is really good.
 
I've been carrying this model by MSR for about a year now. Link

I've only used it about a dozen times but all of those times I was REALLY glad I brought a filter along. I've found that the water tastes as good as anything you can get in a bottle. Also if used on a part of the stream where there is some faster moving water the filter seems to stay much cleaner. It's pretty convenient in that it screws directly to my Nalgene so I can have two free hands to work the pump and not have to worry about dropping something into the lake or stream. I realize a dozen uses is hardly a testament for excellence, but so far it has worked well. Hope this helps.
 
I bought my MSR miniworks in 1999 and I've only had to replace the hose. I bought plastic tubing from Lowe's. I like it but I think these days there are a few smaller and lighter ones available on the market.
 
John,

I was really surprised (and pleased) to hear the good news about improving Sierra water quality. One of my friends hikes Yosemite a lot and he reported that recent tests showed the northern lakes (west of Virginia Lakes and south of Twin Lakes) to be free of giardia and crypto. [Lakes like Miller, Smedberg, Benson, etc.] However, having been afflicted with both before, I still do a UV sterilizing on the water with the Aquastar.

I look forward to seeing you again at BBII later in October!

DancesWithKnives
 
lambertiana said:
I have been using a Katadyn Hiker since 1998 (it was Pur when I bought it, since then bought out by Katadyn). Works like a champ.
Click to expand...

Same here. The hiker is the bomb on trips and SAR operations. I HATE chewing my water!.

I take along a couple dozen coffee filters in the filter carry sack.

I then wrap one around the pre filter acorn and use a rubber band to hold it on. By doing this it keeps an amazing amount of sludge out of the filter. Prolonging its life indefinately its seems.

Works great

Skam
 
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Hey guys I'm just wondering also if any of you are aware of any websites or other information sources that might possibly rate portable water filters. Or even the big home use units as well like the Big Berkey, Aquarain ect,ect,.

It's my firm belief that if any of us are faced with a serious survival situation as I feel many of us will be in the near future that "Drinkable Water" is of paramount importance. You can go as much as 2 weeks without food but you can only go about 3 days max without water.

Great Forum we have here and glad to be a part of it :thumbup:
 
To answer you question the company states the filter combination is good for 1800+ liters.You can wash them out as well and get some extra mileage out them.I just priced a new set at MEC at around 50$ CDN.
I bought my first one (a hiker) 5 years ago when we were gearing up for our first hike through the Fundy footpath.I bought it on a whim cause I wanted a cool piece of gear that worked well.Boy did it ever work well.We were naive enough back then to think we could carry all the water we would need.That little filter saved our asses out there.Now 5 years on I have the Vario and almost everyone in our group has a filter or our own.I re-fill a 2 liter Cammelbak every few hours out there and any water I need for cooking at night and I have done so for 2-4 day trips and countless hiking and camping trips in between.for long excursions they're an indispensable piece of kit.
 
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