Advice Needed for Fast Water Treatment on Long Days

The water I typically encounter is cold mountain streams, warm, sometimes murky, desert trickles, or a sediment filled Colorado River. For me treatment is not optional.

I carry a Katadyn Hiker pump (12 ounces when wet) for water treatment and one 1-liter bottle. I can stop at any small flow, pump, camel-up, fill again, and go in under 5 minutes. If it’s only a trickle I may have to scrape out a small divot for the intake. If water sources will be unreliable or more than 3 hours apart I take additional 1 liter bladders.

Treatment with iodine takes 35 minutes. Chlorine Dioxide takes longer. A SteriPen requires relatively clear water.

Aside from a “deep enough to dip-and-fill” requirement, a 4 ounce Saywer Squeeze is the only alternative I’ve come up with. Are there any other options to consider?

TIA

Gamble that you’ll be back from the trip before Giardia kicks in?

I’m not a big fan of Flagyl.  Been there, done that.

Recommend considering Sawyer Mini Squeeze or Squeeze.  Able to fill bottle with ‘dirty’ water and filter when drinking.  I’ve had good luck with these though one needs to be careful to keep the filters warm … they break down if frozen.

https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/
https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-squeeze-filter-system-sp131/

OutdoorGearLab Reviews:

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Sawyer Mini Review</span>
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Water-Filter-Reviews/Sawyer-Mini
<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>The Best Backpacking Water Filters and Treatment Systems of 2017</span>
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacking-Water-Filter-Reviews

Hope this helps.

Personally, I dont like using chemical treatment at all. Sawyer squeeze all the way. The regular one is much faster, well worth the weight over the mini imo. Paired with an Evernew 2L water bag, I can get 2 Gatorade bottles full in less than 2 minutes. Ymmv

If you want fast, you could do an inline filter with a bladder, such as the Sawyer 3-way filter.  Just 1.8 oz according to the specs.

Just FYI on the Flagyl — not necessarily the “go to” Rx for giardia any more.  Tinidazole is quick, and well tolerated.  Proof.

I’m NOT advocating untreated water (believe me!!! I’m currently fighting parasites of a yet-to-be-determined type); just updating folks on newer treatment options.

I have been playing around with the BeFree.  Much better than the Sawyer squeeze IMHO.

John –

Can the BeFree filter be kludged onto other bladders?

Unfortunately it only works with a few select bladders.  Below is the thread about it that prompted my purchase.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/new-katadyn-befree-filter-bottle/

Hey Greg, I’ve used a large number of filters and treatments.  The BeFree with a Seeker bladder and adapters to make it a gravity system is the best I’ve used with the exception of the Rapid Pure filter which claims to remove viruses as well as the typical stuff, connected to any bladder with readily available adapters .  Questions about the end life of the Rapid Pure led me to look at the BeFree.  The Seeker bladders are an extra cost and need to be soaked to remove plastic flavor but are nice to work with.

I second what Clifford said.  I’m using BeFree with a 3L Seeker bladder and adapters to make it a gravity system and it’s great.  I also customized a Gatorade bottle to use with a hydration tube so I can just fill the bottle and go.

Hey Clifford, can you share some pics of your setup?  Here’s mine in case anyone is interested.

As to the “dip and fill” requirement, I cut the top off a 1 L platypus and use it as a scoop. Can stick it under tiny trickles, and it fills faster than a 1 L bottle when plunged under water.  Use a rubber band to bundle it folded up with my dirty water bladder and my Sawyer Squeeze, which is adapted to quick-connect to my water bladder drinking hose.

Yeah, what Clifford and David said. My gravity system is simpler though. I just use a (trimmed) Tornado Tube and connect it to my Platypus. It isn’t very different than my old setup (Sawyer Squeeze) but the flow is faster. The Seeker bladders are great for this purpose as they have places where cord can easily be attached (you don’t have to punch a hole in the edges of the bladder like the Sawyer).

There are different ways in which you can use the system:

1) If there are a lot of streams, then just sip and go. Use the filter and bladder as advertised (turn it upside down and suck from it) until you are hydrated. Dump the rest of the water out, and you aren’t carrying extra water weight.

2) If you would rather not filter by the water source, then just fill up the Seeker bladder and carry it. This is handy if there are a lot of bugs by the water, but not so many where you want to take a break. Or maybe you are hiking to a great view spot for lunch, and would rather filter there.

As far as getting water from a scooping goes, there are a lot of alternatives (scoop, bags, etc.) but I’ve found that is one of the advantages of the Seeker bladders. You can usually get a decent amount of water in there in a lake by dragging the thing in the water (as you would a fish you were about to release). It is much harder to do that with a Platypus or Sawyer bladder because the opening is much smaller.

About the only disadvantage I’ve found with the setup is that things tend to very long. I don’t usually carry the cap for the Seeker bladder, but a cap for the filter. If I’m carrying the Seeker with water in it connected to a filter along with the cap, it can take up a lot of length. There are alternatives of course (just carry the cap) but that adds a bit of weight and would mean an extra step when in “sip and go” mode. Still, overall I’m thrilled with the BeFree system — it’s light, fast and flexible.

I third or fourth, or whatever we’re on the bottle filter.  I have a Katadyn Mybottle and an old Katadyn Exstream bottle that has a bigger volume.  Aqua Mira at camp or when needed.  I also made a Camelbak water bottle into a filter bottle by splicing in an Aqua Mira Frontier. (the small one, not the Pro) which is pretty light.

I like this system for these reasons:

!. I live in OR where water is just around the next bend, so no need to carry a lot.

@. It’s quick, and no taking off the pack.  Just drink what you have left and replenish.

#. For longer stretches between water we often just squeeze a bottle into a spare Platy.

@dkny2la, how water tight is the connection between the BeeFree filter and the hydration tube adapter when using your Gatorade bottle setup?  I’m considering putting together a similar filter bottle setup, but I’m worried that unfiltered water may get pulled into the drinking tube before it goes through the filter.  Any thoughts?

I’m not sure I understand your concern.  I use the Gatorade bottle and the Seeker bladder to hold the dirty water so everything passes through the filter before it reaches the drinking tube.  The connection from the filter to the tube is watertight.  Zero leakage.  Hope that helps.

I appreciate the info.  I’ll take a closer look at the BeFree. This old dog needs new tricks.

Thanks all.

I just carry it if it’s less than 4 liters. That way you don’t have to putz around with finding a water source or treating it. Its the simplest solution.

Another satisfied BeFree user here. The whole system is so much easier to use than the Sawyer filters I have used in the past. The Seeker is much easier to fill/carry and the filter has a much better flow rate and is easier to clean.

A third option to add to Ross’s comments that works with Sawyer filters or anything similar is to hang the dirty water, filter, connectors and clean water reservoir to your pack and filter while hiking. This works really well if you have side pockets and compression straps on your pack. Takes less than a minute to fill up, hang it and start hiking again. Mine has a 1L dirty and clean reservoir (bladder and bottle, respectively) and quick release and shut-off – it could be lighter, shorter and simpler without those features. A nice benefit is that the Sawyer Mini seems to run faster and last longer between being backflushed when used in gravity mode only – water is never squeezed through the filter with pressure.

Have you looked at the MSR Trailshot?  It looks promising in that you don’t need to fill an extra container to squeeze out of.  It has been absent from these forums though, despite being out now for a few months.  Anyone have field experience with it?

I don’t think I’ll ever go back to squeezing or pumping.  To me, it’s just so much easier to scoop and go.  YMMV.

https://youtu.be/zu1vXsYpjjI

https://youtu.be/WmdnDmVzpJE

Edit: That didn’t last long:

“This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.”

Video with side-by-side comparison of MSR Trailshot vs Katadyn Befree vs Sawyer Mini Filter

https://youtu.be/8-eWWdG3tgA

(Rough audio; captions help)

Seems like each has certain advantages, even for scoop-and-go. Trickles can be tricky.

— Rex