Decapitated Befree Filter

[Yoyo]

I guess I missed this thread.  What are you guys doing in 2018 with your Befree filters?  Backflushing them?  Still using them?  I plan on taking a Befree with me again on the CT this summer as I resume the trail.

[Tony Wong]

Seriously, I am buying a Sawyer Squeeze to replace my mini as a back up.

I need to perform the air test on my BeFree….I have a feeling that I can blow air through it, which means mine is broken. *sigh*

I have two of the BeFree filters….so will do the integrity test on them both before I use them.

Will be disappointing if they are blow out/broken.

Still, love the rate of flow……

[Yoyo]

Tony,

Can you give us an update on your backflushing experiences with the Befree?  I remember you being so excited about this filter last summer (as I was). Did you ever decide to bend the rules and backflush it?  Since I only used mine for about 170 miles or so with relatively clean water as you commonly find in Colorado, I haven’t been able to really put mine to the test.  I’ll be starting with a new BeFree this summer in July.  Another reason why I want to stick with the BeFree is that I want to try switching over from a hydration bladder in my pack to a shoulder mounted pouch, and I believe that there are 500mL flasks out there from Hydrapak or other companies that fit the Befree and can also fit into a water bottle pouch.  That way, I will have a backup filter bottle in case the 1.0 L bottle that came with the BeFree fails.  Anyway, I’m hoping the filter can get me from Twin Lakes to Durango, about 310 miles so I can finish the trail.

[Tony Wong]

David,

I did not back flush mine specifically.

I filled my BeFree bottle with warm/hot water with a good amount of vinegar and let the solution completely soak the filter for maybe 15-20 minutes.

Then I pushed the mixture through the filter and found that the rate of flow was significantly restored.

I pushed more water….tap water, through the filter to clear any vinegar from the filter.

I might have removed the cap and had water from the tap drop into the top/output side of the filter, but I don’t recall much water passing through the filter that way.

I do remember putting my mouth over the top of the BeFree without the cap/spout and blowing air through the filter to try to push water out of the filter.

Think that I has some water push back into the bottle…so that was my back flush.

I recall that it took a significant amount of pressure to do that.

Maybe in that sense, I might be okay on the “air integrity” test.

Since then, the filter has been stored dry in my closet….no trips since July of last year.

Tony

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