Water Purifiers: what do you use?

[ibenick]

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[uintahiker]

I've got a Katadyn Hiker. I'm generally happy with it. The next one I get will probably be the HikerPro. I don't mind pumping though.

[ibenick]

I've got a Katadyn Hiker. I'm generally happy with it. The next one I get will probably be the HikerPro.

My friend uses a hiker pro, one thing I really hate about it is that it won't screw onto the top of a nalgene bottle or a dromedary bag. So you either have to hold your bladder up the whole time or pull your mouthpiece off and hook it to the hose which seems like a bad idea to me. Or is there a much better way to attach it that I might not know about?

I don't mind pumping though.

Wanna go backpacking?

[Scott Card]

I have the MSR Mini Works also. I have never had a problem with it. I do remember that the Escalante and all its silt caused it to clog pretty quickly but it has always worked like a charm. Where did you hear/read that it doesn't get stuff like crypto? Maybe I have just assumed that it did more than it does.

I just bought a Katadyn Hiker also. Seems really good but I haven't really used it.

I also don't mind filtering water. I have done it many times particularly in the Subway where way too many people don't carry enough or they drink it too fast. Either way, that last little stream that comes in the canyon on the right looking down canyon is a favorite spot to fill up before the slog out. I remember filtering while floating in a pot hole in the grim section of Chop too. I had overheated in my wet suit earlier and I was starting to feel the effects so I simply pulled out the filter, screwed it to my bottle and I was good for the rest of the hike after about 10 minutes of hydration. Amazing how fast your body recovers from dehydration.

[ibenick]

Where did you hear/read that it doesn't get stuff like crypto? Maybe I have just assumed that it did more than it does.

I don't recall but it looks like I was wrong. The ceramic filters get bacteria and protozoa out and the purifiers get that stuff as well as viruses out. Do viruses float around in water much?

[Scott Card]

Not so far. Please cover your mouth before sneezing into a pothole.

[americanhero]

I've got a Katadyn Hiker. I'm generally happy with it. The next one I get will probably be the HikerPro. I don't mind pumping though.

I'm thinking about buying the Hiker Pro for my summer trip. Will use it in Coyote Gulch and on a backpacking trip to Angel Arch.
Hope there is anyone who used the Hiker Pro already.

[hike.higher]

I'll offer my $0.02. I primarily use the MSR mini-works. I also own the Katadyn base camp. I have used a couple others (hiker pro, sweetwater) with friends, brothers, etc. Every spring I look for a new one, but haven't been impressed enough yet to get one.

The Base camp is great for clean water. I use it in the unitas. Its not nearly as fast as they say, but does a good job with the hang and forget. If the water is dirty though, the filter plugs really quick and will quit filtering. Best in the unitas for water that probably doesn't need to be filtered, but just in case.

I haven't been impressed with either the pro or the sweet water. On a recent trip to cedar mesa we were pumping some gunky water with the sweet water and it did nothing for the taste or the smell, even with its ceramic/charcoal filter. Fortunately we had a mini works which did a great, but slow job. Had to clean it several times, but the stench and taste was removed.

I have found the pro to slow way down in poor water conditions with no real good way of cleaning it. With the mini-works, if it slows down you can scrub it off and go again for another liter or two.

I was pretty intrigued by the hyperflow when it came out, but the lack of a charcoal filter and the "keep from freezing" warning scared me off. Seems impractical with those two faults. If its not going to remove any taste then it better be clean water to begin with, and that means unitas, but you can freeze it there year round.

Anyway, would love to find a smaller lighter filter, but it needs to meet my needs both in the unitas and the gunky desert mud holes. I have yet to find one better then the mini works.

[ststephen]

I have the MSR Sweetwater. I've been happy with it. I recommend using the silt stoppers you can buy from MSR to pre-filter dirty water and save the life of your filter. You can then order very cheaply replacement cartridges for the slit stoppers when they turn red/brown. I've never seen the cartridges in a store, but I found them on line.

[brookiekiller]

I have used the hiker pro, mini-works, and the Platypus Clean stream. In the High country I use the clean stream or PUR tablets as the water is clean and tastes good for the most part - everywhere else I use my mini-works. I really hate pumping and continually having to clean the ceramic in the mini-works and love the gravity filter in the Platypus. I hated the hiker pro as I kept having to perform field maintenance to get it to work properly.

[Dr. Nebz]

I have the MSR Sweetwater. I've been happy with it. I recommend using the silt stoppers you can buy from MSR to pre-filter dirty water and save the life of your filter. You can then order very cheaply replacement cartridges for the slit stoppers when they turn red/brown. I've never seen the cartridges in a store, but I found them on line.

I also have a sweetwater. It is awesome! You can get the replacement cartridge at REI. I also use the silt stopper. Works great and fills your bottles and res very fast.

[gnwatts]

I have used a Katadyn Pocket for 5 or 6 years. When I had to replace the cartridge, I decided to look at other options. I loved the Pocket, I never was without water, never a problem. A tad on the heavy side, but worth it i my opinion. Beautifully made.
I ended up buying the MSR Auto Flow gravity filter. It has worked flawlessly for 15 days so far. It requires you to back flush it every now and then, takes a few minutes. I don't miss pumping.

[Dr. Nebz]

I don't recall but it looks like I was wrong. The ceramic filters get bacteria and protozoa out and the purifiers get that stuff as well as viruses out. Do viruses float around in water much?

Sweetwater info: Microfilter Protection: Eliminates over 99.9999% of all waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of common protozoan parasites, such as giardia and cryptosporidium

If you want to cover Viruses, which depends on where you are, you can just get this:

[ibenick]

If you want to cover Viruses, which depends on where you are, you can just get this:

I think pretty much all of the purifiers and chemical options knock 'em out. Curious how prevalent viruses are in water though. Seems like you'd have to be pumping out of some serious nastiness in a third world country or something.

[ibenick]

I ended up buying the MSR Auto Flow gravity filter. It has worked flawlessly for 15 days so far. It requires you to back flush it every now and then, takes a few minutes. I don't miss pumping.

That Auto Flow looks so nice. I'd love to hear if you're still loving it after more use. The one thing I've heard on some filters that you clean with back flush is that they can become really plugged over a time to the point where back flushing no longer works. Obviously that would be expected after a certain amount of use, just wondering how much use that really is.

[CarpeyBiggs]

steripen, aquamira, or a gravity filter.

[Scott P]

I usually use the MSR Sweetwater. The Miniworks pumps much slower.

[asdf]

I also have the MSR Miniworks EX. I keep a coffee filter on the end with a rubber band and have never had clogging issues. Its a bit slow but I like how it attaches to a nalgene.

[ibenick]

I usually use the MSR Sweetwater. The Miniworks pumps much slower.

They're actually both rated exactly the same at 1 liter per minute. Maybe one plugs up easier though.

[homerj]

My friend uses a hiker pro, one thing I really hate about it is that it won't screw onto the top of a nalgene bottle or a dromedary bag. So you either have to hold your bladder up the whole time or pull your mouthpiece off and hook it to the hose which seems like a bad idea to me. Or is there a much better way to attach it that I might not know about?

He's missing the nalgene bottle adapter that comes with it then. It fits on the nalgene bottles nice and snug so you can fill your bottles without any problem. One bad thing is that it's too big for the MSR bladder bag opening and you have to hold it.... big pain in the ass...