Water Filter

[Mtnman1830]

I am gearing up for what is hopefully going to be an eventful summer. With trips planned to Nine Mile Canyon, with a trip to Peek-a-boo and Spooky, and King's Peak, I would like to have a water filter... I have been looking into this http://www.backcountry.com/store/EXT...er-Filter.html but I am not sure... Iodine tablets are much lighter but the taste....

Anyway, any suggestions???

[Scott P]

I have a Sweetwater Guardian, and like it very much. I've also heard good things of Katadyn and Pur. I haven't had good luck at all with First Need.

PS, skip the iodine unless the water is silty, and use a filter.

A water filter will do you good for Kings Peak, but I assume you won't be backpacking at Ninemile, Peekaboo, and Spooky? I can't imagine why you would want to take a water filter at all to those places. There is no water to filter in Peekaboo and Spooky anyway.

[Mtnman1830]

no we are just packing into kings, the others are planned trips with the kids 'car camping'

[accadacca]

I have this model and I really like it. The handle is really nice for pumping and the unit does a good job filtering.

[packfish]

I have that model you are looking at. I like it- There are a couple of things I might have done different in the design, but I got it for my birthday last year and have used it on 5 trips----- can't complain.
On the postal scale it comes in at 12 oz.

[Mtnman1830]

I spent a few minutes comparing the Katadyn Hiker Water Filter and the MSR SweetWater Microfilter. There is about a $5 difference, (with the replacement filters too) with the MSR being the higher price.

The Katadyn uses a plunger design, while the MSR uses a lever design. I think the lever design would be easier to operate, but what about durability?

Everything else is comparable, with the MSR being the one I am leaning towards.

[Iceaxe]

I just use Iodine tablets. If I know I'll be drinking the water I carry some small powered lamonade or Gatorade to mask the taste. I have had filters fail to many time to trust them.

[Caddis]

I have the MSR Miniwaterworks EX, and have used it for 3 years without any failures. I feel it is the best one out there, they have a repair kit you can carry in your pack that is small and light. I carry one but have yet to use it. Easy to use, just screw your nalgene bottle on the bottom and pump, you don't have two hoses to fight with.


For what it's worth.

[stefan]

I have been looking into this http://www.backcountry.com/store/EXT...er-Filter.html but I am not sure... Iodine tablets are much lighter but the taste....

I have used the Pur Hiker(recently purchased by Katadyn) for about 11 years. The one i own now is about 9 years old and it still works well. I find in southern utah and the uintas that the filters can get clogged pretty easily so i now use a new prefilter that's pretty good

http://tinyurl.com/lfr4p

I tend to use a water filter when I am backpacking and i know that there aren't many springs around, but i always bring iodine just in case there is a problem with the filter. when i do slot canyons i don't bring a filter, just iodine, but i suppose they would really help with those murky pools as we just heard a bad story from HDH. But the murky water will clog the filter faster, naturally. On the other hand, day hiking, i may often take the filter too, since it's small and compact (though shane would say not as compact as iodine, naturally).

in my 11 years using the pur hiker, i have found 2 problems that occur.

(1) is filter clogging --- what this usually means is that the pump can become excruciatingly difficult to pump, but great for building muscles. this gets really annoying but is solved by replacing the filter. the prefilter (silt stopper) that i mentioned above is a very cheap way of delaying this clogging from happening... so i would DEFINITELY buy this as well.

(2) water sucks up, but then pushed out --- this one got me bigtime on a 9 dayhike, fortunately on night 8. basically the water gets sucked up into the pump, but then something happens, to prevent pushing it through the filter as you depress the pump. Instead it just flows back into the watersource.

THE CURE for (2) fortunately it's very simple. all you do is unscrew the filter, fill the pump cavity with *filtered* water, then screw the filter back in (yes water will spill out). Once it's back in tight, start pumping, and it should start working again. But this started last year, i.e., after many many years, so don't let this deter you.



okay, all that being said, MY FAVORITE part about this filter is that when the pump is depressed, it's essentially like a pill-shaped object, no protrusions, nothing to catch on, compact, and easily stowable in a daypack or large pack. This aspect to me is important, especially since i do a lot of solo backpacking, carrying all the gear, and want it to fit nicely into a pack.

But other filters may have nicer attributes that could be more iimportant to you. REI has a filter station where you can try each filter out, pumping water out of a small basin. I have yet to try the others, but i would think this is the simplest way to figure it out.

[Wasatch Rebel]

The water filter I use is the cheapo hand squeeze type. It works great, but requires mammoth forearms to continually filter water several times a day.

[FlyfishermanMike]

I used to use a MSR filter and now I use a Katadyn Guide. The guide is faster, more durable and more reliant than the MSR ever was. Its great for groups as well. Pumping always felt unatural and slow with the MSR. I still have it as a back up but have never needed it. What once was Pur is now Katadyn.

^^ike