Katadyn Hiker/Hiker Pro Cartridge Backflushing

[Jonathan Patt]

I’ve had a Katadyn Hiker Pro for about 3 years, and used it extensively with a coffee filter pre-filter to extend cartridge life. On a recent trip, that coffee filter failed before I noticed and I pumped some silt from the bottom of a water source into the filter, clogging it quite badly. After another day of use, it was so overpressurized when using it that I blew out the internal check valve in the housing with a loud pop and it stopped pumping (and started siphoning clean water out of my bottle instead).

After the trip, I contacted Katadyn customer support and was able to purchase a replacement housing (without the handle and collar, which I was able to transfer over from the original) for $13 + $3 shipping, but this still left me with a clogged filter cartridge. Not wanting to spend $40 on a new cartridge immediately, especially as I have other working filters, I checked on a whim whether my Sawyer backflush syringe would fit over the clean water output port on the top of the Katadyn cartridge. It does. I ran about a liter of clean water through it backwards, installed it, and I can pump quite smoothly again.

I have no idea how long this will last, or if it’s even a good idea (every source I’ve seen online says the Katadyn pleated filters cannot be backflushed at all), but it appears to have returned it to the state it was at before I clogged it with silt. Any thoughts or opinions on whether this might be a bad idea or cause some sort of damage to the cartridge that would reduce the effectiveness of its filtration capability?

[Thomas G]

I am curious if the backflush worked longer term

[Author]

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