Water Treatment For Three People?

I think a gravity filter is the best for groups. I routinely go with 3, 4 people and the gravity filter is my favorite. I use a Sawyer Squeeze rigged up with Platypus bladders, but any gravity system based on hollow fiber will do nicely. Platypus has a nice system that I've used, and Sawyer offers one too.

That would be my choice.

+1

I witnessed a bunch of folks a couple of weekends ago a-squeezin' and a-pumpin' for what seemed like an eternity.

At least with a passive system you can just hang it up and walk away and let physics do the work for you. :^)

When I'm solo (which is far more frequent) I take AM only… liquid pre-mix style. By far the lightest and most convenient solution I've ever used.

That's my setup as well. In high-use, sketchy water source areas, it's nice to have the AM as a second treatment.

Gravity filters are a good option for more than 1-2 people. The new hollow-fiber tube filters by Platypus and Sawyer are fast, easy to use, and simple to backflush. My daughter and I used a Playtpus GravityWorks on the Colorado Trail last summer, and I liked it so much that it will probably become my main filter even when solo.

I too have a MYOG gravity system using the original Squeeze, an old Big Zip bladder for the dirty side (easy to fill), some tubing, connectors/adapters and a Gravity works carbon element. That last bit is great for when the water doesn't taste so great. All told it weighs ~10 oz, which when carried for a group is pretty decent in my book. And you can leave bits behind when not needed.

If I had it to do over, I'd do everything the same. Great "set it and come back later" system, although it filters 2L in less than 5 min.

Sounds like a consensus. Thanks for your generous advice!

Another vote for using the Sawyer as a gravity filter plumbed between 2 Platypus bladders. Works great for a party of 3.
I use a barbed tube fitting to connect the "dirty" and "clean" bladder hoses together to gravity fill each bladder in succession (each of us carries their own clean bladder; I carry the "dirty" one). I especially like Big Zip Hoser bladders as the bladder hose attachment swivels 180 degrees so you can hang the dirty bladder from a tree, and the hose points down for more effective draining.

I like the bomb proofness of the msr dromadary… have used the 10l with 14 hikers for a week, back flushed once… probably over kill for a family group of 3…