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Water purification system for hunting/backpacking

J

jlouis976

Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Messages
396
I'm looking for a new water purification system for hunting/backpacking. I don't like to use chemicals so I am leaning more towards a kelly kettle or something of that nature. What do you guys recommend? I'd like something that will do enough for 1-2 people. I will have daily water access so I don't need to do a ton at a time. I'm open to anything that works.
 
I use coffee filters to get rid of sediment.. THan I boil what I need in my canteen cup over a fire... Boil for 10 minutes and your good.
 
I'd go with the Guyot-in-the-fire method and some kind of filter like a one cup coffee filter thingie.

Doc
 
Do you consider a filter chemicals? If not, I use a small Katadyn Mini filter which is quite small, but works like a champ. Another non-chemical option is the Steri-Pen (uses uv), but you still need to pre-filter out the large sediment/detritus.

ROCK6
 
I used a Sweetwater Guardian filter for a long time, but got tired of squatting by the water, pumping forever to fill a container. This year, I bought a filter that uses the same general type of filter module, but uses a big water bag and gravity feed instead of a pump. (Katadyn Base Camp)

You just fill up the water bag, hang it up, and let gravity do the work while you do other camp chores. No more pumping! Hooray!

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I personally like and use the MSR MiniWorks EX Filter. I also have a Katadyn Vario filter. The MSR is far superior. It is not a pump you pump as fast as possible, you need to match your pumping to the water flow otherwise you will overwhelm the check valve. I have used it in some very skunky water in the Canyonlands (stagnant pools in mid May) and suffered no ill effects. It is pretty easy to clean. If you read the REI reviews you will find several people who broke theirs or claim it is too slow. How slow is boiling water? How bad does Iodine taste? I've never had trouble. Keep it clean and it does just fine as far as speed. I imagine it could crack if you let if freeze full of water, but you can just pump it out. It is easy to take apart if you blow and o-ring or something, but there aren't very many moving parts and if you can break it I imagine you could break just about anything else out there. It screws into wide mouth Nalgene bottles too.

The Katadyn leaks like crazy, but is faster. But I would not trust it in less than clear flowing water either, it has a weak adjustable filter setting, which does nothing but leak.
 
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BTW, I also have both Kelly Kettles (large and small). Its ingenious and definitely works. The big one is too big to take backpacking though, and the low temperature of the walls (due to cooling effect of the boiling water) attracts a lot of sticky pitch to the inside walls. Its pretty fast acting as well. Definitely a good piece of kit if you want to boil a lot of water w/o worrying about finding/running out of fuel.
 
There is a new system out from Sawyer which is a purification system aqnd not just a filter as the MSR. However I am having trouble locating it. I use an MSR Miox system for purification of really doubtful water. However in North America all that is generaly needed is a filter and the MSR Miniworks is one of the best.
 
I use the MSR SweetWater hand pump for camp water. I like the idea of a gravity fed filter and will have to look into that. I also have an in-line filter hooked to my hydration bladder so I can fill it out of the creek. I got that filter at Blackhawk Industries and it works well. I also carry the Katadyn tablets, but frankly never use them. We usually camp with 4 people so the chores each day are split up so the pumping of water, while inconvenient, isn't too bad.
 
I like the below. Lumps get screened by mesh on the in tube. First tube is physical filtration through something like Norit, and the second tube whacks what makes it with iodine. Pumping it is a chore but I'm happy to put up with that for compactness.

liqooi76t30023402.jpg

http://www.pre-mac.com/PWP_TTW.HTM
 
Thomas_J said:
I personally like and use the MSR MiniWorks EX Filter. I also have a Katadyn Vario filter. The MSR is far superior. It is not a pump you pump as fast as possible, you need to match your pumping to the water flow otherwise you will overwhelm the check valve. I have used it in some very skunky water in the Canyonlands (stagnant pools in mid May) and suffered no ill effects. It is pretty easy to clean. If you read the REI reviews you will find several people who broke theirs or claim it is too slow. How slow is boiling water? How bad does Iodine taste? I've never had trouble. Keep it clean and it does just fine as far as speed. I imagine it could crack if you let if freeze full of water, but you can just pump it out. It is easy to take apart if you blow and o-ring or something, but there aren't very many moving parts and if you can break it I imagine you could break just about anything else out there. It screws into wide mouth Nalgene bottles too.

The Katadyn leaks like crazy, but is faster. But I would not trust it in less than clear flowing water either, it has a weak adjustable filter setting, which does nothing but leak.
Click to expand...

I was just about to buy the Katadyn Hiker pro or Vario. All the other reviews that I have seen here rate them higher than the MSR. Can anyone else throw their 2 cents in on this?
 
I've had a General Ecology First Need purifier for a long time (10+ years), and although I will have to replace the tubing soon, it's holding up pretty well. The water it produces is excellent quality, and although you have spend some time to get it, is well worth it.

For backup, I have a MIOX, and a metal cup for boiling.
 
With all the filter pumps, there is no need to use iodine? They will screen out rocky mountain fever and all that stuff? I don't know why but for some reason I thought that you still had to use some chemical stuff in them to kill the micro-organisms that will have you looking for a place to squat all day.

I've always just boiled my water in a tea pot up until now. I'm just getting tired of lugging the thing along.
 
I don't know what the state of play is with the one I posted. I am mildly curious as to what is left after it goes through the activated carbon in the first tube. But I do find the belt and braces secondary disinfection with iodine in the second tube reassuring. It's precisely because I don't like the taste of chemicals or a case of the squitters that I've stuck with these for a long time now. I often drop one of those orange flavour vitamin c tablets in it though. The vitamin bit is bonus. I do it because slightly off colour tepid water is never particularly appealing no matter how small a fraction off it is. I can't detect any difference then.
 
mikeal said:
I was just about to buy the Katadyn Hiker pro or Vario. All the other reviews that I have seen here rate them higher than the MSR. Can anyone else throw their 2 cents in on this?
Click to expand...

I can. I got the Hiker Pro for my birthday in June. I have used it several times, and it's been fine always. Fast pumping, water tastes great, very easy to use and clean. FYI however, I used it in the (relatively) clean waters of the Rocky Mountains. I've never tried it in a stagnant bog. Hope that helped.
 
mikeal said:
I was just about to buy the Katadyn Hiker pro or Vario. All the other reviews that I have seen here rate them higher than the MSR. Can anyone else throw their 2 cents in on this?
Click to expand...


I'll be more specific.

The MiniWorks uses some very thick o-rings and has positive compression on them to ensure that the water goes where it should. All the o-rings stay in their natural shape too which makes for better seals.

The Vario has two very thin o-rings which run around the circumference of the filter near the top of the filter. There is no compression of the o-rings, one of them sits in a groove which takes a bend to control the setting of the filter. Not a very strong seal. This is where the water leaks and so you get unfiltered water coming out the side of the filter where the two halves meet and onto everything else around it. The Vario has about 3x as many seals to fail and they are not nearly as robust as on the Miniworks. I don't doubt that the water coming through the filter is clean, I'm just worried about the cross contamination. Overall I think it just feels kind of cheap compared to the MiniWorks.

BTW. When reviewers state that their filters quickly become harder to pump, they either, 1) Did not thoroughly rinse off the ceramic "mud" after scrapping it clean or 2) The filter is doing its job and they are under estimating how clean the water is.
 
Have used a Katadyn Hiker on a number of trips. It's light works quickly, and the water is clean. I give it my stamp of approval. Have never used it in very dirty water, though. In that case I would suggest prefiltering with a coffee filter or something like that, and if you've got time, dip out a pot of it and let it sit for a while to get some of the finer sediment out before going to the filter.
 
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