Gravity filtration – Jason Klass – Platypus/Aquamira Frontier Pro – questions and feedback

I've been using a similar setup, a 3L platy hoser and sawyer 3-way filter, but without the 'clean' bag. I just hang it from a tree, or center pole of my tent after a trip to the creek. I bought a cheap inline ball valve so I can shut off the flow into my cup/pot/water bottle.
Another nice trick is that I still have the quick-connects that came with the filter package, and can add my drinking nipple to the end of the filter, so if needed I could carry 5L of drinkable water by filling the two 1L bottles with the gravity feed, then re-filling the bladder, sticking it in my pack, and sucking the water up the hose through the filter.
I've been using a gravity filter for a while now, it works well for me, but it can be a pain to fill. The stream needs to be pretty good size or I can only get the bladder maybe half full.

Edit: My system weighs 8.1oz

Fell to the third page and I am very curious about this Life Straw

I really liked this system and did not require any scoop. the filter itself is .8 ounces, I really don't think you could do anything much lighter than that for filtration but I am not an expert. The weight on this system comes mainly from dirty water bag as the ziplock at the top of the bag (you just open it and that is your scoop, works even in low water if you scoop a few times).

I think with all the two bags, filter and tubing it is 332 grams, but take into consideration this is a full system including water storage. The bags are 3 litres, so after you fill up your clean bag once and fill up the dirty bag again you have 6 litres of water in less than 5 minutes.

I don't know anything about either of those systems, but wanted to offer another suggestion.

The Sawyer squeeze water filter. It is a bit north of 3 ounces, and with its hollow-fiber membrane filter, it removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera and E.coli and removes 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium.

http://www.rei.com/product/837824/sawyer-squeeze-water-filter

It can can also attach to other plastic bottles (think smart water bottle) if you prefer something with more structure over the bag. It is extremely small, and filters as you drink (no need to wait). I personally love it.

Fronteir Pro
2oz wt.
Filters out parasites (requires tablets to kill bacteria and viruses)
1.25 OD x 5.5" long
$25
No idea what the filter life is rated at

Lifestraw
1.7oz wt.
Filters out bacteria, parasites and viruses.
1.25 OD x 8.5" long
$25
Filters 1,000L

The Frontier Pro is set up to connect directly to Platy bags which is definitely convenient.

I purchased a Lifestraw because I wanted to see what it was all about.

I quickly found out the ease of connection to Platy bags is not there.

The intake opening has a plastic screen. It's the exact size to fit a Play bag, but has no threads to connect. Possibly a silicone tube could be used to connect the two.

The outlet side has a "mouth-shaped" opening, not a round opening. This means it does not easily connect to a Platy hose.

The Frontier Pro has a better, more solid engaging design for the snap on caps that close it up. The Lifestraw intake cap connection is a bit flimsy feeling and could easily pop off in your gear bag. The outlet cap has a firm connection.

My goal is to build an effective gravity filtration system that is compact, lightweight, and filters out all the bad stuff. It seems like I need the functionality of the Frontier Pro end connectors on the Lifestraw filter.

Any unique suggestions on how to overcome the connection limitations of the Lifestraw?

So, while the filter is better, there are inconveniences to be overcome for it to be used effectively.