Sweetwater Microfilter VS Katadyn Hiker?

One reason why the Katadyn Hiker seems to pump faster:

Katadyn pore size – 0.3 micron
Sweetwater pore size – 0.2 micron

The K pore size is 50% bigger than the S pore size!!

Translate into real world usage? Probably not much… although some bacterias are as small as 0.2 micron.

I'm big on efficiency and ease of use, and the Hiker meets both of those standards. It's what I've been using for the last couple of years and I like it enough that even after trying out tabs, I still plan to bring it on most trips. It's worth the 9 or so ounces.

I've had more than a couple of friends be blown away by how fast it works. It's definitely a solid filter.

The newer sweetwaters are not made to the quality they were before MSR.

The housing cracks easily, and I've heard alot of tales of filter inconsistency. I've got one that has stress cracks all along the top of the filter housing, that spray a shower of water in all directions if the output hose is even mildly crimped.

I don't like them. I've had less trouble with a couple friend's hiker pros, but don't own one myself.

The Hiker is widely regarded as being the Gold Standard for ease of use, long life and reliability. I have two, but have since switched to UV from Steripens.

Cheers

…and Javon, …speaking of filter inconsistencies, I did forget to mention that. Not sure what happened but when using my last Sweetwater cartridge, I drank nearly a quart before noticing that my water was cloudy and had a bunch of sediment in it. I had just filtered from a well used cow crossing. Yum!

That remembered, and with the positive feedback thus far, the Katadyn Hiker is looking more and more appealing.

Filtering from a well used cow crossing? To be fair, you can expect similar results from other filters as well.

I love my hiker so much I have two somehow. If someone is looking for an extra, I have one I'd sell.

I have both. The Hiker should not have seemed faster than the Sweetwater. The Sweetwater pumps on both strokes and is fast and easy. That said I take my Hiker all the time as it is much less trouble in the field. The Sweetwater clogs quickly in mineral (or cow) laden water like I am in most of the time.

If you saw cloudy water from your filter then it was broke. You can expect weird tastes but weird colors are suspect. (Chill haze? Any brewers here? ;-)

I just bought a Platypus filtration system and am looking forward to using it next week.

The main channel in the creek was choked off from willows and the cow trail through a side channel was readily accessible.

As bad as it sounds, in terms of physical appearances, this cow crossing looked no different than the main stream and I have filtered out of this same creek many times before in the past and never noticed the filtered water to be anything but clean.

I see. You made it seem a lot grosser earlier! :)

"(Chill haze? Any brewers here? ;-)"

Haha, yes sir. Chill haze comes from proteins that have developed in the beer, doesn't it? I could see how you might get a similar effect in a "cow laden" stream…

I currently own both the sweetwater and the hiker pro. I found the hiker pro to pump somewhat faster than the sweetwater. I Have noticed thh MSR to slow down over time. My filter choice between the two would have to be the hiker pro.

Thanks, Gavin. In watching a Katadyn made video on youtube, they claim the Hiker Pro is 30% more efficient than the Hiker. Do you or anyone else know what makes that so? I'm aware of the quick release hose fittings on the Pro but there's something else (inside presumably) that's supposed to make it better.

They are both .3 micron, rated at 1L/min. It's the same cartridge.

So I don't think the efficiency has to do with pumping.

Marketing hype?

I went back to their website and read the description and watched the video again. Looks as though I wasn't paying much attention. Katadyn says "30% more capacity" not "efficiency" as I stated earlier. It appears that extra capacity over the regular Hiker comes from a "removable filter protector" that is "easily cleaned" according to Katadyn in the video.

Check it out here: http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn-products/products/katadynshopconnect/katadyn-water-filters-backcountry-series-products/katadyn-hiker-pro/ The video is in the upper center right in the "overview, details, video & download" section.

Compared to my Sweetwater Microfilter, it is very convenient and fast to set up. I can grab it from my kayak and start pumping water within 15 seconds. It pumped easy and quick as well. However, after only a four day trip, of which most of the water I filtered had come from a bucket after settling, the performance dropped off so dramatically that it felt as though something might break if I tried to pump more than one pint per 3-4 minutes.

I took the "removable filter protector" off (which now seems like a gimmick) to clean but there wasn't much to clean off. I also swished the filter itself around in fresh water before taking it out again for another three day trip on the same river. I could not detect any performance gain.

I would have thought this was a faulty filter but my buddy started out this second trip with a brand new Hiker Pro and by the end of the three days, its performance too had dropped off considerably.

I have been using the Sweetwater Microfilter for ~15 yrs on the same river and though its performance would drop off after 5 or 6 days, it wasn't as significant as the Hiker Pro's performance loss at only 3-4 days. The Sweetwaters performance can be noticeably improved in the field by brushing the cartridge too.

The Hiker Pro may work great in clear mountain streams…and I like its simplicity and initial performance. However, for my usage in silty water, I am thoroughly disappointed. With this much performance loss in only 4 days, I'm guessing it would be virtually useless by by day 8. In contrast, I'd get nearly triple that in my Sweetwater before swapping cartridges…and that was more for my peace of mind rather than lack of water output or difficulty in pumping.

You know how the fuel filter on a car works? On many of them, as long as you have normal gasoline running through it, it works. If you get water contaminating the fuel, the water causes the filter material to swell up and clog. That is supposed to prevent water from ruining an engine.

Some water filters are similar, only the other way around. As long as you run fairly clear water through them, they work. If you get anything odd like sunscreen, insect repellent, or anything oily contaminating the water, it seems to foul up the filter. You almost need to gather the water in a bucket, then let it stand for a minute and then examine it before you filter it.

–B.G.–

I've had similarly poor longevity using Hiker filters (either in the pump or in "gravity" mode (like the Amiga Pro) with water sources that are moderately (or worse) silty. After a couple of weekends, the flow rate drops dramatically. Like the earlier posters, the "prefilter" screen around the folded fabric is NOT doing much if anything to prevent this.

Am I the only one on here who uses the Katadyn Pocket Filter? – I love this thing!

I love it even more because my dog is the one dealing with the weight in HIS pack.

Bob,

It's unlikely anything odd like that was in the water. The watershed originates in one of the remotest areas in the Lower 48. Also, once out there, there's no other water to choose from.

William,

Yes, from my experience thus far, it would seem the "removable filter protector" does nothing but look good in the sales literature. I do like the quick connect/disconnect on the Pro but, as far as the inlet sticks out, it's vulnerable to breakage. My friend whom I mentioned above cracked one on a previous "Pro" model.

Alex,

How does the Pocket Filter work in siltier water?

Rusty,

What silty water? No but seriously the mesh prevents most of the silt from entering. If I'm really worried about it I've tied my bandana around the little floaty inlet part.

As far as I'm concerened its the best filter on the market. I think the only thing that keeps people from buying it is the price and weight. I use it with the charcoal inline filter and I get to enjoy better tasting water than I do at home with my charcoal filtered super overpriced filter next to my faucet.

I can't compare to the MSR, but I received the Hiker Pro on the basis of reviews and online discussion. I tested the pump at home, drawing about 2 quarts of faucet water through it and it worked fine after the first liter of murky water was done. It pumps smoothly and easily. Off it went with me, to replace my decades-old First Need.

After 5 days in the High Sierra , pumping about 2 gallons of clear-looking, apparently silt-free, cold lake water through the pump per day, the Katadyn Hiker Pro bound up.

Thinking it might be clogged or obstructed, I checked/cleaned the inlet screen and also the silt-wrap around the filter cartridge itself. Both were visually clean, but I flushed them anyway. The filter cartridge was discolored on the edges of the ruffles/ridges, but otherwise white. I capped the outlet and swished it around in the lake water. There was very little effect.

Upon a return to pumping, the Katadyn Hiker Pro became harder and harder to pump, pretty much feeling exactly "like a clogged filter", but this is with far less than even 20 gallons through the rig! While pumping with more force required, the check valve blew out and… end of pump's utility. We had to switch to chlor-diox pills, iodine pills and boiling for the remainder of our trip.

Katadyn customer service was friendly and polite, but says the filter is clogged and that invisible organisms can clog a filter even within 20 gallons. They're sending me a new housing with a fresh check valve, but have directed me to buck up the $50 (shipped) for a new filter cartridge. I find this unsatisfactory and will likely instead send it back to Campmor and find another product. Nobody else that pumped the same water had any trouble and I think I'd rather have something I can back-flush in the event "invisible organisms" clog my new filter.

I would suggest the sawyer or similar product. No more pumping and it is very easy to backflush to clean. I filtered 20 gallons or so of sierra stream water (does have some silt, but otherwise clear) with no performance drop. Less than 2 minutes to gravity filter one liter. With the squeeze version it would likely be faster (I have the in-line version).

I have the pro hiker and never had this problem. I have owned two sweet waters but in fairness I took the second one out of the box and pumped next to my brother with the Hiker pro and he pumped at three times the rate on an old element than I did on a new one. I make sure to pump diluted bleach through my filter and air dry it when I get home. Also I always look for the outlet or inlet to a larger bdy of water before pumping and have never had the problem. It could be sand stuck ing the handle mechanism. The thing I have noticed is that the handle grooves could let fine particulates like sand into the handle. This is a great filter but we all develop preferences. I also own a steripen but I only use this seasonaly when I know the water is fresh and clear. Just feel weird about it any other time.
With a filter in goes dirty out comes clean pretty impericle but with the pen in goes dirty and on goes light takes more faith I guess.